Paradise is just a copy of Santorini

Mesmerizing color patches

Santorini, the island of Greek myths, always fascinates visitors with its charming blue color and peaceful beauty. Setting foot on the island, I had the opportunity to admire the buildings with the same architectural style with typical domes and symmetrical windows. The purity of pure white combined with the cool cobalt blue creates a harmonious and unique whole for the island.

In that commonality, each house still has its own charm with windows bearing a slight variation of red, purple, orange, and yellow tones gently dotted on the door frames, porches, and especially the romantic balconies facing the sea.

Coming to Santorini, I did not need to make any schedule, I simply walked around to explore the beauty of every corner and every street here. Looking down from the mountain, people will be impressed by the winding roads. Following that road down to the port below, visitors will see a group of people swaying on the backs of donkeys - tied together to go up the mountain. It is thanks to this romantic scene that this place became the main setting of the famous musical film Mamma Mia.

Take a leisurely stroll along the chessboard-like pedestrian street lined with luxury shops, or stop by a small beach bar to enjoy a cold Mythos beer, nibble on olives and enjoy wonderful moments that are hard to find in the bustling city.

"Traveling" on the windy peak

It was not until my last day in Santorini that I planned to visit Pyrgos village. While the villages of Oia, Fira, Imerovigli and Firostefani are quite similar in terms of topography and style, with blue-roofed houses along the steep cliffs overlooking the lagoon, the village streets sometimes level with terraces and just one step from the main road is standing on the roof of people's houses, Pyrgos is completely different. It is located at the top of the mountain like ancient Thera.

This time, I rode a peeling yellow Liberty, struggling to climb up the mountainside against the wind. Looking up from the back of the pass, Pyrgos village looked like a medieval movie set with a ruined castle towering under the swirling clouds. At the beginning of the village there was an open space for tourists to park their cars, from there there was no other way but to climb because the village was steep with houses clinging to the top of the mountain. Pyrgos was truly a unique village and I felt like I was in a horror movie. It should be added that from the time I was in Athens until I arrived on the island, all the villages (except Fira and Oia) were deserted, even on sunny days.

It seemed that all the villagers stayed indoors from morning to night, closing their doors and not communicating. So it was difficult for me to get lost and ask for directions. Pyrgos was even worse, like a deserted village with ancient, crooked roofs lining the winding village road leading to the top of the mountain. The dark, winding arched corridors at the entrance to the village added to the “medieval set” feeling.

There were several souvenir stalls, but none were manned. The owners hung strangely shaped metal chains from the walls, while the floor was sunken into a cave. They also displayed strange handmade items on a mixed-wood table right in front of the door. The display of the goods reinforced the image of a witch’s house.

There are no thieves here, so the shopkeepers take their afternoon naps indoors. Customers who want to buy something will have to call out for a long time. But it seems like the shopkeepers have been setting up their stalls since morning, and all day long… no one has bought anything.

Just displaying it for sale without needing buyers, this strangeness further proves the legendary, fairytale, romantic and ghostly nature of the village. After wandering through the narrow winding alleys, the silent white walls and closed windows, I heard a symphony coming from a house in the village, the eerie melody mixed with the sound of the wind. Oh, Pyrgos! How can people live happily in this primitive village? And what to live for? Every time I have to go to town, I have to take the winding hill road?

Eventually, we met a villager, a young girl selling souvenirs with items that not many people buy. Seeing us standing there, she asked: "You must be looking for the way to the castle? Not that way, go this way, turn right, the castle is behind Franco's cafe."

I knew Franco's café, because it was marked at the beginning of the village. Franco seemed to be the center of Pyrgos. And there it was, brick walls built in the medieval style, a couple drinking coffee on a tiny balcony. The castle was just behind Franco. Pyrgos itself means castle in Greek. The magical structure we saw from the back of the pass was right in front of us, intact, with a view from the roof of the vast island.

Chasing the Sunset

The one thing everyone wants to do in Santorini is watch the sunset. The prime spot is the ancient fortress in the village of Oia, on the far west side, where the sun will be slowly eaten away by the waves until it is swallowed by the ocean. But then I found a place to watch the sunset that is equally beautiful, that is when I made my way to the Church of St. Nicolaus.

The Greeks are mostly Christians (Eastern Orthodox Christianity) and St. Nicolaus is said to have lived in the early days of Christianity, so white churches with blue domes can be found all over the island, but the largest and most beautiful is the religious building at the end of Imerovigli village. Although the opening hours are clearly stated, the church was always closed, so we ended up wandering around the village until dusk.

The villages on the lagoon all take advantage of their beautiful location to run hotels, restaurants and cafes, so you can often find small, turquoise swimming pools on the rooftops.

The Santorini sunset gradually fell with the howling wind, the cold air began to fall and white clouds hung overhead. The clouds here were strange, they hung so low that they felt like you could climb up a ladder and reach for them. During the day, the clouds were thick as cotton and flew across the deep blue sky. As the sun set, the sky gradually turned orange, pink and light purple, then dark purple, but the clouds became thicker and thicker. The wind blew coldly and howled intermittently. The wind called the clouds to hurry. The clouds wandered down the hillside and hurried towards the sky. The silent village, calmly immersed in this mystical space for centuries. I shivered in the sound of the wind, trying to close my thin shirt while my companions hurriedly chased the sun with continuous shots without flash.

The “model” sat on a chair by the pool, seemingly lost in thought, watching the sunset at the most beautiful sunset in the world. Sunsets are no different anywhere else, only here the sound of the wind drifting back to the sea. Yes, I have been to Wuthering Heights, Wuthering Forest, and Wuthering Steppe, but I never knew that the Santorini sea is silent during the day without the sound of waves, calling the wind back at night. Summer sunset falls around 8 o'clock, lasting until 9:30, when the sea becomes a giant black puddle. Santorini lights up, a magical purple-gold light on the white houses. No one is walking on the village roads. We also go home, say goodbye to the sunset, and for those who love to travel, they have not eaten today's meal yet but are already worried about tomorrow's, thinking about where to go to watch the sunset again: Hawaii, Maldives or the Caribbean, fairy-tale seas.

MORE INFORMATION

Visa:Greece is a country in the Schengen area so you can apply for either a Greek visa or a Schengen visa to make your trip to Santorini.

Trip:From Vietnam, there is currently no airline that flies directly to Santorini, but you must transit in Athens, Greece. After arriving at Athens airport, you can choose to fly to Santorini or take a ferry to save costs. It is called a ferry but it is actually a large speedboat, the most famous of which is the Blue Star ferry company.

Time: Santorini is most beautiful from April to October, with August being the most ideal because the weather is quite pleasant, with clear skies, warm sunshine and little rain.

Transportation:To visit Santorini, you can take a taxi, bus or rent a motorbike or car to explore on your own. The price to rent a scooter or three-wheeled motorbike is about 12 - 15 EUR/day, so bring your driver's license, credit card or passport to make a deposit.

Accommodation:As a famous tourist destination, the system of motels and hotels here is very developed and diverse in both quantity and quality. If you rent a room in Oia village, you will have the best view in Santorini, but if you rent a room in Fira village, it will be more convenient to travel, prices and services are cheaper than in Oia village. If your budget is comfortable, you can choose luxury hotels located on the central cliffs of Fira, Oia or Imerovigli villages.

Money:Greece uses the Euro (EUR), 1 EUR is worth about 28,000 VND.

Cuisine:Santorini's cuisine is varied and rich, famous for its mashed fava beans, fried tomato pie, Greek salad, meatballs, yogurt, gyros with lamb and seafood.

Tours available for booking:

- Helicopter tour: 150 EUR/person for 10 minutes; 250 EUR/person for 30 minutes.

- Beach tour by sailboat: 95 EUR/person for 5 hours, including light BBQ party, wine, juice.

Cost of the trip:Total cost for 4 days 3 nights is about 31,220,000 VND/person.

Bui Anh Tuan