Our final island is the glamorous, volcanic beauty that is Santorini, famed for its spectacular sunsets and clifftop towns. We arrive in mid-afternoon, after a two hour crossing from Naxos, at the ridiculously busy ferry port, still undergoing reconstruction after being badly damaged in a storm, and fight our way through masses of tourists to find our driver, and be taken up the steep, steep road to the rim of the caldera where our hotel awaits.
The Lilium Villas has a spectacular setting, facing west across the volcanic crater, and is a fabulous base for the next three days. Despite needing to negotiate multiple flights of stairs whilst clutching a stick due to its location on the side of the cliff, it’s a beautiful spot to while away hours lounging on a day bed in the infinity pool gazing out to the horizon, or watching the orange glow of sunset from our private hot tub on the balcony outside our white and bright room.
Sunset from our balcony at Lilium Villas
The first night we have dinner at the hotel’s excellent restaurant, but the following day we embark on an altogether more daring adventure. Having spent the morning making the most of our luxurious surroundings, we are picked up after lunch and driven to Vlychada port where we embark on a spacious catamaran along with five other couples, for a cruise around the caldera.
There’s Canadians, Japanese, Australians, Americans and myself and Coman, a multi-national bunch, and we all start off relatively distant from each other whilst having the safety briefing and being run through the itinerary, but as we leave the port and head out into the Aegean Sea, the wind that has buffeted the Cyclades, picks up once more and soon our initial reserve is replaced by a mixture of unease and excitement, adrenalin and terror as the waves get bigger and bigger and the boat starts pitching and crashing through quite a battering.
On the catamaran
We’re all gathered together in the seating area and told not to move around the boat as we continue into the churning sea and faces turn a bit green and worried around the table, whilst the American and Canadian couples whoop and holler with abandon. However, it’s soon clear that Coman is getting anxious about the situation and everyone gathers round to help him through roiling sea-sickness and the very real fear that we’re all about to die.
Eventually the waves subside, the sea becomes calmer and the cruise proceeds as planned, but it takes Coman a while before he can really enjoy the ride… with the support of fellow passengers proving a communal experience that means we all start talking amongst ourselves. By late afternoon the weather is great, we’re all having fun and tucking into the wine and freshly-prepared food.
Captain Luff
We sail past the high cliffs, spotting the Lilium Villas up on the rim, and weaving between rocky islands to sulphurous hot springs behind the big island of Thirassia which faces our hotel. Near the Red Beach, as we return towards Vlychada, we weigh anchor and I jump into the warm sea to snorkel and swim with the fish, splashing around and enjoying the crystal clear waters.
Sunset on the catamaran
Finally we all sit out on the back of the boat, drinking and watching the sun set down upon the horizon, not quite bleeding red into the sea as we’ve seen elsewhere, but a pleasing moment nonetheless. As the evening air starts to cool we make shore and head back to our hotel where we drink cocktails on the terrace and watch a fireworks display across the water on Thirassia, mimicking the volcano eruption that caused the beautiful setting.
It transpires that today is the “island day” – the annual celebration for Santorini and we have ringside views of the spectacular pyrotechnics. But by God, they do go on a bit, and tomorrow I want us up and on the first shuttle bus to the nearby town of Fira to have a day of exploration, so we’re glad when they finally wrap up and we can go to bed. Those iconic Greek vistas seen on TV shows and travel brochures await…
