The best word to describe Santorini is magical, or how about romantic?
These whitewashed, cubic-shaped houses are typical of the traditional architecture of
the Greek Cyclades islands, but here it's different because they're built on the inside
rim of a volcano. You can arrive in a unique way on the back
of a mule, riding up the steep slope to the village up on top, where you'll find beautiful
restaurants, you'll find lots of shops, and great scenery. Get ready for a visit to one
of the world's most desired dream destinations. Well, we are at the great lookout at Santorini,
one of the most beautiful sights n the world. So scenic, it's the second most-photographed
site in Greece, after the Parthenon in Athens. There is one main pedestrian lane and a couple
of small side pedestrian lanes lined with shops. You can buy your postcards and T-shirts
and more jewelry, of course. And you have a chance to just explore. You
can't possibly get lost in this little village. It only goes for about 1/2 a mile and it's
three narrow blocks wide, some steps up and down, and then you basically get to the end
of it, and there's another panoramic viewpoint down there.
And you will certainly run into some wild animals during the visit.
(Cat purrs) Ah yes, the famous Street cats of Santorini.
Throughout Greece, especially in the islands, there are many cats walking around, but here
in Santorini, it seems like there are more cats than anywhere.
(Cat purrs) There were so many pretty pussycats to see
and play with that, I plan to make a second movie all about the cats and the mules of
Santorini. Life does not get much better than sitting
on a terrace in Santorini, enjoying some meals and drinks with friends, and looking out over
that scenery. You have the village behind you, and there's
a sunset happening out over the bay, it's spectacular!
With a setting like this involving so many outdoor restaurants, terraces, walkways and
scenic views, you can understand why the sunsets of Santorini are one of the most exciting
attractions of your visit. That peaceful bay used to be the central landmass
of the island until it blew up in a massive volcanic eruption.
This aerial view shows Santorini's three islands surrounding the bay that used to be the caldera
of the volcano that erupted. And we see the location of the main town, Thera, that we
will be exploring in the program. The islands are the remnants of the rim of the volcanic
crater. Although there is a small airport, most travelers
arrive here by ship, usually on a cruise ship on a typical five-day itinerary covering several
islands, a most comfortable way to travel, and offers a dramatic preview look at Santorini,
stopping for just half a day, but that's enough time to have a look around the main village.
You can also get here by interisland ferry, which is great if you're planning to spend
a few nights on the island. For example, you could travel from Mykonos on the fast jet
ferry boat in just over two hours. There is no dock for the cruise ship or passenger
terminal along the narrow shore, so passengers are brought from ship to shore on local tender
boats, called skunas, which only takes about ten minutes.
Santorini is the most popular cruising destination in all the Greek Isles. In fact, it's got
too popular, to a point where the local government has put a daily limit on the number of cruise
passengers allowed. Back in 2016 as many as 18,000 people a day visited the island, and
the mayor said, "The island is saturated." It was too much, putting a strain on the island's
infrastructure, and so they limited the number of passengers now down to 8000 per day.
Tender boats drop you off at the Skala marina right next to the cable car station and that's
one easy way to get up the 700-foot-high cliff, or for a more exciting trip up, you can ride
a mule. This famous mule ride is one of the special
attractions of Santorini. Mules and donkeys have worked here for many
centuries, hauling goods and people from the shoreline way up to the settlements up on
top of the hill. The roads were always too rough for any kind of a cart or wagon, and
later on for trucks, and so the mules and donkeys have always bared the burden of hauling
the stuff up and down the hill. They are responsible for the creation of these towns, because without
them, no towns could've ever been built up here.
With increasing concerns for animal welfare the government has banned tourists who weigh
more than 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds, from riding the mule, and if a large person gets
on they can be defined as much as $32,000. The cable car provides a more scenic lift
with an excellent view. With the big increase in the number of tourists here starting in
the 1970s, they realize they needed to build a cable car, which opened in 1982. It can
carry 1200 people per hour on a trip that takes only three minutes, and some of the
profit from the cable car is given to the mule drivers to recognize their hard work
and effort to keep the tradition alive. Or you could walk up the 600 steps, or perhaps
better yet walk down when you're finished with your visit.
This main town, called Thera, consists largely of pedestrian lanes lined with shops and restaurants,
which I'm going to help you explore right now.
Everybody gets off the cable car and shuffles along, but look to the right and you will
find the best viewpoint on the island. Put your friends in front and you've got a postcard
view. Looking out at this amazing scene is one of
your top thrills of being here. You'll also enjoy exploring this residential section.
It is where the local people live, and many of these units are bed and breakfasts and
small hotels. And the other nice activity is just taking a stroll through the lanes,
looking at the shops, the buildings, the people, take a walk. The main part of the village
is only about 600 meters long, three narrow blocks wide so it's really quite easy to walk
around and see most of it in a few hours. Of course, a favorite activity of many travelers
is shopping. And these little stores are really a lot of fun. Some of them are unique boutiques
with handmade items, and then you've got your normal range of typical Greek souvenirs – you
can get books, calendars, postcards, little bronze statues, Byzantine icons, you can get
dolls, and imitations of frescoes, of course clothing of all types, pottery, soaps and
table cloths and other handmade items. And of course these merchants are multilingual,
so no matter where you're coming from, they'll be able to communicate and sell you something,
like natural sponges, harvested locally. They are super absorbent. Greeks are also famous
for their special golden jewelry, maybe a necklace with the meander pattern. Or perhaps
you are just a window shopper, or somebody walking by shooting video, like me, and that's
okay too, they're used to that. And you'll work up an appetite for at least a snack,
maybe a meal, especially nice at a terrace restaurant.
Then get away from the shops and detour back down to the residential neighborhood. It looks
like a impenetrable maze but really it is quite simple, there are several lanes that
will take you right through it. Many of these homes are dug right into the hillside, which
gives them added space and insulation from the weather, they're cooler in the summer
and warmer in the winter. They also gain more space by using the rooftops. Nearly all of
those flat roofs are outdoor patios. It's an efficient use of space in this kind of
high density, but low-rise community, and the weather is quite mild all year round,
so they can get a lot of use out of these open-air spaces. Rent a room here and live
like a local. Santorini is one of the most beautiful of
all the Greek Islands, certainly one of the most famous places, and behind me see the
capital village of Thera. There are a lot of cafés and restaurants on these terraces,
so it's a great place to sit and have a drink, have some coffee, have a snack, or you can
have a meal. The restaurants are quite good here, of course, and they specialize in a
local red wine that they grow. The hillsides of Santorini are covered in vineyards.
The village of Thera spills down the hillside from the top of the volcanic caldera, and
it presents a stunning picturesque site. One of the slight problems with a village
on the hills, is a lot of stairs to climb, but it's worth it for the scenery, so up we
go. There are nearly-hidden staircase alleys that
connect all of the main pedestrian lanes. It's like a big three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.
Another good reason for walking through this residential area is to get the different views
from various angles. Typical of Greek villages, there are many
small neighborhood churches. It's tempting to get that view from the cliff,
but don't get too close to the edge here, and just be careful when walking around.
It took a lot of work to build this terrace town, and it also takes a lot of effort to
maintain it, especially when you've got to haul things up by hand. And you'll see quite
a few artistic touches in the building, such as the mosaic paving being created here. Many
of the homes have private courtyards, providing a small garden space.
The island is a small island. It just has two main villages. There is Oia and Thera,
and there is scattered settlements on the rest of the island as well. It's very comparable
to Mykonos. And similar to Mykonos are all the whitewashed
houses, but here the difference is, the villages on top of the mountain rather than right along
the coast, as we found Mykonos. It's one of the most popular spots for the visitor in
all of Greece, and you can see why. It has a real magical quality to these whitewashed
buildings. They are all white, as typical of the Cycladic architecture.
The village of Thera is the largest village in the island, and the smaller town is Oia
which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We're showing you that as well. In this look at
Santorini today. We're taking a quick ride out to Oia village
for a brief look at this beautiful spot. Now you can organize a daytrip from your cruise
ship, or when in Thera you could purchase a little tour, or you could rent a car to
get out there. You'll find it a charming little village,
and much less crowded and busy than Thera, so it could be worth your while, if you have
the time, and then return back to Thera town for some more explorations.
By now it might be getting dark and I'd like to introduce you to another side of Thera
town. It's the main street, there's cars, there's people, there's motorcycles, there's
trucks going by, and a lot of restaurants with lower prices than you're going to find
in the terrace restaurants that overlook the view. So if you want to get a cheap gyros,
or do some more shopping, or just take a stroll and see maybe the real backside of the Thera,
come on over to this main street and take a stroll.
It's the kind of place that's backstage, it's the real town that you might not see if you're
just walking around for three hours looking at the shops and enjoying the view that we've
been seeing, but this is really also a lot of fun and you'll get some better bargains
down here, especially for the inexpensive foods, and there are some very friendly bars
and coffee shops that will be very happy to welcome you.
While we take a final look at evening shopping, let me give you 30-second summary of 7000
years of Santorini history. The first evidence of habitation here was
about 5000 BC and was simple fishermen and farmers. Around the year 2000 BC there is
the evidence of the Minoan civilization here. And then after the Minoans there was a problem
with the volcano – the volcano blew up. There was a huge eruption and it blew way
over half of the island. After the volcanic eruption, people moved back in, slowly and
gradually, and the island has been populated ever since. The whole cycle of Greek history
was played out right here on Santorini. You want to be sure to be here for twilight
and sunset, the most magical time of day on Santorini. So if your ship is waiting, well
just catch the last tender back. You want to squeeze every minute out of this beautiful
night. Twilight's that special time of day when you have that wonderful mix of natural
and artificial lighting in perfect balance. And then eventually your visit is finished
and you're going to have to tear yourself away from this wonderful place – time to
get back down to the ship, take the cable car in the dark down to the docks into the
tender, but don't leave yet. I've got a special surprise coming up in a moment.
And then we looked up and saw a nice touch to accent the evening with a full moon, as
we approach our cruise ship. We are very fortunate to be able to hear the
singing nuns of Santorini inside the Rozario Church of the Dominican Convent. The twelve
nuns of various nationalities occasionally sing vespers that are open to the public,
although most people don't know about it. So let's end our visit to Santorini in this
divine and melodic way. (nuns sing)
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