Feeling down from polar vortexes, snow, sleet, rain and dreary winter skies? Give yourself a lift by imagining yourself on a scenic and relaxing sunset cruise in Greece — like this one we photographed at Santorini.
Category: Santorini (Page 7 of 12)
Even the Greek Islands experience snowfalls on occasion, as this 2004 photo of Mykonos confirms. It’s one of several stunning Mykonos winter scenes that M. Koubaros has posted on the Panoramio.com photo sharing website.
Winter wonderland: “I’ll bet you wish you were in Greece right now!”
Actually, I wish I had collected $1 each time someone told me that this week — I’d have enough money to treat myself to a hearty meal of pastitsio or moussaka at one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto’s Greektown neighbourhood tonight.
Like many places in North America, we suffered through five days of miserably cold temperatures this past week, followed by a severe winter storm that dumped more than seven inches of snow on our downtown neighbourhood yesterday. Whenever friends and acquaintances saw me bundled up and shivering in the wintry weather, they inevitably asked if I’d rather be relaxing on a Greek Island beach instead.
But all were surprised to hear me say that Greece doesn’t bask in scorching hot temperatures and clear sunny skies every day — and especially not during December.
Greek Islands get cold weather in winter
They, like many people, have a misconception that Greece is a semi-tropical destination that draws sun- and sand-seeking vacationers to its magnificent beaches all 12 months of the year. But Greece is not like Hawaii. Most people are surprised when I tell them the travel season for most Greek Islands extends only from late April until early October, and they’re stunned when I say that Greece gets winter, too. Few of them realize that islands like Mykonos and Santorini can experience bone-chilling cold temperatures or light snowfalls, and none knew that there are more than a dozen ski areas in the mountains of mainland Greece (of which Parnassos Ski Resort is the largest, boasting 23 trails and 13 lifts).
On December 11, for instance, the Mykonos Winter Facebook page reported that it was only 9 degrees on Mykonos — with gale-force winds reaching a brutal Force 9 on the Beaufort scale. Not a pleasant day to spend outside, by any means!
However, even though Greece does get cold weather during the winter, my friends are absolutely right — I would much rather be there. As I write this post, it’s overcast and 11 degrees below zero here in Toronto, compared to 12 degrees above zero under partly cloudy skies in Athens. And though a dinner of moussaka or pastitsio would certainly be a great way to warm up here tonight, a meal at an authentic Greek taverna in Greece would be so much better.
To give you an idea of what winter can be like in Greece, below are photos of snow scenes from Mykonos, Paros and Santorini plus one of the Parnassos Ski Resort, along with a brief videoclip entitled “Winter’s Beauty in Greece,” posted online by YouTube member TheAmazing Greece. You can view more winter scenes from Greece on the Amazing Greece Facebook page.
This view of snow on Agios Pantes on Paros was posted on the ΠΑΡΟΣ like Facebook page. Neither the date nor the photographer are identified, but a tiny watermark on the picture appears to read “Christos Skandalis Photography.”
The famous Mykonos windmills are seen following a storm in 2004. This photo was posted on the Facebook page for Andriani’s Guest House.
This YouTube upload by Dimitris Koutsoukos displays a variety of photos that various Mykonos residents and others have captured over the years following snowfalls on the island.
This photo shows a light dusting of snow around the town of Fira on Santorini island. It and three more winter scenes from Santorini were published in a post on the cassettes blog on February 22 2008.
Snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts can enjoy winter at more than a dozen mountain resorts on mainland Greece. This photo of the Parnassos Ski Resort is from the Parnassos Ski & Snowboard group page on Facebook.
This videoclip of winter scenes in Greece was posted online by YouTube member TheAmazing Greece
Flipping over Firostefani & cartwheeling above the caldera: Art of Motion event returns to Santorini
The spectacular Santorini caldera scenery provides a breathtaking backdrop for amazing acrobatic maneuvers by freerunners Ryan Doyle and Bartje van der Linden. Extreme photographer Predrag Vuckovic captured the pair in midair action at Andronis Luxury Suites in Oia during a photo shoot to promote this Saturday’s Red Bull Art of Motion 2013 competition
Santorini somersaults: Whenever I book a trip to Greece, I practically bounce off walls with excitement. The thrill of returning to my favourite holiday destination is so strong, I almost have to restrain myself from jumping for joy, shouting from rooftops and turning cartwheels in the street.
Coincidentally, that’s exactly what 18 acrobatic athletes will actually be doing on Santorini this coming Saturday afternoon as they participate in the third annual Red Bull Art of Motion 2013 freerunning championship.
Cheered on by thousands of spectators, the young competitors will jump, flip, roll and hurl themselves over roofs, walls, streets and steps on the cliffside of Firostefani village while a panel of judges scores their tricks, stunts and style.
Freerunning is an artistic offshoot of the sport of parkour. Freerunners, also known as urban body artists, creatively express themselves by running, vaulting, tucking, twisting and rolling over objects in their path — which, in Firostefani, will include a series of whitewashed cliffside hotel buildings, steps, paths and walls.
The Art of Motion event was first held on Santorini in 2011, and a second championship took place last September.
This week, competitors were showing off their stunts and style at photoshoots, demonstration events and qualifying rounds held at various places on the island, including the Andronis Luxury Suites in Oia.
This Red Bull promotional poster illustrates the freerunning course that the Art of Motion competitors will negotiate in Firostefani on Saturday afternoon
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Thrillseekers take a wild tube ride at Mylopotas beach on Ios
Take the tube: Going for a swim in the sea is the time-honoured traditional way to cool off and seek some relief from the searing summer sun in Greece. Activities on the water can help beat the heat, too, with tube rides and sports like kitesurfing and wakeboarding offering a wet ‘n’ wild workout for people seeking a much more active and exciting adventure.
But if you’re too timid to skim across the sea under sail or motor power, you can still have a blast watching a novice try one of the sports for the first time, observing experienced participants honing their skills, or seeing a professional make even the most difficult maneuvers look almost effortless.
Windsurfing, canoeing, sea kayaking, sailing, and stand up paddle boarding (SUP) are among the mainstream watersports offered at beaches on some of the islands in the Cyclades (as well as in other island groups and many places along the coast of the Greek mainland).
For people seeking more speed and excitement, alternative activities include jet skiing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, water tubing and banana boat rides. In some locations, kite surfing is available for enthusiasts eager to experience the thrills and adrenalin rush of an extreme water sport.
Mountains on nearby Paros island provide a backdrop to this kitesurfer skimming the choppy surf off Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos
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An Olympic Q400F2 in flight. Image provided courtesy of Olympic Air.
Air hops: Two new Olympic Air routes give travellers an appealing and much faster alternative to ferry travel if they’re island hopping between Mykonos, Santorini and Crete this summer.
The routes, between Mykonos and Santorini, and between Santorini and the city of Heraklion on Crete, will operate three days per week only until September 15.
The inter-island flights each take 35 minutes or less and are offered on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. The new routes were introduced on June 30 to coincide with peak travel season in Greece. The flights are not offered at other times of the year.
The routes enable travellers to move between the islands in about half the time it would take on highspeed ferries, and in some cases offer considerably more convenient morning departure and arrival times.
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The scenic village of Oia on the northwest tip of Santorini island is one of the most popular places in Greece to watch a glorious sunset. But Oia offers some great views of Santorini itself, including Skaros Rock with its distinctive flat, square cap (center). Imerovigli, the highest village on Santorini, extends along the top of the cliffs on both sides of Skaros, while the island’s capital, Fira, is visible off to the right. Click on the photo to view a full-size image.
A screen capture from Freedom, a fabulous 5-minute film by Vasili Pasioudis
Simply breathtaking: It has been available for online viewing on Vimeo for the past two years, but today was the first time I saw Freedom, a superb film showing Santorini’s spectacular scenery, and I just have to pass along the link so others can see it, too.
Produced by Aegean Films, the five-minute film by Vasili Pasioudis tries “to show that despite all the modern day craziness in this world, there are still corners of this globe one can run to, to forget about ‘things’.”
Watching the film certainly made me forget about everything else for five minutes — and then made me wish we were going back to Santorini during our upcoming Greek holiday this month.
Below, I have posted three more screen captures of scenes from Vasili’s film, just to tease you with a few examples of the simply breathtaking, gorgeous scenes you’ll see in the film. (Don’t forget to turn up your speakers … the film’s soundtrack features music by Darren Hayes & Daniel Jones of Savage Garden.)
Early morning sunshine on the incredibly picturesque village of Oia
Skaros Rock and Imerovigli village
One of Santorini’s fabled sunsets, viewed from a clifftop café in Fira