Santorini - 2022

 

Santorini has changed a lot since I first visited it fifty-four years ago.  It is now one of the most glamorous and visited islands on planet earth.

The views of the Caldera from the patios of elegant hotels is stunning.

The 3-hour trek between Fira and Oia presents a most beautiful scenery.

Santorini has become the place where young persons from far away places such as the United States or China elect to give vows of everlasting love and devotion. 

On this visit I stayed in the lovely hotel Phaos, which patio overlooks the the islands of Anafi and Astypalea in the Aegean Sea.

As in my first visit in 1968, I visited once more Akrotiri the Bronze Age settlement, one of the most important Minoan urban centres in the Aegean Sea, when it was covered by ash following the volcanic eruption in the 17 century BC.  The ancient Minoan town at Santorini's south coast, is called the "Pompeii of Greece" and some archeologists theorise that it is the fictional island of Atlantis that was created by demi-gods who established a utopian society as described by Greek philosopher Plato. 

I am finishing the trilogy on Santorini with the lighthouse in its southern tip, likely the oldest in Greece, as it was built in 1892.  It was the purpose of my first visit to service it and my role as a young Navy physician to check the health status of its crew.  The view was beautiful then, like it is now, thus a large number of visitors keep coming in the evenings to look at the sun setting.  Each of my trips to Santorini left me with beautiful and indelible memories which I will cherish the rest of my life. 

Raftopoula – A seagull colony

On the east shore of Attica, in the bay of Porto Rafti, there are five uninhabited islets.  One of the five is Raftopoula. 

Approaching Raftopoula from the west.

Seagulls in this region of the world have chosen Raftopoula as their nesting ground.  Gulls nest in large, densely packed noisy colonies returning to the same site after breeding there once.  Careful inspection of the picture depicts 12 gulls.

Seagulls lay two or three speckled eggs.  Both male and female gulls incubate the eggs for a little longer than 3 weeks.  

Young chicks are brooded by their parents for about two weeks, and at least one parent remains with them, until they are ready to fly, to guard them. Both parents feed the chicks, although early on in the rearing period the male does most of the feeding and the female most of the brooding and guarding.

The young gulls have dark mottled feathers. 

Gulls are monogamous displaying fidelity that lasts for the life of the pair. 

Seagulls sweeping over the wine dark sea pass over our trim red and yellow monohull.  In the background the island of Eboea and adjoining islets are visible. 

On the way back a mask of clouds drifted over the sun. Alecos, who was the captain and photographer of our expedition, and I, once again worked our oars while the evening chorus of the seagulls drowned the oars’ splashing swishing….