A dream day trip to the bucket list destination had one major and upsetting downside
Sally McLean is Lifestyle Editor at the Daily Record, focusing on stories around homes and interiors, travel and motoring.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been drawn to the Greek islands as a holiday destination. Having visited the uber-popular Rhodes, Corfu, Zante and Crete as well as the quieter Kefalonia, Ithaca, Paxos and Antipaxos, one other place had always been on my tick-list.
It’s probably no surprise that it was Santorini, one of the country’s most Instagrammable destinations. My long-held ambition finally came to pass this summer when I was able to take a day trip to this iconic island which is, of course, known for it’s whitewashed buildings and blue domed churches which adorn many postcards and social media posts alike.
I’ll admit, I was beyond excited to finally see it all with my own eyes. I was on a cruise with the family and one of the ports was to be Santorini. It was to be my highlight of the seven nights of sailing and in so many ways the volcanic beauty spot lived up to its hype.
But there was one thing that I detested about it and it was something that made my 10-year-old cry, not really the vibe you’re looking for on the highlight of your holiday.
First, let’s start with the good, well actually the brilliantly breathtaking. We took a tender from the cruise ship and were bussed to the village of Oia, known for the view of the caldera in the Aegean sea and home to the spot that has been pictured by tourists hundreds and thousands of times – the blue domed church.
Of course, I was well aware we were not going to be alone as we headed to the picture spot. We were in amongst hundreds of sightseers all with the same aim to be pictured in front of the stunning backdrop that would probably, well definitely, become a new social media profile picture.
With two kids aged 12 and 10 in tow and a searing mid morning heat of around 35C, we queued up along a narrow whitewashed path with a fairly serious drop on one side. One false move would have seen us crash through the canopy of a bijoux, and probably very expensive, accommodation.
The queue itself was going to take around an hour to whittle down and allow us to reach the photographic point. The kids were not up for that wait so we took some beautiful pictures and decided to head for a cool drink in a restaurant with the most epic views ever.
I was fine with that. Just being in the village of Oia was enchanting and browsing the shops with the stunning views made for a beautiful morning in a very beautiful place with photographic opportunities around every corner.
We then headed to the island’s capital of Fira wanting to delay getting back onto the ship and spend every second we could on Santorini.
After a lovely, if rather pricey, lunch at a restaurant with yet more views to die for we wandered the streets browsing in the numerous shops selling everything from jewellery and clothes to perfume and olive oil.
I said to my husband I would love to come back and spend a few days in Santorini, so smitten was I. That was until what happened next.
Fira is perched on top of a 400m high cliff overlooking the caldera. Our ship was, obviously, in the sea at the bottom of that cliff. It was by this time 38C easily.
There is a cable car to take you down to the tender, however, the queues and standing in the heat put us off and we decided to walk the 588 steps of the Karavolades Stairs which connects Fira to the old port.
And that’s where our dreamy day turned sour. My 10-year-old quickly spotted the donkeys as we descended, tied together at the top of the cliff with, seemingly, no water. Some were staring at walls as others bucked against the ropes that constrained them.
While I knew they were still a form of transport used on the island, the sight of them was heartbreaking. My daughter’s shock and sadness was compounded when she saw donkeys coming up the zig-zag of steps with tourists on their backs all laughing and taking selfies.
The tears started to flow as I tried to navigate her safely down the slippy stairs which were covered in their excrement. After lugging people up to the top, there was little shade for them either. And still people were paying 10 euros to be carried up and down.
The cable car costs the same amount and is a far more humane way of negotiating the steep climb but sadly, it seems the age-old form of transport, used since time immemorial, was still a draw for some idiotic holidaymakers.
Cruise liner staff had urged us not to use the donkeys, but for some, the chance of a lift to the top and a picture for social media was too much of a draw.
Glaring at them and uttering profanities as they passed us by, I comforted my animal-obsessed girl and we reached the tender unscathed physically but emotionally hurting at what we had witnessed.
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Sadly, it’s her abiding memory of one of Greece’s most stunning Cycladic islands. And it’s the one reason I know I wouldn’t go back. She said she also wouldn’t want to return because it was ‘too sad to see the donkeys’.
There are plenty other ways to indulge yourself in the authentic Greek way of life. Adding to the suffering of animals is not one, in my opinion.
It’s been reported that the plague of over-tourism there saw donkeys suffer spinal injuries, saddle sores and exhaustion before the cable car was an option and relieved some of the pressure on the animals.
A petition in 2018 saw 108,000 people note their disgust. The Greek government has responded to the outcry over their plight. It has put in place legislation making it illegal to burden any animal with “any load exceeding 100kg (15st7lb), or one-fifth of [their] body weight.”
And while that doesn’t solve the problem, it might mean some tourists will instead have to use their legs or, for those that can’t, queue for the cable car. Climbing that hill would give them a small insight into what those donkeys have to endure and that can only be a good thing.
