Europe 2010
The challenges of traveling when you’re older
Part 7
The island of Santorini, Greece
Tom is 70; his partner Greta is 68. They are currently on a 10-day cruise with a stop at the volcanic island, Santorini, Greece.
Greta and I cruised on the MS Eurodam, a large, modern cruise ship (commissioned in 2008) owned by the Holland America line. Let me
emphatically say that traveling with a cruise line such as Holland America makes travel for seniors comfortable and easy.
Take, for example, our stop in Santorini, a magnificent and dramatic island, in the southernmost part of the Cyclades Islands in
Greece. The island was reshaped 3,600 years ago by what some consider to be the largest volcano in the history of planet Earth.
The town of Thira, the capital of Santorini, is located on the top of a mountain, 800 feet above where the little shuttle boats from
the ship drop people off at the little dock. But therein lies the problem,
how does one get up to Thira?
There are four choices. Option 1 - Walk. But there are a couple of issues with that. It is very steep, requiring many switchbacks on
a cobbled trail of 500 yards. Some people--who are in great physical shape--walk. But my guess is they probably are so pooped when they
reach the top, they spend the rest of the day sipping ouzo in the first ocean-view taverna they come to.
 The second issue with walking is the path, which is the same path taken by the donkeys, covering numerous trips per day. Not only is
it smelly, but you’d have to watch where you step--the path is filled with donkey poop. Still, some hardy souls hike it.
Option 2 - Ride a donkey, which Greta and I did. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to hold on tight riding the beast. They
are not tied together in a donkey train; it’s merely one-on-one, just you and your donkey. They are stubborn; they like to brush their
sides on the hillside wall with your leg in
 the stirrups. And they like to get close to the open ocean side of the path, which has a
steep drop off. Fall from the donkey there and you likely would not survive.
The beasts stop when they feel like it. They turn around and start back down the hill when they feel like it. Do not try this unless
you are in good shape.
Option 3 - Ride in a ski-lift-type of gondola holding four people. If a senior is a bit oversized, this can be challenging also. It’s
very steep but the view from these little cable cars is worth the ride, particularly down.
Option 4 – Take a tour arranged by the ship. This is one of the ways in which a cruise ship helps older travelers by having tours
available in all ports, to accommodate older—as well as disabled—travelers. In Santorini, a bus takes you up a different road, not the
donkey path. For people who have walking challenges, or aren’t in the best physical shape, they can still get up to the city of Thira.
And once there, they can navigate and see most of the sites even if they are in wheelchairs. They do have to take the gondola ride down
to the base of the mountain, but that is the easier direction.
After browsing the shops of Thira, . Greta and I took a bus to the little community of OIA, less than
five miles away. The bus provides a panoramic view of a good share of the island. There is no bus station in OIA, just a turnaround.
Right where the bus stops, there is a little restaurant run by a man and his wife. We ordered gyro sandwiches there and for ten bucks
total, we got enormous and delicious sandwiches with friend potatoes. It was the best value place to eat on all of Santorini.
 After a couple of hours browsing there,
we took the bus back to Thira. At one narrow point in the road,
the bus driver had to back up about 75 yards so another bus coming from the opposite direction could pass. Those drivers know what they
are doing.
The views from Santorini are special. Our ship was anchored offshore in the deep water from where the volcano had erupted
Santorini was just one of six ports of call that the Eurodam went to. Each of the stops had challenges for seniors in one way or another. Yes, you pay extra
for the tours, but not much, considering the opportunity presented to see the
world.
To access Tom's ebook, "Italy: 23 Days by Train" follow this link:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9907
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