Santorini, Greece - The Impossibly Beautiful Caldera Island

The numerous pretty churches of Santorini Greece.

Santorini is a beautiful Greek island. Its a short half hour flight from Athens. Santorini was formed by a massive volcano that erupted and changed the shape of the island forever.  It destroyed the round hill shape and left the crescent shaped caldera that we have today. The Caldera shape can clearly be seen today and there are islands surrounding Santorini and some are inhabited.

You can see the Caldera that formed after the Volcano.

The island is rough and rocky with volcanic soil, therefore it is good for growing and it's a very unique island that is curved so views are outstanding.  

We arrived into Santorini and picked up our rental car. The owner of Caliopa's Villa which I booked on Booking.com insisted that he meet us at the airport and that we follow him because it is extremely difficult to find the villa in Pyrgos, the town we would be staying in. We followed him the short 10-minute drive and parked. Apparently in high season parking is extremely difficult to find. It was easy for us in low season and free. He picked up my 50 lb bag and Sandra's bag and started hiking up the stairs through a winding path through this maze of buildings to our unit. We would have never found it on our own. 

In Pyrgos not everything is white-washed but close.

Pretty entry way.

Typical colors.

Dax on the way up through the many lane ways to get to our rental unit.

The owner showed us around the top unit where Sandra and Garth were staying.  Dax, Darren and I were in the bottom unit in a two-bedroom traditional cave dwelling. It was a very unique home for four nights and we quite liked it. 

In Garth and Sandra's unit.

Great views from the kitchen of Huber's unit.

One of our windows.

Cool stairway down to our unit.

Our hot tub.

One section of our kitchen.

Our bedroom.

Dax' bedroom

Our living room.

 

Above it afforded amazing views of Pyrgos, the numerous churches and the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea. 

We had views of these two churches.

Pyrgos had some dilapidated
buildings that needed to be fixed up.

A typical lane way

Darren walking down to the car.

Coming up to our unit.

On the other side of our
unit.  You can see them waving
to me from our unit.

Tunnel walk under the church.

We walked around the area for quite a while to orientate ourselves and to take pictures. There are so many photo opportunities in Santorini. It's incredible! The winding stairs and narrow walkways are so unique and adorable.  The numerous cats that come out to greet you only add to the charm. 

The many kitty cats of  Pyrgos.

We walked down to Mythos Restaurant, which everyone enjoyed and it came with a view. I had a traditional Greek salad and they gave us a plate of four cheese dip with crusty bread with olive oil poured on it and it was delicious.

We found our way back on the first try and took in the beautiful stunning sunset and explored some more in the town of Pyrgos.  Dax and I found numerous Cats to be loved.

The start of a Santorini Sunset.

The church on the other side of us.

We came back to our rental and jumped in the hot tub and then had a good sleep.

The next day we left for Oia, which is a popular place to visit on the island of Santorini.  It is a gorgeous, whitewashed town on a cliff at the opposite end of where we were staying in Pyrgos.  It's really unimaginable until you get there to see how many photo opportunities there are. 

The delightful chaos of mismatched white-washed houses.

And another church of Oia.

Another church of Oia.

And another church of Oia.

A colorful store in Oia.

Looking out to the Sea over Oia.

A colorful house in Oia.

A nice house in Oia.

A small view of the layout of a section of Oia.

Steep descent down to the Villas.

Men who work with the Mules that do the heavy hauling up and down and down and up the steep inclines of Oia.

I talked with a young Greek man that was carrying sacks of rocks on his back up a hill from a construction site.  He said that they were working on a building that needed to be made pretty for all the Instagram people. He was assuming that we were those Instagram people which we are not. I don't even have an Insta account. He also assumed we were Americans and we told him quite bluntly that NO, we were Canadians. We had a nice conversation with him.  There were Mules also carrying sacks of rocks on their backs. These were big animals that were very muscular from going up and down the stairs of a construction site. Sacks of cement were carried down and backup were sacks of rocks and debris. Personally, I felt sorry for these poor Mules but they looked well cared for.  Definitely the term 'beast of burden' came to mind. 

Mules are adorable.  This one had a muzzle, he was most likely a biter.

The Mules

A steep view of Oia.

Dax watching the well trained Mules working in Oia.  They know where to turn and when to stop etc.

One coming up the rear.

Apparently in the the summer high season you can wait up to (if you have that kind of patience) 2 and 1/2 hours for different perfect spots to take Instagram photos with the iconic blue domed churches. We were fortunate coming in low season and the most we had to wait was seconds. 

More churches of Oia.

A view off a landing in Oia.

A cluster of homes and rentals in Oia.

Bougainvillea vines doted throughout the homes of Oia.

A more colorful church in Oia in the background.

This is the Instagram famous shot.

A cute step down and step in to a cave store.

Little storefront with a cat.  You step down in to a cave like building but it was closed.

Bougainvillea and the cats in the shade.

The colors of Oia.

We had a lovely time in Oia walking around finding new photo opportunities, enjoying the view, doing a little bit of shopping and exploring Oia.  Honestly the views did not get old even after 4 hours. 

It was 24 degrees that day.  It gets up into the 40s in the summertime, and the white color of the houses would help but honestly 24 was actually a bit hot.

The fortress in the background.

Some of the steps down are unreal.

Windmill in the background and another church.

Cat in a cool photo of the Sea.

The colors of the Med were pretty.

Such beauty in Oia.

Cutely shaped houses.

A Panoramic photo of Oia on the cliff.

Someones terrace.

Everyone has a Sea view because the slope of the cliff is so steep.

Cute house and church.

A cat laying in front of a piece of art for sale blends seamlessly into the photo.

We were starting to get hungry and Oia is a very expensive place to eat, we thought that we would drive back to Pyrgos and eat there. There were lots of places to stop and take photos of the island and we settled on the restaurant called Kavatza, which specialized in Smash burgers which none of us really were interested in because we were in Greece.  The proud owner of the restaurant came out to greet us and told us how things were made. She began with the smash burgers which were made from fresh Black Angus Beef and 4 of the 5 of us changed our minds.  I'd never tasted Black Angus Beef before.  Its funny that Beef is super affordable in Greece but not Canada?  The burger was delicious!  We also had amazing ice cream there as well. They had Baklava ice cream so I had to have that. 

We rolled back up to our unit and changed because the temperature does drop at night time in November in Greece.  Dax and I went exploring for two things, photos and cats. Sunset was stunning again that night and this was a night that we found some kittens which were very interested in us but too skittish to let us close to them. We still had fun as Dax was entertaining them. They wanted to play but they were still too scared to let us touch them. 

A dramatic cliff in between Oia and Fira.

Driving back to our town of Pyrgos, seen at the top.

Our town of Pyrgos which is the highest town on Santorini.

At Kavatzka Restaurant.

The sunset glowing through at the top.

I loved the contrast of the old wooden door and the freshly painted white and blue.

Sunsets were killer in Santorini.

Garth and Darren outside of 
our rental units.

Garth and Sandra taking pictures
of the sunset.

We had great Sea views.

Pyrgos at night.

Walking down a lane way.

One of my more favorite doors
in Pyrgos.

A Bougainvillea vine can make 
anything look pretty.

A doorway of Pyrgos.

A church of Pyrgos.  The stacked bells
is a common architectural highlight of many
of the churches of Santorini.

Pretty area in Pyrgos.

This is the wall on the other side of
our hilltop town of Pyrgos where
we found the orange kittens.

Kitten 1

Kitten 2

Dax mesmerizing Kitten 1 & 2

These kittens would not let us touch them.

That night was a spectacular sunset.

Cats were out for some loving from us.

More cats of Pyrgos.

We went home and got in the hot tub for the second night and had a great sleep. 

Dax wanted to get up early for his last day in Santorini. He had to fly home and go back to University.  He wanted to walk around his last full day and take some more photos and he discovered some different kittens and texted me.  We both ran back up and played with them for a bit and they were so cute .

These much younger grey kittens
were so lovable and had obviously 
been loved up by other humans.

I can handle Kitten dander but
not adult Cat dander.

We drove to Akrotiri Archaeological site, it was €20 per person and we found out that it was free on Sundays so we passed on that.  

View across Santorini.

The terraces were made for growing crops or orchards.

At Akrotiri, this Cat made
himself at home on Dax's lap.

You can see the demarcation
line of the last Volcanic
eruption with the 
settling of the layer of grey volcanic ash.

Dax and his new friend the Cat.

We continued to the town and stopped and I purchased a Freddo Iced Cappuccino, which is a very strong Cappuccino and I really enjoyed it.  We walked up to the ruin of a castle which afforded great views of the area and we had fun exploring the little town of Akrotiri as well.  

Church in Akrotiri

The town center of Akrotiri was pretty.

On the highest hill of Akrotiri and the Greek flag.

Curvy road up to Fira.

Going up the stairs of the
Akrotiri Castle.

With my new friend, my cup of Freddo.

A very small castle door.

Sandra and Garth coming down the Castle stairs.

A door stoop in Akrotiri.

Church in Akrotiri

Dax and Sandra coming out of the Castle.

Cover girl shot of Sandra on the Castle steps.

Garth down the lane.

Red Beach was on our list and we drove another kilometer and parked and walked to a beautiful viewpoint of the beach.  Dax and I decided to explore further and we walked down a semi treacherous walk down to the beach and walked the whole length of the beach and back again.  It was a good hike and we were both sweating after.

There was a church where we parked our car which contrasted with the deep red of the rock above the church.

Looking at Red Beach from a high cliff.

Me getting my photo taken by Garth

A hand full of red and black pebbles from the beach.

There were 11,700-28,000 seismic swarm earthquakes recorded in 12 days early in 2025 on Santorini with the strongest one recorded being 5.3.  You can see some movement in this cliff with some landslide activity and all of the stacked beach chairs being covered over with debris.

Red Beach

Along the beach at the far end.

The sand of Red Beach.

Dax looking up at this huge red cliff face.

Former landslide of red earth.

Sandra, Garth and Darren at
the top
of that cliff.

Dax and I on our way down to
the beach.

The colors of the beach were quite spectacular.

Sandra and Garth had never seen a black sand beach before so we made our way to Perivolos Beach.  This was a pretty beach but even in 21° weather the sand was hot to stand on. The sand was about 5 to 7° hotter than standing on the road.  If you've never been on a black sand beach in the summer at about 35° heat, you can not step on the black sand with bare feet or you will blister your feet. 

The Black Sand Beach.

Sandra and Garth on the rocks 
on their first black sand Beach.

We continued on to the Prophet of Elias Monastery which involved a steep climb up a ridiculously narrow hairpin road. Although the views were stunning, I somehow always managed to pick the side of the car where if you look straight down it is death. Again, this is not my favorite type of car ride and I am nervous the whole time until I get out of the car. I chose more wisely on the ride down. 

The monastery happened to be closed.  We took a chance and did not luck out and Google gave conflicting information.  The tiny little chapel off the road was open and we could go in there. We still got quite a few cool photos and it was completely worthwhile.

Taken from the Monastery up high on the hill.

One of the cool Monastery doors.

Sandra with an abyss of blue sea behind her.

The incredible views.

Another Monastery door.

The stacked bells typical of Santorini.

Endless Sea views.

On Monastery grounds.

Sea views for days.

The Mediterranean blue Sea.

Inside the tiny chapel of the
Monastery.

Looking out the chapel door.

This Jade Plant was gorgeous
and healthy.

Four of the five of us wanted to return to Mythos Restaurant, we had supper there and made it back for another beautiful sunset.  Garth and Sandra and I enjoyed a glass of red wine on the terrace as Dax explored the area further. 

Enjoying the sunset on the terrace.

Grape Vines grow in circle-like wreaths on Santorini to protect them from harsh winds and strong sun.  The leaves protect the grapes and the low-lying vines absorb moisture from the soil.  This was unbelievable to me but its a fact.  They grow like this all over the island.

Another Grape Vine wreath.

Our town of Pyrgos was the perfect place to stay on the island.

A view out the window from our unit.

The late afternoon glow on the Sea.

Another killer sunset.

A freshly painted home.

Views of Pyrgos and the setting sun.

I loved this time of night.  It made the houses of Pyrgos look so pretty.

A cat of Pyrgos looks on.

Not everything is fixed up in Pyrgos, but it still has its charm.

The sunsets are extremely beautiful.

Very common looking tunnel 
alleyway.

I found another church in Pyrgos.

A cat in a chimney.

A collapsed building at the top of the hill.  I was a little nervous walking by.

Cool stairwell down.

Beauty in the sunsets.

After the sunset, I decided to go and explore on my own and I found another church that I didn't even know was hiding at the top of the hill behind us and I found some other photo opportunities and actually enjoyed myself . 

Who wouldn't enjoy this?

Dax texted me that he found the kittens again, so I met him there and we hung out with them for about half an hour.

Dax with the
friendly Kittens.

Little Dude looks satanic
 in this pic but he
was super sweet.

We returned and decided to go in the hot tub for his last night and had a nice, relaxing time, with the three of us.

We were up early to get Dax to the airport for his Santorini to Athens flight on Sky Express and then a layover which turned out to be much longer due to Montreal Airport having some issues. I walked around and explored some more that morning.

Pretty as a picture.

Selfie with my Kitten friends.

Like I said before, a Bougainvillea Vine can turn anything into a picture.

An interesting flower that I have never
seen before.  Google Lens identified
it as an Aeonium Undulatum.  They 
were a type of succulent.

Looking through an upper tunnel
 window.

A doorway coming down from on top
of the hill in Pyrgos.

The four of us drove to Akrotiri and walked in free to the ancient pre-historic village that use to exist before the volcano eruption that covered the village with several feet of ash.  I am glad that it was free because honestly it was not that interesting and we walked through this covered indoor site quite quickly.  It is still a work in progress and they are actively working on it.

This is the scale of the town Afrotiri that was
covered by volcanic ash.

The ruins of the uncovered town.

Many of the artifacts found at 
this site are now in museums.

More ruins to see.

We then drove to Fira and then do the hike from Fira to Imerovigli.  The views were positively stunning, we just could not get enough of them.

The views during our walk from Fira to Imerovigli were unreal.

Two small Cruise Ships were in when we
were in Fira.

Fira is just like Oia which is perched on a 
cliff overlooking the Sea.

A church in Fira.

A few buildings perched at the bottom of the cliff in Fira
and 546 steps down to the sea.

A door leading to nowhere.  A 
cat jumped up and crawled through the
window without glass.

The cat that jumped through the window.

  The hike was uphill to Imerovigli and there were very few people hiking and that was great so we had the Sea view trail to ourselves. 

Churches of Fira

A tunnel on the walkway to Imerovigli

More churches of Fira.

In Fira but Imerovigli is in the distance which we walked to.

Imerovigli was on extremely steep cliffs.

Skaros Rock adjacent to Imerovigli

A church of Fira

On the walk from Fira to Imerovigli.

Looking at Fira.

Imerovigli

Churches of Imerovigli.

 When we entered Imerovigli we wondered around for a bit to find a restaurant.  We found a traditional Greek one and I ordered a Greek Salad and a glass of Greek White.

The photos were endless and everywhere you turned it was picture perfect on both routes.

The walk back was so much easier and so much faster.  15,000 steps is a lot especially when half of them were uphill.  We made it back to our car and drove home through the very narrow streets and made our way back to our unit with just enough time to catch the sunset.  We had an early flight from Santorini to Athens with a stopover in Athens and Rome then on to Catania, Sicily, Italy.  We packed it in early.  I did not even have enough energy to go and visit the kittens and say goodbye.

I had waited until September to book my Athens to Santorini flights due to all of the earthquakes earlier in the year.  I am so glad that we were blessed to visit such a gorgeous island.  If you are ever in Greece you should visit the beautiful island of Santorini.