The Mermaid Revolution

Upon landing on the island of Santorini and seeing the beauty that abounds, Luna’s first observation was that of the albedo effect. “It’s so bright here that the white is burning my retinas,” she said. She was spot on. Santorini is blindingly bright, hot and gorgeous.

We spent most of our time in Oia (pronounced eee-ya), a town perched on the far end of the crescent moon shaped island. Santorini is part of a huge caldera which used to be the top rim of a volcano, but when it erupted the inner portion sank and filled with water, creating many islands. Santorini juts straight out of the water, with most of the inhabitable areas being at about 800 to 1000 feet above sea level.

The people here have always carved their homes into the rock of the island, creating cave homes. To this day, the people still live like this as the homes are naturally insulated in both hot and cool temperatures. The homes are curved and smooth, white and stunning. Staying in a cave home felt a bit otherworldly. We really had to watch to not hit our heads (and we’re not tall people). Luna loved that she could touch the ceiling with her feet when she laid on the bed.

The sun feels much hotter here than it reads on a thermometer, so much so that the grapevines which cover the island aren’t on wired trellises but grown close to the ground so they aren’t scorched by the sun. The main crops grown on the island are cherry tomatoes, grapes and fava beans (also known as yellow split peas- yay).

Our 4 nights on Santorini came with a lot of rest time since all of us were feeling pretty tired after so much going, going, going. Between moments resting there was plenty of time for getting lost in the winding, little walkways throughout town (no cars in downtown Oia). We hiked across half of the island from Fira to Oia at 6AM one morning, watched sunrise and felt like we had the island to ourselves. The 6 mile hike was glorious and we were all so grateful for some time in nature. While we walked, we came across little churches, wildflowers spanning the rainbow, cliffs dropping into the sea below and a pack of wild dogs who we referred to as our “dogtourage” when they walked with us for a mile or two.

Petra Kouzina puts on a a beautiful cooking class where we learned how to make proper Greek dishes, so if anyone would like to come over for a Greek dinner when we’re home, just let us know. We’ve included the simple but insanely tasty recipe for a Greek Salad so you can master it as well and share in the delights of Greek cuisine. The photo below has the recipe.

Oia felt like a hug. The caldera has very calming, nurturing energy which we were all in need of. After so much time seeing and exploring, we rested. Dusk and dawn have gorgeous watercolor effects in the sky and it all felt so gentle. We wrote, read, journaled, did yoga, took walks together and alone.

At the bottom of a 300 step climb down to the water (some folks use donkeys to make the climb back up), there are these amazing little seafood shack restaurants nestled into the sides of the cliffs right at the water’s edge. My favorite meal was a place called Armeni’s Fish House- to get there we hiked down the jagged switchbacks on the side of the island to a little boat which then sped us five minutes to a rugged landing with only one restaurant run by some of the happiest people I’ve come across in awhile. Not only was the food amazing, but this group of Greek men working there were a wacky, warm group- having so much fun with their lives, and clearly took such pleasure in serving people fish and sharing their love of the sea. They even recruited Luna to be in “The Mermaid Revolution” although we’re not sure what that entails.

(A quick note from Josh – I have a theory.  More of a prediction really.  Honestly, I’ve seen the future.  The Merpeople are waiting.  Biding their time below the waves.  They’re scheming.  Making their plans.  Letting the uprising pass through their gills like nasty water in the wake of a cruise ship…  But one day.  One day not that far in the future, they’ll rise up, trade their voices for feet and we’re all in big, BIG trouble…  You laugh, but you wait. We’re all gonna be slaves to talking fish and singing crabs and Mermen and Merwomen (do they cease to be be maids when the get married?).  We met Greek fishermen who have already betrayed humankind and they know they’re safe.  They laugh and laugh about the Mermaid Revolution because they know they’re already on the winning side…  You’ve been warned. Now will somebody pass me that bottle of Ouzo…)

and back to sanity and Carly…. I was really challenged by my time in Santorini and here’s why: Santorini is a beautiful island which has a population of 15,000 full time residents, yet during the next four months- Santorini will welcome 5 MILLION daytime tourists. We were there right before high season hit, and I’ve never been in a place more overrun with throngs of tourists in such tight spaces. We were told that the island often welcomes as many as 6-7 cruise ships per day, and after experiencing jam packed cobblestone walkways with trash overflowing into the streets, we usually hung out in less crowded areas during the days and came out in the evenings. Being there was reminiscent of being in Bali, when we got there about 10 years after Eat, Pray, Love right along with the rest of the world. I don’t know how we can manage the real negative effects of travel on the world. The world is changing so quickly, we’re all more connected than we ever have been and that leads to wanting shared experiences- like all going to the same places.  Increasing numbers of people are traveling the world and I’m eager to discover more responsible ways to travel, what those look like and how to implement them. I know there is a lot of money being made in Santorini due to all the tourism dollars, but I’m not sure much of that is making any of the 15,000 residents’ daily lives any better. I do know that the locals on the island don’t want to lose the charm, the beauty, the natural ruggedness of the land. It’s strangely ironic to both be a part of the problem, as we were tourists, and wonder what could be done to protect and preserve not only the beauty of nature in Oia but also the ways of life for the people there. A lot to think about, for sure.

If you decide to make the Greek salad we learned how to make- remember the most important thing, DON’T mix it, DON’T mix it. The salad is really amazing. Sending love your way and hoping your corner of the world is peaceful and relaxing.