Santorini

I was moved by the authenticity of the older photos of Oía and Fira on Santorini decades ago. One photo in particular, showing a donkey climbing up a stair-like street, made a lasting impression on me. Despite my desire to visit, various reasons prevented me from doing so. Now I was there. The image I had in my head was nothing like what I was seeing now. The donkeys are the poorest creatures on the island, no doubt about it. They are poorly fed, force obese tourists from cruise ships up the mountain in the worst heat, and sleep on nasty, hard-hearted, rude men with whips. On the other hand, I have never seen a city that has been completely renovated in style and extended to the highest standard at every easily accessible point. Up to 15,000 tourists from cruise ships stream through the small towns every day, and they lose none of their charm. This is undoubtedly due to the extremely hospitable Greeks you meet everywhere here.