Spectacular Santorini

Sailing into Santorini may very well be the most breathtaking place I have ever sailed into. It is one of the few islands in the Aegean that was created by a volcanic explosion. And what an explosion. Experts estimate that around 1600 bc more than 24 cubic square miles of mountain top blew up creating a tsunamis somewhere between 110 to 490 ft high. The aftermath created crop failures and famine as far away as China, so sever that it brought down the Xia dynasty. It is one of the biggest volcanic explosions every on the face of the earth. What is left in the aftermath is a spectacular volcanic caldron with sheer chocolate volcanic cliffs soaring hundreds of feet high. The old volcanoes steep sided rim and fertile volcanic soil made it perfect for building villages safely from the notorious pirates. As a result we get beautiful Santorini today with its white buildings rimming the crater top giving it a look of snowcapped mountains in an almost perfect circle.

It is quite a hike up to the towns from the ocean floor. Most people take the tram to the top or following years of tradition ride donkeys up very winding switch-backed trails. When you get to the top you are rewarded with perhaps the most scenic villages of the Aegean. Our favorite was the town of Oia with its softly sculptured white structures that sparkle in the sunlight as you wander through the streets of polished marble. And the sunsets from the ridge of this natural theater makes everyone stop each evening to watch the lightshow. The sky becomes ablaze in oranges purples and hot yellow-white light. Cameras start clicking and don’t stop until the last of the golden orb sinks into the deep blue ocean of Greece. Spectacular.

The sheer walls don’t stop at the ocean, but continue to plunge over 400 feet deep. As a result, it is just too deep to lay an anchor out. There aren’t any real ports because they can’t lay a breakwater, so we tied up to a buoy and the quay. We stayed for three nights before heading further east towards Turkey.