Next Island of Fame

South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Wed 4 Oct 2023 19:59
With decreased galewinds but still some heavy seaway we launched the paravanes and headed to sea,southbound for Santorini (160Nm).
In downwinds, with a reefed mainasail , and launched paravanes the ride was reasonably comfortable and once passing between Naxos and Paros swell decreased.
Reeding pilotbooks from the Aegean you find Santorini a bad place without protected anchorages but reeding posts on Navily many cruisers recommended Akrotiri beach on the southcoast as a safe anchorage also in strong Meltemi allthough some swell reach the anchorage frequently.
We dropped anchor in Akrotiri beach at sunrise and kept the paravanes launched also at anchor. As this we stayed for 6 days without any issues.
There´s a fleet of charter katamaranes passing by frequently on their way to Red Beach and there are some tavernas on the beach. We landed our dinghy at the Blue Dolphin and they were very welcoming.
There´s a bus frequently going to Thira (the capital) and since Greece is way from digitalised Sweden you can easily by tickets onboard the bus and get advise from the conductor working on the bus (no fuzz with downloading apps for a busride)
I was prejudiced about Santorini thinking it´s just another industrycomplex for tourists,and yes, part of it is-but it´s also beautiful. Walking in Thira at sunset or sitting with a beer in Oia (the other city on the northwest peninsula) watching the sun drop in the sea is spectacular.
Santorini,on the contrary to Mykonos, is also more genuine in parts with normal greek people living from wineproduction or from the sea.Subsequently prices are less than Mykonos allthough Santorini is still expensive.
When cruiseships arrive it gets crowded also in October but as far as we understand from professionals,Santorini from June to August is a big NO ! (one restaurant owner with 20 years in Oia told us "Santorini between June and August is disgusting ")

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