Santorini-Beautiful, but beware!

Day 5 of my cruise on the Splendour & another bucket-list destination to relish. (If you missed my day 4 blog click here)

It all started well when we got on our tender boat, speedily for the short trip to the old harbour in Santorini.  I had researched the options to get up to the  main town of Fira. As there are no roads that allow vehicles the choices were either the cable car (5 euros) , the donkey (8 euros) or on foot. We looked at the queue for the cable car & it looked like the wait would be at least half an hour until we got on & as I didn’t relish the thought of getting on a donkey we decided to walk up the extremely steep, narrow zig-zagged path. BIG MISTAKE!

We hadn’t realised that the donkeys shared the same narrow path as pedestrians & also quite how many donkeys there actually were. Now, when I say donkeys, don’t think the little cute ones that amble up & down Blackpool beach, think more along the lines of big bucking broncos.

The walk itself was hard going, having to contend with the steep gradient, avoiding donkey poo & trying to stay on our feet as the cobbles were very slippy, but we also had to constantly move out of the way of the herds of donkeys going up & down the path. The worst part was when one particularly vicious animal rolled its big horsey eyes, bared its teeth and bit another right on its bum which then caused a stampede of all the others. It is no exaggeration when I say my sister & I were literally pinned up against the wall to avoid being trampled & fearing for our safety.

We eventually reached the top (very shaken & very relieved) &  we were in the beautiful little streets of Fira. It was full of chic clothes shops, cafes, bakeries & touristy shops. Being the capital of the island it is also a working town with locals mingling with the tourists. The view over the harbour was amazing.

My main aim in Santorini was to visit Oia where all the iconic pictures are taken with the blue domed churches &  little white-washed buildings cascading down the hillside, so we headed down to the bus station & took the 30 minute ride at a bargain price of 2 euros. The journey was through winding roads with views high over the sea.

Oia was as beautiful in real life as on all the pictures I had previously seen & despite the fact that it was busy with all the tourists (there were 3 ships in that day), it had a really relaxed & peaceful air about the place. It was lovely just to wander down the streets and along the Caldera looking at the beautiful ‘cave’ hotels with their azure blue plunge pools & dream that one day I could come back to stay in one.

There were cafes & restaurants perched high on the top of the hill with absolutely breathtaking views. We whiled away an hour with a Greek salad & a cold drink staring out to sea before heading back to Fira town. We wanted to get back in plenty of time. The last tender boat left at 4.30pm & we weren’t going to get caught out this time – no donkey shenanigans for us! We found the end of the queue to the cable car. It’s found through a maze of tiny streets, but very well signed. After about 20 minutes we realised that we couldn’t actually see the front of the queue, so I went to investigate. To my horror it looked like a minimum of a 90 minute wait which meant only one thing…..the dreaded donkey alley…aaaagh!!!!

There was a huge MSC ship with 4000 passengers & a smaller ship as well as ours docked which would have meant around 8000 people trying to use the cable cars, of which there were  12 running. You can do the maths. On a different day you would not necessarily encounter this problem.

At least this time we were mentally prepared for the experience. We saw lots of people take a tumble due to the slippiness of the cobbles. We were actually grateful for the donkey poo which acted as a bit of a grip under foot. The donkey traffic wasn’t as heavy  as on the way up & we made it back in one piece, straight on to the tender & were enjoying a nerve-calming drink within 15 minutes.

I won’t say that the donkey experience ruined my visit to Santorini, but it certainly tainted it. There are 2 tour shops at the old port which offer a great solution. A speedboat picks you up from the harbour & takes you round to Oia port & includes a bust ticket up to the main town & a second bus ticket to take you to Fira town all for 20 Euros. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing??? You would still need to get back to the ship from Fira, so leave plenty of time. One lady on our cruise actually did miss the boat due to the cable car queues & had to travel overnight on a ferry full of cattle to re-join the ship at the next port. Not so nice!

The next time I go to Santorini I will be forewarned as I hope you are too & it will make the day a lot more pleasant.

Here are a couple of the excursions offered by Royal Caribbean (11/10/14):

ISLAND OF SANTORINI & OIA

COST $76 Adult/ $44 Child

DURATION 3 and a half hours

Includes a time in Oia & a trip to a winery to sample mezes & local vino.

MY OPINION : Sounds like a lot of money for such a short trip , but nice to see the local vineyard.

PYRGOS VILLAGE WITH MEZES & WINE

COST $90 Adult/$56 Child

DURATION 3 and a half hours

Includes coach tour with panoramic views, a walking tour of Pyrgos village & free time with a light meze snack.

MY OPINION This is the kind of trip which is enhanced by the knowledge of the guide & gives you a good insight in to the history & culture of the island. Again-a very short trip though.