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
Cruise ships that visit Santorini drop anchor in the sea below the capital town of Fira and tender passengers to shore. From there, visitors reach Fira either by walking approximately 600 steps up the path (left) that zig-zags up the face of the 800-foot cliff …
… by paying several Euros for the 3-minute ride up the cable car lift …
… or by riding a donkey like this one, which we encountered in Firostefani village during one of our three visits to Santorini. The donkey rides, which cost around €5, are a transport option that local mule owners provided for years before the cable car was installed. But animal welfare groups and even some cruise lines strongly urge travellers not to take the donkey “taxis” because the animals toil in poor working conditions and have been subjected to abuse and mistreatment by their handlers.
Ass transit: Now that it’s spring, tens of thousands of people around the world are finalizing their plans for holidays in Greece this summer. Many will be travelling on cruise ships that will visit several Greek Islands, including what is probably the most popular port stop of all — Santorini. Hundreds of those people may be hoping to make their arrival at Santorini even more memorable and “romantic” by taking what they believe will be a “traditional” donkey ride up the long path that links the cruise ship dock with the town of Fira, the island’s capital, which is perched atop the caldera cliffs hundreds of feet above the sea. Here’s a simple word of advice if you’re thinking about doing the same thing: don’t.
Though the donkeys might look “cute,” and the rides might appear to be a harmless and fun tourist attraction, travellers who use the mules as transportation actually contribute to animal abuse, according to animal welfare organizations and frequent visitors to the island who have personally witnessed handlers mistreating their donkeys.
The abuse takes several forms. The roughly 360 donkeys and mules that work as tourist “taxis” on the island are forced to climb up and back down a pathway with around 600 steep steps, making as many as seven trips a day between 9 o’clock in the morning and sunset. Often, the animals are required to carry tourists who, putting it bluntly, are obese and may weigh considerably more than the donkeys themselves. And the mules must do this exhausting, gruelling work in blazing sunshine and searing summer heat, often with unsatisfactory food, water and rest periods, plus few if any breaks in the shade. To add insult to injury, they may be wearing ill-fitting harnesses that inflict cuts and sores on their bodies, while their owners or handlers may frequently strike them with sticks to make them move or hurry up. In short, they toil under cruel and deplorable working conditions.
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This pillar advertisement for Celebrity Cruises, near the intersection of Yonge & Bloor Streets in Toronto, features one of the most frequently photographed churches on Santorini
There are hundreds of blue domed churches in Greece, but this one in the village of Oia stands out from the rest thanks to its distinctive coral-coloured belltower
Picture perfect church: I think about Greece every day, but a cruise ship advertising campaign in downtown Toronto recently steered my thoughts to Santorini and the three times we’ve been to that particular island.
The “Celebrity’s Europe” poster ads for Celebrity Cruises featured one of the most photographed icons on Santorini — a blue-domed church with a coral-coloured belltower in the incredibly picturesque village of Oia, high above the wine-dark sea. The ads appeared on sidewalk pillars in different parts of downtown Toronto, and caught my attention whenever I went for a walk. The picture of the Oia church made me feel a tad wistful about our previous visits to Santorini, but also got me more excited to plan our next trip to Greece. (No, it won’t be a cruise — and we won’t be going back to Santorini.)
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Tourists walk the clifftop path between Fira and Firostefani. The scenic path continues to Imerovigli village (left rear) and from there all the way to Oia at the northwest tip of the island. Hikers enjoy sensational scenery almost every step of the way, and can find countless spots along the path to watch the fabled Santorini sunsets.
