Three weeks starting and ending in Athens.
Σαντορίνη by sea, usually entering the caldera from the north-west, is the apogee of many yacht charter holidays in the Cyclades.
Thira together with the smaller islands of Thirasia and Aspro are part of a volcanic crater, which has been engulfed by the sea. In the centre are the Kameni - Καμένη islets, the cones of later volcanoes which came into being in historical times.
he steep caldera cliffs range in height between 200 m and 400 m, while on the outside the land falls away gradually to the sea, its fertile slopes covered with vineyards.
Yet, the island is treeless due to lack of water, though the inhabitants achieve a modest degree of prosperity through the export of wine, pulses, pistachios and tomato purée. Santorini also possesses a natural resource in the form of pozzolana, a hydraulic cement used in structures exposed to water (harbour works, the Suez Canal).
In more recent years large numbers of visitors have been attracted to the island by its extraordinary natural structure and its excavation sites, which are among the most important in Greece, and the tourist trade has made an increasing contribution to the economy. Also – with the new Vlichada marina nearly finished (see the bottom of this page) – more and more yachtsmen visit this beautiful island.
Σπέτσες, the ancient Pityousa (Island of Pines), is a hilly and well-wooded island off the south-west coast of the Argolida. The income of the inhabitants, who are mostly of Albanian descent, comes from farming and now, to an even greater extent, from the tourist trade, for the island’s mild climate attracts large numbers of holiday-makers. This mild climate is described by the Admiralty pilot to be “exceedingly healthy” and is indeed more appealing than Hydra or Dokos. No motor vehicles are allowed on Spetses apart from public service vehicles.
In antiquity Spetses was an island of no importance. After the Orlov Rising, a rebellion against the Turks supported by Catherine of Great Russia, the population was expelled from the island in 1770 and Spetses town was laid waste. The inhabitants soon returned to their island, however, and their trading and seafaring activities brought them prosperity. In 1821 Spetsai was the first island to take part in the War of Independence: an event commemorated every year by ceremonies in the Madonna Armada Chapel in Ayia Marina.
