On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
This series was created by Alain Chamot (1971-2020).
way2blue
Given the ongoing sabotage of our democratic system, I wanted to honor the ‘cradle of democracy’ with a short series of photos from a couple visits to islands in the Cyclades, the first series from 2012. With Greece struggling with severe recession woes that year, we decided to dump a few tourist €€ into their economy. We headed to the islands, with a Greek friend giving us tips on which islands were her favorites…
First stop was Santorini (Thera) where we stayed in a cave house in Oia, the picturesque village perched on the cliffs in northernmost Santorini. A real splurge. Our terrace looked across the caldera. The village filled with tourists from cruise ships during the day, but they mostly disappeared by the late afternoon. A long, steep path led to a seafood restaurant on the water’s edge of Ammoudi Bay where we could watch the sunset. With donkeys for those who didn’t want to trek back up on foot.
We rented a car for a day and drove to the Akrotiri archeological site. This Bronze Age settlement was abandoned after a series of severe earthquakes, then buried in volcanic ash by Theran volcanic eruptions during the late 17th century BC. The ash layers have preserved magnificent frescoes, other artwork, vessels, furniture and such.
View of our terrace from inside the cave house, a long, narrow space with a vaulted ceiling, carved into the cliff face. Cave houses such as this one were originally inhabited by sailors. The bed was at the far end, and we could hear the footsteps of people walking on the street above us.
After Santorini, we took a ferry to the island of Naxos. Photo of a small ‘aqueduct’ along a hiking trail.
Another hiking trail.
After Naxos we took a long ferry ride to the island of Kea. Photo of a fisherman playing fetch with his dog in the port village of Korissia where we were staying.
We rented a car for a day, drove across the island to hike down an ancient, long, steep cobbled trail to the ruins of a port on the southeastern side of Kea. Hot day, and I definitely didn’t bring enough water, so the hike back up was challenging… “Ancient Karthea was inhabited continuously for c. 1,300 years, approximately from the 8th century BC till the 6th century AD.” Photo of reconstructed remains of a Doric temple for goddess Athena (late 6th century BC).
I can’t remember who requested photos of food—but here’s one of hummus & red wine at a small restaurant in Ioulida, a village up the mountainside from where we were staying in Korissia. (The food everywhere was amazing, inexpensive & fresh.)
I can’t say enough about the generosity and charm of the Greek people we met. Especially given the dire economic distress they were feeling. The owner of this restaurant gave us dessert & liqueur to finish our meal. While his son, who had left a filmmaking career in NYC to come home & help his family, explained how the mismatch between wages & living expenses for average Greeks was unsustainable.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
The thing I lived most about Santorini and Naxos was the slow pace, sitting and enjoying a simple meal with some assyrtiko and a final bottle of ouzo…..
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
A couple of years ago I spent 2 weeks in Greece on archeological tours, starting with Santorini and Crete (Minoans), going on to the mainland with Mycenae and Tiryns (Myceneans) and then on to classical sites like Delphi and Athens. It was wonderful, although I have now seen enough ruins to hold me for quite a while. The food was wonderfully fresh and we had ripe tomatoes every day (in May), as well as fabulous feta. The Greeks may be having a hard time in the modern world, but they truly are wonderful people and their classical civilization conquered the world. I would love to go back, especially the islands we didn’t see. And the archeological museums were extraordinary.
eclare
Sixteen years ago I visited Naxos, Paros, and Santorini. I saw the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen in my life in Santorini.
Elizabelle
OK. Greece is on the two-year bucket list. Beautiful photos.
HeartlandLiberal
These pictures remind me it has been several years since I watched one of my favorite movies, The Guns of Navarone. Carl Foreman’s revenge for being blacklisted by McCarthy a decade earlier. Also, many think that the eruption that blew up Santorini was the origin of the Atlantis legend.
stinger
Oh, what a great group of pictures! From the Bronze Age to a modern terrace, with donkeys and wine and Athena and a gorgeous yellow house! I’ve wanted to visit Greece ever since first reading Mary Renault and Mary Stewart and Edith Hamilton. Maybe yet some day, some day, to hike that trail on Naxos winding between rugged stone walls….
Mike S
I spent a month traveling the cyclades by ferry. Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and AntiParos, Santorini and Crete. On the way back up to Athens I made the mistake of stopping on Ios which was a nightmare of drunken teens and broken glass.
The trip was amazing.
JanieM
Beautiful and so, so enticing. The hummus looks like it’s to die for. Although maybe I should think up a different metaphor. All these travel destinations piling up….
Origuy
Greece has always been on my bucket list, because of all the fantastic archaeology. And the food. I loved the color of the water in that picture of Kea.
way2blue
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): I ate a lot of ‘Greek’ salad while there. It would be assembled from scratch on the spot—chopping up tomatoes, cucumbers… with a slab of feta on top and a drizzle of olive oil. Simple & amazing. (Also incredibly fresh baklava for breakfast.)
way2blue
@Mike S: There are several Greek islands still calling to me. I’ve been slowly compiling a list of lesser traveled ones.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@stinger: Yes! I’ve loved the Minoans since HS, and The King Must Die was part of the reason.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@way2blue: Yes! The food was simple but wonderful. On the last day of our tour on the mainland, we had lunch at a taverna on the beach and the seafood was amazing.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
My only advice on Greece would be to go in the Spring. I knew Greece got hot in the summer, so we went in May, and it was already HOT and humid. April would be better. And the mainland was worse. But I’m so glad I went!
Mike S
@way2blue: Me too and I am dying to take my wife to Santorini.There are few things as amazing as pulling into the caldera on a boat and seeing the homes and restaurants coming down from the edge.
I fell in love with Crete too. It is diverse like CA with beautiful beaches with the interior being like our mountains. I went into the gorge and realized after a couple of miles that we couldn’t make it down to where it tightens to a few meters so we had to turn back.
My whole trip was amazing. I started alone, met a guy from Tasmania in Athens who was headed the same way. We took a ferry and met two Aussie young women on the way to Mykonos. The four of us gathered more people and by the time we got to Santorini there were 25 of us. Our group broke up after that so it was just me and the girls in Crete. They left from there for Egypt where tragedy struck which I won’t say more about because this is such a nice post.
Leumas
Visited Santorini in 2015. Oia is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
WaterGirl
@Mike S: Your comment got marked as spam, which is why it didn’t go through. I found 3 identical comments, so I could see you were trying and finally gave up.
I marked you as not spam, so you should be good going forward. I approved this one and deleted the other two.