Colours of Santorini

Famous for its manyhued cliffs rising out of a seadrowned crater caldera, capped by layers of whitewashed buildings and engulfed by the endless blue skies, dazzling panoramas, and the blissful sunsets and sunrises… Sigh! It’s hard to explain and that’s what makes Santorini worth the reminiscence.

No wonder why Santorini finds its obvious superlative place in your bucket list. I am a wedding photographer, and I travel to a lot of scenic places across the globe. It was in 2013, that I shot a big-fat-Greek-wedding in Santorini. This year, I got to visit this place again for another shoot. It was off-season, which meant fierce rains and winds blowing at 25 km/hour speed. It was altogether a different kind of experience. 

The small town of Fira on the west, and Oia, on the North of the island, are the two key places to hit. Fira (Santorini’s capital) is a busy destination with day trippers flocking in from cruise ships, whereas Oia is that peaceful right-out-the-post-card village that you don’t want to miss. The pristine white houses you get to see on all the searches online are from here. It’s a wonderful scenic route to take a stroll. Every landscape curve has a story to tell. The crater is dotted with the symbolic blue-domed churches. Above them is a captivating terrace of sugar-cube settlements, like a ribbon along the rim. The classic restaurants across the ridge are ideal spots to enjoy the sunset. 

Food is a binding factor for the people of Santorini, as they come together, sit and celebrate companionship. The native drink ‘Ouzo’ is the pick of the spirits and hits you smooth. Fortunately, Santorini is a less complicated place for any novice traveller to explore independently. You can walk, hike, visit the red beaches, enjoy a cruise ride, attend to a poetry reading session, sip wine and shout out loud. This island is full of surprises that will reveal themselves to you one at a time. There were a lot of frozen memories, the best being the sight of endless snow covering everything except, thankfully, the plane that I was supposed to board. At any given time, the colours of Santorini are bound to take you over. On or off-season, the shades of Santorini are bound to take you over. Go for it!