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TRAVEL
Santorini -- The Lost Atlantis
©copyright 2002 Nucha Aquino
Santorini is believed to be the lost "Atlantis" because of the fact that half of the island was
sunk after the eruption of a volcano in 1,500 B.C.
The island was inhabited at around 3,200 B.C. by the Cretes. It was the explosion of the
volcano which was in the center of the island and the greater part sunk. The tidal wave caused by
the explosion, estimated at around 100m high, destroyed the palace of Knossos and did a lot of
damage at the north coast of Crete too.
What was left today (apart from the clusters of buildings
dating from various different eras, there are the agoras,
public baths, theatres, a number of sanctuaries, the House of
Ptolemy Euergetes, tombs from the Archaic and Classical
periods, Early Christian relies, etc.) is still a treasure.
It makes us dream of what it was like during the best time.
But that's not actually makes Santorini one of the most
popular tourist spots of Greece. You will be stunned by
the colorful houses and buildings, unusual landscapes,
beautiful beaches, clear dark blue sea, dark fine volcanic
sand, the people's friendliness, the food, the usually
clear sky, and the warm climate.
The houses, churches, monasteries, hotels and restaurants lie down the
cliffs one on top of another using the neighbor's roof as their terrace. All are
painted in white and blue. Some are brave enough to use peach or shiny
yellow. The youth hostel (YHA) is a lovely small building, painted in orange.
You can walk past through places via narrow paved alleys. Or you can also ride on a donkey-taxi.
The most memorable moment of mine was when I was sitting
on a hotel terrace with a few friends, looking at the bright blue
sea, having our calamari, fish and the local yogurt/rice soup
(Do you know Greeks make the best yogurt?).
They are nice people... We told the server that we wanted to have the
same delicious-looking things as the next table. He said those are the hotel
owner and his guests. They brought their own food. But he sent somebody
out to buy it for us anyway. Afterwards, I found out that whatever we wanted to
eat, just explain it to the restaurants,
they'll make it for you and we had never been over-charged once.
Have to add that everything I ate in Greece was tasty!
To see pictures, try http://santorini.com/gallery/
. And at http://santorini.net
, there is a live camera show taken from the cliff. It's updated every 3 minutes.
How to get there...
Ferry from Piraeus (Athens) takes 10-12 hours. There're alsoOlympic Airways flights from Athens. Upon arrival, you'll
be approached by local hotel owners. Bargain for the best
price. They are nice people. They won't get mad or try to
hurt you if you bargain too much (I made it 50%, and felt
sorry I should have asked for more).
When I went there, it was October. Already low season.
We got everything in a thirds of the regular price. Of course
it's too cold to swim or surf, but it's still beautiful and worth
the visit. We stayed in the centre of Thira, seconds away
from the bus station. From there, we took buses here and there
for days until all the bus drivers and conductors remembered
us and went out of the routes to send us where we wanted to go.
Everybody speaks English, French or German. Guys are good
looking and friendly. Women are more shy and pretty.
From May to middle September, it's the peak season, The
best time to visit. Everybody is heading to the island. You'll
have to plan ahead if you want to spend a summer there.
January 29, 2002
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Nucha Aquino is a Work-At-Home-Mom who loves to travel.
She currently teaches Business and Management in a Graduate
School in Laguna, Philippines. On-line, She helps people
grow their small businesses with simple web sites that sell
at http://eLaguna.net
. She also publishes two info ezines:
Small-World Ezine at http://small-world.eLaguna.net
and Global eBiz Tips at http://Global-eBiz-Tips.com
.
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Disclaimer: The Purpose of this article is purely ENTERTAINMENT.
Please re-check all the information before using it as a "reference"
anywhere serious. I write articles in "good-faith" and will not be
responsible for the accuracy, which I believe they are true by
the time I wrote them.
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A
history of the geography of Mumbai / Bombay