“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21
Our day started with a ride in a water taxi, which is just a name for a boat that ferries people back and forth to the ship. Because it’s a water taxi and not a lifeboat wearing a different hat, it’s a lot more comfortable, having more seat and leg room. Partly cloudy skies today with temperatures in the 80s.
Santorini is built on a volcano. In 1956, there was a 7.6 earthquake which destroyed many of the buildings. Many Greeks left Santorini. In 1974, the people returned and built an economy based on wine and tourism. Unlike Italy and France, here grapes are grown on the ground because if they grow on raised trellises, the wind blows them away. Why? Their roots are shallow. They get water from the humidity since this island is so dry.
This island has about 5,000 donkeys, which are used to help harvest grapes. The wine is then stored in hillside caves because the cave temperatures keep the wine cool.
Big families here have their own private churches on their property. They are large white buildings with blue domes. On Sundays, services are held in public churches, which sometimes have red domes.
Windmills were used to grind flour, but now they are used for housing, but they were not popular. Why? Hard to fit rectangular furniture in round rooms!
Oia
Oia is a town located on the northern tip of Santorini. It has narrow cobblestone lanes, pristine whitewashed buildings, blue-domed churches, and lots of little shops. Marble is used on public walkways because it is less expensive than concrete here!
Byzantine Church of the Virgin Mary
This church was built in the 16th century on top of a Roman temple from the 5th century AD. It was thought to be a temple of Aphrodite or Dionysus. Archaeologists are prohibited from digging here because the priests didn’t want anything to be dug up that might be against their own belief system such as something that might show the Christians destroyed earlier artifacts.
The outdoor wash basin is symbolic. You wash your hands because you are going into the church to cleanse your soul.
Inside the church at the front are icons that flank the center door: Christ (right) and Mary and Child (left). Items of value to someone, like wedding rings, baptismal jewelry, etc., are given as offerings to the Virgin Mary.
These churches are not used for corporate worship. Sometimes they do celebrations in these tiny Greek Orthodox churches.
Kamari Beach
This is a black sand beach. The sand is composed of volcanic rock.
Pyrgos Restaurant
We had lunch overlooking the Aegean Sea. It was buffet style with lots of Greek foods to try. I loved the honey cake!
Clockwise from top center: rice, tomato ball, salad with oil and vinegar dressing, bread, fava dip, tzatziki dip, and pork.
They also had sweet red peppers, vine leaves, a slaw salad, and a delicious honey cake for dessert.
Mount Prophet Elijah
We stopped here for a beautiful view of Santorini. This mountain is over 2,000 meters high, and it is Santorini’s highest point. There is a monastery here, but it is closed now. There are no monks on the island.
Santo Wines Winery
This is the biggest winery in Santorini. It was founded in 1947. Wine has been made for more than 3,500 years in Santorini. The volcanic soil gives the wines special tastes due to the minerals in the volcanic rocks. There are 40 indigenous grape varieties on this island, and 500,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. Since I don’t drink, I cannot offer a comment on the wines except to say their colors were pretty.
Fira
Fira, the capital of Santorini, is perched on a sheer cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea. There are three ways down to the port below. One can walk 900+ steps down a steep, staired walkway, ride a “donkey taxi” down that same path, or take a three-minute cable car ride. We chose the cable car!
Clockwise from top-left: cable cars; view to the port from the cable car; donkey taxis; pedestrian walkway.
Next stop: Messina, Sicily
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