The lovely little island of Santorini was thrust in to the limelight when the wedding scene from the popular movie "Mama Mia" was filmed there.Now, the island sports many bridal shops and individuals who will help you plan your dream wedding on a hot and dry volcanic island atop a lava mountain overlooking the beautiful Aegean. There are over 600 churches to choose from and some are no bigger than an old-fashioned phone booth.
Two picturesque little towns (not as little as they used to be), make up the island - one on either side of the mountain with about 20 kilometers separating them.
The views of the two towns, high above are as spectacular as the views from the island peaks looking down to the sea. There is just one problem with this ideal image. You must add 3 cruise ships anchored just off shore with their tenders running passengers to the little gem of an island! And our ship alone had 3,000 on board. Now, you must understand that there are only four ways to reach the village top. 1- There are some three hundred cracked, broken, uneven and slippery dung filled steps,2- colorfully decorated donkeys which climb the steps and they have a tendency to sometimes rid their backs of passengers, 3- a cable car that will only take passengers down and 4- huge buses with drivers who have nerves of steel to navigate the one narrow road which twists and turns it's way to the top! I'm sure you can guess which path we chose...
With all the buses scaling the road, traffic was impossible. It took 2 1/2 hours to go 20 kilometers! We only had 30 minutes in the little town. But, the views from every angle were truly spectacular. In that short space of time we saw 4 wedding couples parading around town. One of them had climbed on top of the roof of the church where they were married and the photographer was snapping shots of them on top of the world (slowly melting and wilting)... And, it was so hot; 100 plus degrees, that it felt good to climb back on to the air-conditioned bus.
It rarely rains on Santorini so they don't grow much of their food. They do however have grape vines everywhere for the production of their 3 special wines. Apparently, lava is very porous and holds humidity well. So, with the tiny bit of rain that they do receive, it is enough for the grape plants to survive. The plants are tiny, hug the ground and resemble more of a ground cover than a vineyard grape bush that we are used to seeing.
Just about every house has a water collector on its roof and a solar panel to heat what is collected. The lack of water is creating major problems for the island and threatens its future.
