Thumper
10-25-2016, 12:24 PM
... or what NOT to do if you ever cruise to Santorini, Greece! :hair
We cruised into the "Old Port" of Santorini early one morning and dropped anchor (they have no pier). We then disembarked and took a tender to shore below the town of Fira. Now, the island of Santorini is actually the rim of a volcano. You can get a better idea from this satellite photo.
8022
Once you get to the island, the town of Fira is actually up on the rim of this volcano ... STRAIGHT up the rocky cliffs. For years, the only way up was a donkey trail ... even better if you were ON a donkey. I knew from my research that the donkey option is NOT a pleasant one. Luckily, due to the popularity of the island as a cruise ship stop, they finally built a cable car system. We got there early in the morning and caught the cable car up to Fira (4 Euros each). Now this dang thing goes STRAIGHT UP THE CLIFF ... but it's a beautiful view. This pic will give you an idea how steep the climb is in that cable car.
8023
Ok, we went up to Fira and did our usual self-guided tour (remember, I HATE being a tourist and usually just "wing-it"). We saw the sites we wanted to see and then I found a quiet little place well off the beaten path to sit in the shade and have a couple cold beers. It was a very small mom & pop place, cool, comfortable and quiet. Right up my alley! The proprietor didn't speak English, but between he, his wife, Lynn and myself, we managed to communicate. I was craving some local saganaki, so I made the order while downing a cold beer. Once the saganaki arrived, I ordered another cold one to wash it down. Ahhh, now THIS is how I like to travel ... there was nobody else there but a local couple and us. Not one frigging tourist anywhere to be seen! My slice of Santorini heaven.
8024
We pretty much took it easy most of the day, then decided we'd better start making our way back to the port area. WTF??? It appeared FOUR more ships came in after we arrived! Fira was slammed FULL of dang tourists scrambling from one chintzy gift shop to another like a herd of ants! Oh well, at least we had a quiet, peaceful day in the "suburbs"! As we made our way back toward the cable car for the trip back down to catch a tender back to the ship, I decided to stop for a short rest and another cold beer while over-looking the harbor.
8025 8026
Ok, it's now about 4:00 pm and we need to be back aboard the ship by 6:00 pm, so we made our way over to the cable car. WTF???? There were elebenty-bazillion frigging people lined up for the ride down! We started walking back to find the end of the line and THERE WAS NO END!!!! It went on FOREVER ... just winding it's way around through the streets of Fira! We got to one point (still could not see the end of the line) and asked a local shop keeper how long it took for the line to move. He said where we were standing, is the three hour mark! (and we were nowhere near the end!) Ok, panic time. It's NOT a good thing to miss the boat!! The only option was the donkey trail ... along with elebenty-bazillion other people in the same predicament! Old people with walkers and wheelchairs, families with little kids and strollers ... you name it ... a human wave of humanity trying to work their way down these steps so they don't miss their boat. Oh, did I mention steps? There are 600 of them (587 to be exact), but each step is 3-4 steps wide itself, so make that close to 2400! Add the fact that they are made of "not so flat" stone and are covered with a bazillion gallons of stinking donkey piss steaming in the hot sun. Add another bazillion cubic yards of donkey poop AND the fact the cobblestone steps are SLANTED downward, and you have a dangerous situation on your hands. We saw quite a few injuries from falls and one was an older woman who did a face plant. (we saw her aboard ship later and her whole face was purple ... with two black eyes) Ok, some people took the donkey option, but at just shy of 300lbs, I'm above the 220lb weight limit. Remember, I have a bad back and have already done about my maximum walking for the day. I just loaded up on Percocet and hit the trail ... we had no other option other than waiting for the cable car as our ship sailed off toward Albania!
To make matters worse, here we have an exodus of humanity trying to share a slippery, stinking (LITERALLY stinking) donkey trail and when things get crowded, donkeys really don't care if they're stepping on a stone trail or your FOOT!!! Add the fact, there's no place to take a rest break or get a drink of water! We made it, but it was an adventure I wasn't looking for. So, if you ever go to Santorini ... leave EARLY!! :D
Here are a couple shots of the donkey trail.
8027 8028
8029 8030
We cruised into the "Old Port" of Santorini early one morning and dropped anchor (they have no pier). We then disembarked and took a tender to shore below the town of Fira. Now, the island of Santorini is actually the rim of a volcano. You can get a better idea from this satellite photo.
8022
Once you get to the island, the town of Fira is actually up on the rim of this volcano ... STRAIGHT up the rocky cliffs. For years, the only way up was a donkey trail ... even better if you were ON a donkey. I knew from my research that the donkey option is NOT a pleasant one. Luckily, due to the popularity of the island as a cruise ship stop, they finally built a cable car system. We got there early in the morning and caught the cable car up to Fira (4 Euros each). Now this dang thing goes STRAIGHT UP THE CLIFF ... but it's a beautiful view. This pic will give you an idea how steep the climb is in that cable car.
8023
Ok, we went up to Fira and did our usual self-guided tour (remember, I HATE being a tourist and usually just "wing-it"). We saw the sites we wanted to see and then I found a quiet little place well off the beaten path to sit in the shade and have a couple cold beers. It was a very small mom & pop place, cool, comfortable and quiet. Right up my alley! The proprietor didn't speak English, but between he, his wife, Lynn and myself, we managed to communicate. I was craving some local saganaki, so I made the order while downing a cold beer. Once the saganaki arrived, I ordered another cold one to wash it down. Ahhh, now THIS is how I like to travel ... there was nobody else there but a local couple and us. Not one frigging tourist anywhere to be seen! My slice of Santorini heaven.
8024
We pretty much took it easy most of the day, then decided we'd better start making our way back to the port area. WTF??? It appeared FOUR more ships came in after we arrived! Fira was slammed FULL of dang tourists scrambling from one chintzy gift shop to another like a herd of ants! Oh well, at least we had a quiet, peaceful day in the "suburbs"! As we made our way back toward the cable car for the trip back down to catch a tender back to the ship, I decided to stop for a short rest and another cold beer while over-looking the harbor.
8025 8026
Ok, it's now about 4:00 pm and we need to be back aboard the ship by 6:00 pm, so we made our way over to the cable car. WTF???? There were elebenty-bazillion frigging people lined up for the ride down! We started walking back to find the end of the line and THERE WAS NO END!!!! It went on FOREVER ... just winding it's way around through the streets of Fira! We got to one point (still could not see the end of the line) and asked a local shop keeper how long it took for the line to move. He said where we were standing, is the three hour mark! (and we were nowhere near the end!) Ok, panic time. It's NOT a good thing to miss the boat!! The only option was the donkey trail ... along with elebenty-bazillion other people in the same predicament! Old people with walkers and wheelchairs, families with little kids and strollers ... you name it ... a human wave of humanity trying to work their way down these steps so they don't miss their boat. Oh, did I mention steps? There are 600 of them (587 to be exact), but each step is 3-4 steps wide itself, so make that close to 2400! Add the fact that they are made of "not so flat" stone and are covered with a bazillion gallons of stinking donkey piss steaming in the hot sun. Add another bazillion cubic yards of donkey poop AND the fact the cobblestone steps are SLANTED downward, and you have a dangerous situation on your hands. We saw quite a few injuries from falls and one was an older woman who did a face plant. (we saw her aboard ship later and her whole face was purple ... with two black eyes) Ok, some people took the donkey option, but at just shy of 300lbs, I'm above the 220lb weight limit. Remember, I have a bad back and have already done about my maximum walking for the day. I just loaded up on Percocet and hit the trail ... we had no other option other than waiting for the cable car as our ship sailed off toward Albania!
To make matters worse, here we have an exodus of humanity trying to share a slippery, stinking (LITERALLY stinking) donkey trail and when things get crowded, donkeys really don't care if they're stepping on a stone trail or your FOOT!!! Add the fact, there's no place to take a rest break or get a drink of water! We made it, but it was an adventure I wasn't looking for. So, if you ever go to Santorini ... leave EARLY!! :D
Here are a couple shots of the donkey trail.
8027 8028
8029 8030