John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Tickets for the outward voyage

[ii] His name, as one might guess, was in fact “Christos”. To introduce at this early stage in the tale our naming of him as “Antichristos” is rather a “spoiler”; but it’s easier for me to copy Janet’s journal and add my own memories as and when they occur, than for me to retell the whole story.

Sunday 22 May 2022 10:18:10
Aboard the coach


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:19:42
Map of Santorini at the front of the coach


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:19:42 (detail)
Map of Santorini, with our current location, “Central Port of Thira (Santorini)”, and the places we would visit, “Oia (Ia)” and “Fira”, highlighted


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:25:04
Views from the coach


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:25:40
Views from the coach

As the coach zigzagged up the steep side of the caldera to get to the road northwards, we were given an aerial view over the bay. Christos (so I shall call him; and Janet will refer to him as “AC”) pointed out a large ring in the water below. It was there to try to contain oil leakage from the cruise ship MS Sea Diamond, which sank there in 2007.


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:28:20
Views from the coach: site of the sinking of the MS Sea Diamond


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:51:22
Views from the coach: one of a number of churches in the hills


Sunday 22 May 2022 10:54:10
Views from the coach: another of a number of churches in the hills

“We went to a village up in the mountains (Oia),” Janet wrote, “and [were] given expansive directions (too much information) of where to go. AC left us — no guided tour, then!” Christos’s intricately detailed directions and suggestions were completely lost on us. I did pay attention to, and write down, the time he told us to be back there, though, and the number of the coach: “12.45pm №1”. Anyway, after using the WC in the southern corner of the parking lot, we crossed the main road and wandered through alleys (presumably represented by the narrow, gently curving line going more or less south-westwards on the map below), as far as the main street of the village, Νικολάου Νομικού.


Google Maps satellite view of Οία, showing some of the locations we visited or saw


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:18:02
Οία: wandering through alleys


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:18:36
Οία: wandering through alleys


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:21:40
Οία: main street Νικολάου Νομικού


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:23:38
Church of Stavros,[iii] Νικολάου Νομικού, Οία

[iii] I could find no reference to this, except on Google Maps, where it was labelled simply “Stauros”. “Σταυρός” in Greek, usually transliterated “stavros”, means “cross”. Whether its name is something like “Εκκλησία Τιμίου Σταυρού” (“Church of the Holy Cross”), I was unable to determine.

“We climbed upwards,” Janet continued, “and found absolutely stunning views of the coastline and sea — also rich folks’ homes. Bet they don’t care for all us plebs milling around their extremely expensive pads. Tough! Comes with the territory! Everything was different shades of blue (the sky and the sea, and the buildings were either blue and white or white: all looking freshly painted!). It was hot with a cool breeze, so comfortable.”


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:25:54
Views of the Santorini caldera from Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:26:04
Views of the Santorini caldera from Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:26:16
Views of the Santorini caldera from Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:28:52
Views of the Santorini caldera from Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:29:06
Thirasía, seen from Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:29:32
Photo taken by Janet


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:29:46
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:30:04
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:31:50
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:32:04
Photo taken by Janet


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:34:02
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:34:08
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:34:44
More views from a path winding down and up along the slope of the caldera, Οία


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:35:00
Zoomed in view, taken from the same location as “11:34:44”

Back on Νικολάου Νομικού, we passed again the “Stavros” church then turned left, passing another, larger church, heading northwards in the direction of the parking lot.


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:44:02
“Church of the Panagia [All-Holy], of the Akathist Hymn”


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:44:06
Photo taken by Janet


Sunday 22 May 2022 11:44:30
ΙΕΡΟΣ ΝΑΟΣ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΚΑΘΙΣΤΟΥ ΥΜΝΟΥ
“Church of the Panagia [All-Holy], of the Akathist Hymn”

Within plain sight of the last leg of the journey back to the coach, and with something like 45 minutes till our 12.45pm rendezvous there, we stopped at a café/bar (or “καφέ/μπαρ” as the receipt from there had it)[iv] for refreshments.

[iv] An internet search of the business-name on the receipt, “ΜΥΓΔΑΛΙΑ ΣΑΝΤΟΡΙΝΗΣ Ε. Ε., ΟΙΑ, ΚΑΦΕ ΜΠΑΡ”, produced little of help; but looking up the phone number “2286071958” produced “Foodini Oia Santorini, Bus Terminal, Oía” and “Z’s Bar & Burger”, also “at the bus terminal”. This was confusing. A photo on the “Foodini Oía” Facebook page, posted on 11 July 2021—

—showed a window to the left of the door, with a built-in shelf to the right of it, wicker chairs and blue hand-sanitiser bottles, which matched the photo “12:06:08”, below. But a Google Maps view, with imagery and map data dated “2022”, in as extreme a “3D” view” as I could produce, had “Z’s” and other, illegible words painted on the wall above the window (not “FOODINI THE EATER’S PLACE” applied above the door). Our impression is that it was in fact called “Z’s” when we were there. If I’d seen “The Eater’s Place” when in fact I only wanted a drink at a “café/bar”, I might have baulked at going there.

The awnings at the rear of “Z’s” are very poorly rendered in this Google Maps 3D view screen-capture image.

As we approached Z’s Janet had another fall, as she’d had at Vathy Bay, Spinalonga Peninsula, on 18 May. “On our way back down we were looking for a place to drink,” she wrote, “and I fell off ‘a step’. Again. Hellfire! Fortunately again, I fell on my back so my backpack cushioned the blow. An American woman, plus a man, helped me to my feet; and we chatted to the young woman, from New York, who was concerned [whether] I was OK. Bless. We found a café/bar and had drinks, then went back to our coach.”


Sunday 22 May 2022 12:06:08
Drinks at Z’s καφέ/μπαρ


Receipt, headed “ΜΥΓΔΑΛΙΑ ΣΑΝΤΟΡΙΝΗΣ Ε. Ε., ΟΙΑ, ΚΑΦΕ ΜΠΑΡ”, issued “12:25”

“Then we set off for Firá,” Janet wrote next. In my notebook I wrote:

4pm departure coach.
15:45 front of old hospital Φηρά.

We were standing outside the old hospital in Αγίου Αθανασίου. This Christos informed us, was the former main hospital, but that was now sited elsewhere. At 3.45pm, we needed to assemble there, for us then to proceed to the coach for a 4pm departure.
 “Once there,” Janet continued, “we followed AC to a restaurant called El Greco— Why?
—where, apparently he had negotiated a 20% discount (he no doubt also had a piece of the action!). So, no included lunch! We both had a Greek salad, which we enjoyed, but I had to remind the owner [that] we were told we were to have a 20% discount! Not bad at €28, I guess.” Our ca.250 yard walk from outside the old hospital to El Greco is illustrated on the map below and the photos that follow it.


Google Maps satellite view of Φηρά, showing the locations we visited or saw


Sunday 22 May 2022 13:20:54
Φηρά: proceeding northwards along Αγίου Αθανασίου


Sunday 22 May 2022 13:21:30
Φηρά: Turning 45° left off Αγίου Αθανασίου, before another 45° left turn into Δανέζη Μ.


Sunday 22 May 2022 13:23:36
El Greco Restaurant, Δανέζη Μ. 207, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 13:23:36 (detail)
El Greco Restaurant, Δανέζη Μ. 207, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:00:00
El Greco Restaurant, Δανέζη Μ. 207, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:00:44
El Greco Restaurant, Δανέζη Μ. 207, Φηρά

“We headed off to find the churches AC had mentioned. All were shut except for a Catholic one…” Our first walk was one of nearly 400 yards from El Greco, more or less eastwards, turning left at the end of Δανέζη Μ. into Αγίου Αθανασίου, then right along another road till we got to the crossroads shown in the photo below. This location surprisingly gave us a glimpse of the sea on the other side of the island.


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:19:20
Εκκλησάκι (“small church”), Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:20:36
View south-southeast from across the road from “14:19:20”


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:20:36 (detail 1)
View south-southeast from across the road from “14:19:20”


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:20:36 (detail 2)
View south-southeast from across the road from “14:19:20”


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:22:04
Pyrgos Kallistis, some 2.6 miles away, south-southeast


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:22:04 (detail)
Pyrgos Kallistis, some 2.6 miles away, south-southeast

The next photos are from a location some 600 yards from El Greco, broadly but not straightforwardly in a north-westerly direction from there (see the “Google Maps satellite view of Φηρά, showing the locations we visited or saw”, above). I think, towards the end of our walk there, we mounted flights of steps to the church we wanted to visit (in fact, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist), found we couldn’t get in, so climbed more flights of steps to a second ecclesiastical-looking building (the Dominican Convent, I know now). I stopped before an arch on the south-west corner of this and took a couple of photos, seaward, before going through the arch; then, finding no way into the building, I went back, and took two more photos. Then to the south of the building — east of the arch, we saw further arches and steps down to the street (Αγίου Ιωάννου) on the north side of the first church. From there, we were able to enter it. Ironic, in a country predominantly Greek Orthodox, that the first church we were able to visit was Roman Catholic!
 “All were shut,” to continue Janet’s narrative, “except for a Catholic one, and so we went inside. Our first religious building of the holiday. It was quite small. As usual, I had a prayer.”


Google Maps 3D view, with my labels showing the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the Dominican Convent, and the “arch seen at 14:45:42” on the south-west corner of the latter


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:43:30
Views from the south-west corner of the Dominican Convent, Φηρά: (ahead:) the south-western part of the Santorini “crescent”; (right:) Nea Kameni


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:43:50
Views from the south-west corner of the Dominican Convent, Φηρά: Thirasía


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:44:40
Dominican Convent, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:45:42
Dominican Convent, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:46:16
More views from the south-west corner of the Dominican Convent, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:46:54
More views from the south-west corner of the Dominican Convent, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:48:22
About to descend to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:51:06
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:51:20
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:52:00
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:52:10
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:52:52
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:53:34
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:54:28
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:55:08
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 14:56:50
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Φηρά

“Then we started to return to our pick-up point. (At El Greco AC had told everyone he would be there until we left at 3.45pm!) We did [find the pick-up point] after I asked for directions, as I do, then walked back a bit to find somewhere to have a drink and sit down. I had a bottle of water and [John] an americano, and it only cost €2.60! We also used their loo twice. A bargain.”


Sunday 22 May 2022 15:15:10
Coffee Island, Αγίου Αθανασίου, Φηρά


Sunday 22 May 2022 15:21:38
Coffee Island, Αγίου Αθανασίου, Φηρά

“We reboarded our coach (the French family were not on that)[v] and set off for the ferry.”

[v] Cf. Janet’s note, added to the account of the coach trip to Heraklion: “A French family boarded our bus en route: a young woman, a girl, a young boy, and an older woman — her mother? We encountered them near the Catholic church.”

“AC was obviously pissed (he was slurring his words — disgraceful! — should be reported) and started prattling on about nothing in particular. At one point he said ‘the alien God’, when he was talking about Zeus. He was comparing Zeus to ‘the alien God’. What? Disgusting. That’s why we named him ‘Antichristos’. My head felt like it was going to explode because he just wouldn’t shut up. I thought, ‘Where is Jasper when you need him?’” Jasper, our golliwog at home, is always spouting nonsense and generally making a noise when we’re in the lounge with him; but compared to Antichristos, he’s relatively sensible and almost taciturn! On the trips from the central port of Thira to Oía, and from Oía to Firá, Christos pointed out interesting features and gave credible facts in a manner not far off from normal, but now he was making implausible assertion after implausible assertion. He said that the languages spoken, when the volcanic eruption that formed Santorini devastated large areas of the Aegean, were forgotten as a result. And especially, he spoke of Zeus as actually existing, and referred to the one true God as “the alien god”. St. Paul wrote to Titus, whom he had left in Crete:

Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. (Titus 1:12, 13a)

From our experience of the contrary on this holiday, I concluded that either Paul had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he wrote it, or that Titus had done an extremely good job. Now we had the exception, in the form of Antichristos! (Come to think of it, though, Antichristos may not have been Cretan; we weren’t in Crete.)
 “Finally, we reached the port and boarded our ferry,” Janet’s journal continued. “So efficient. (Departed 4.40pm.) They get you on and off in no time. Fantastic. I’m gob-smacked that it cost us a staggering total of €380 in Santorini. What the hell did we get for that? A crap coach, an offensive ‘tour guide’ who did not guide, and no included lunch. Bloody good job we’re glad we went and [that] we enjoyed ourselves. I just hope no-one asks for feedback, or they’ll get it!” There were two vouchers for this tour:

• “Santorini Transfer”, price €24.
  This stated, “Option Booked: Standard Tour Breakfast”, which was meaningless: certainly there was no breakfast included. Because it specified a “Pick-up point: Main Road b[us] s[top]…”, it seems that this was the voucher for the transfer to where the Santorini trip proper would start, i.e. Heraklion, and back again, not to and from Santorini itself. Our trip from that bus stop to Heraklion by KTEL bus and back, on 20 May 2022, had cost us a total of €12:40; so this was almost double.
• “Santorini from Heraklion Port”, price €380.00.
  This stated, “Option Booked: Boat Trip ticket only”; but that can’t be true, because the cost, as stated on the boat trip tickets themselves, only came to a total of €54. So the net cost of the “crap coach, an offensive ‘tour guide’ who did not guide, and no included lunch” was still a staggering €326.

Sunday 22 May 2022 16:12:12
Arrival at the Órmos Athiniós ferry port


Sunday 22 May 2022 16:13:00
Órmos Athiniós ferry port: entering the ferry terminal


Sunday 22 May 2022 16:15:52
HSC Power Jet, lowering its stern quarter ramp






Tickets for the return voyage


Sunday 22 May 2022 16:20:12
Boarding HSC Power Jet


Sunday 22 May 2022 16:35:04
Aboard HSC Power Jet

Again, I spent much of the voyage watching programmes on the TV screen on the wall in front of us. I had no interest in most of the content, about motor car and cycle servicing, house renovations, etc., and as before there was no sound and the subtitles were in Greek. But the people in the programmes were evidently English, or from the UK anyway; and what interested me was that their names were given in Greek characters: Τζον, Τζανετ, Στιβ, Μαρκ, Τιμ, which looked more or less as one might expect (the representation of /ʤ/ by “τζ” was an education, though). But with “b” represented by “μπ” and “d” by “ντ”, “Brian” and “David” looked strange: “Μπραίαν”, “Ντέιβιντ”. At one point, someone exclaimed that someone or something was “Σεξι!”


Receipt, printed at an incorrect “07:24 πμ”, headed with the name of the former owner of the ship “BLUESEAPOWER ΛΤΔ ΕΠΕ”


Sunday 22 May 2022 18:46:44
Awaiting disembarkation from HSC Power Jet


Sunday 22 May 2022 18:47:46
Disembarking from HSC Power Jet at Heraklion

“Anyway,” Janet continued, “we arrived at ‘Hellaklion’[vi] at ca.7pm. It took an hour less than the outward journey, thank goodness. I was relieved that we found our coach quite easily, and we headed off. ‘Our’ French family were on. Several French people at the back were clearly rat-arsed and were singing the French national anthem, etc.!”

[vi] Janet had been referring to Heraklion as “Hellaklion” since gaining her unfavourable impression of the city on our visit there on Friday 20 May 2022.

Sunday 22 May 2022 19:06:08
Aboard the coach, on the way out of Heraklion

“We were back at our hotel at ca.7.30pm (thought it would be much later) so went for dinner. We were both knackered (we’d been up since ca.4.30am and it had been a tiring day) and were in bed just after 10pm. At last!”

[Monday 23 May 2022]