The famous blue roofs of Santorini, Greece.
Santorini was one of the stops on our cruise that I was really interested in visiting. I had originally hoped we could stay on the island for a few days on our own prior to the cruise. I pictured it a much more quaint island than it was. It was mostly packed with tourists waiting in long lines at spots made famous, or infamous, through Instagram and other social venues. We were one of four large cruise ships invading this tiny island. Mykonos was more of a pleasant stroll in comparison. Both islands showed off the beautiful architecture and the white and blue of the Greek Islands.
The Famous White and Blue of the Greek Islands
Ol’ Blue Eyes or Mr. Bill, take your pick… or Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia would occasionally seem to become obsessed with one subject. Here is one of many paintings of a skeletal pelvis found in the New Mexico desert.
Some of the scenes in these islands reminded me of paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, who had many paintings of nothing but blues and whites.
Traditionally, the walls in the Greek Islands were white washed with lime which helped reflect the strong Aegean sun. The white walls had a side benefit as it acted as a disinfectant during cholera outbreaks. It became a unifying trend among the islands and was later reinforced by the Greek government. The white and blue of the Greek Islands also matches the colors of their flag. Every once in a while there would be a red house or roof. I guess those are the rebels.
We spent our time in Mykonos walking the stone sidewalks, admiring the sights and finding a local seafood restaurant. Somehow the tourists were more spread out here. The passageways were not very crowded and neither were the restaurants. Possibly, ours was the only boat visiting this day. All in all, a pleasant experience.
I liked that much of what we saw was not placed there solely for the tourists. There were numerous local grocery stores and restaurants off the main tourist pathways.
If these white walls were changed to brown adobe, it would look very much like Taos, New Mexico.
When the roofs are not blue, the doors and trim are.
Churches of Mykonos
On this tiny island there are 600 to 1,200 churches. Why such a variance? It depends upon who is counting and if they include privately owned chapels. The higher counts include private chapels on private land and would allow for one church per family.
Black and white version of the same church above.
After others in my party had enough of walking about the town, I hired a cab and asked that he take me to some churches where I could see the ocean in the background. I was hoping this would give me a more simple, less cluttered photograph.
Here is the rare red door, must be a rebel church.
After brushing away the cigarettes butts from this rock, I was pleased with this composition. It was the very first stop of the afternoon visit to 12 churches.
Santorini, Teeming with Tourists.
Santorini has likely done more than any other island to make famous the white and blue of the Greek Island architecture.
I would likely not have taken this photo were it not for the couple in the tiny hot tub. What a view they have! Lounge around during the heat of the day, wait for the cruise ships to leave, then go out to dinner. They have a view of the harbor so they can see the ships departing at what is the very best time of the day.
The shadow of the bell added to this photo.
Just a few feet from me is a line of 75 or so people waiting to have their photo taken in the exact right spot made famous by Instagram and social media. They seem to think it odd I wanted noting to do with standing in line and continued on. They thought I was cutting in front of them in their selfie line.
This photo was taken to highlight the curves and geometric lines of the home and stairs. Also, the white on white is a nice touch. In photography classes they often have an exercise to take a photo of a white object on a white background.
You certainly do not see architecture like this in the States.
Another reminder for me of the simple white and blue paintings done by Georgia O’Keeffe from her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico. I grew up 50 miles from her home, so I may be more in tune with her work than many…
The White Place in Sun, painted in 1943, near Abiquiu, New Mexico.
This view also reminded me of the many Georgia O’Keeffe paintings of simple white and blue designs she created while in Northern New Mexico.
Goodbye Santorini
At the end of the day, as we board the boat tender to haul the thousands of tourists back to the confines of the ship, I look back at the zigzag road to the top of beautiful white and blue of the Greek Island knowing, tomorrow…
The zigzag road of Santorini, Greece.
will bring another onslaught of crazed tourists unable to get enough selfies of themselves to post on social media. What a great time they were having….
oooh, look at me….
Sharp, blue, white, collected in such a way to exhibit all the splendor of Greece. Well done!