Santorini is one of the most famous of the Greek islands. Its thought that if the lost city of Atlantis did in fact exist, it probably existed with the Santorini group of islands. Situated high on cliffs overlooking the sea, the buildings of Santorini are mostly whitewashed – some painted peach and light blue hues.
The trip to the top is perhaps 1,000 feet. You could walk it, hire a donkey, or buy a ticket for the lift.
Naturally, I got me a donkey. My ass still hurts (get it?!). We went up in a big group, maybe a dozen of us, with out big donkeys running us into the walls, or trying to scrape us off the top of them. I don’t blame them, but it didn’t make me trust them much. The donkeys would stop and chew on the plants on the way up, then start running for a few steps, then stop and smell the donkey in front of them…until their owner came up behind us on his own donkey with a whip to get them in line. Just hearing the voice of the Greek owner was enough to make those donkeys start clamoring up the hills like moths to a bonfire.
The city itself is sleepy and calm, beautiful and bright. The only industry is tourism, so most of the buildings were restaurants, hotels, shops, car rental places, scuba diving centers – all with incredible views of the sea, of course.
I think if I lived in Santorini I might get a little antsy. Once you get to the top you can clearly see the entirety of the island and of all the nearby islands. Being from the Midwest, I’ve always felt encouraged by the idea that there was always more land in every direction – it seems to suggest that there is as much opportunity as land. Considering, also, that Santorini sits right on the edge of a giant underwater volcano…and that tiny Santorini doesn’t seem to have much of an escape route – well, I guess I’m just saying that the place would make me a little claustrophobic.
But as a holiday retreat, no place compares. It’s beautiful, it’s sunny, it’s calming, it’s created for leisure.
David J. Hahn
David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.
hi. im only 17, but i am considering my job opportunities. i am from australia,i have my AMUS in jazz piano, and i am looking at jobs on cruise ships.i am incredibly interested in travel and really want to experience the world,but you see i dont exactly have enough money for what i want to do, so i thought playing piano( not like work to me) all day would be marvellous, and travelling at the same time would be even better, do you need to have any experience in any area to play on a cruise? like i know that knowledge in music is required, but is there anything that is required of you in order to get onto one of these cruises?
thankyou for your time- alex.