#Santorinimytours Another year and the start of 2016 season of living on Santorini

You may wonder where I have been, but I can say I never gave up on my dream and I am still developing my amazing tours on Santorini showing visitors staying or on a cruise boat this amazing island which at times overwhelms me in learning something new about this culture and lifestyle of Santorini                                                                                                      People ask me what I do on this Island and my answer is I live here with the respect of the Santorini culture and their rich history over the years in how they have adapted in lifestyles.
They have taken me in as one of their own and encourage me to show people the real island that still keeps their traditions and still try to hold onto their agriculture which is slowly decreasing due to the high demand from tourism.But there are a few young local people who have gone back to developing the land to producing local vegetable products .  I have found in doing my tours the majority of people want to do the boat tours and the wine tours,but there are those who really want to know how the islanders live and have lived in the past ,and as I say to them I am not a historian and find it hard to remember my own date  of birth but I describe to them in how I learnt   about this island  the stories that the local people have told me                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         I am not the best at writing but for sure on my tours you can't stop me talking about the real love for these people and their way of life before tourism and how it affects them today in 2016 .
So I leave you just now and hope that this year I will write more even if my grammar and spelling might not be great as.
All my wishes go to this island for a great 2016 season and year    

Back on Santorini for 2015 season many changes but life continues in the same rythem

It has been a while in sharing with you my photos and words,but if I was to say I have been busy working I would be telling you a lie.My time has been taken up viewing all my places of pleasure and love of Santorini and its people ,checking out how their lives where during the winter to be informed they had a lot of rain which is not good for their crops and vines.They even had snow but not like we would have at home

As tradition it tended to be the ladies of the house who sowed the seeds of the land using back pain and hard work but always with a smile on their faces.

Meet Mr George with his new way of transporting the visitors
suitcases and very proud of it .
Here in Amudie they had been up at dawn to cook the lamb for friends and family in all they had prepared 8 so they say but for me it was like 10 in all . With a lot of food and wine followed by music and dancing to live traditional Greek music.

 We get a lot of comments about the donkeys but they are in fact mules as to how they are miss treated etc .Yes we have to remember the people used the animals in all their works of the land and now the local Santorini people have got involved in tourism due to the high demand of people who want to experience climbing the steps in the traditional means. But if their is one mule who is not well eg they will take it to the vet and worry about their health as one mule for them to buy is a lot of money.

The woven baskets of grapes of Santorini you will find all over the island  are not watered  but left to nature .So when you wonder around remember in the harvesting period time they are harvest using the Feridini knife and strong backs to spend long hours stooped over with a few breaks to have their local cheese and paksimadei left over  bread that has been baked in the oven  to become crunchy great to put in your Greek salad

The fisher men informed me life has been as usual as it is all over the world when you are a family business but still go out to fish as that is how they know life and keeping up the traditions of their ancestors 



             The famous  Paksimadei Thirasia

WHY I love showing Santorini on my tours

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1587462731489949&set=vb.1411547649081459&type=2&theater

Something lightens me up every time I do a tour of Santorini this video says it all those #mysterieswondershistory of #Santorini. Yes a simple life and living on the Island is something which gets me up in the morning.
The welcoming smiles of the local people to me as an Irish person who makes me feel part of their lives.The local Santorini people that I see on my tours make people feel for a short time also part of the island.
Sitting tonight talking with my mother about the tours and island even she would love to see but as age and commitments prevent her.She herself was amazed of their lifestyles before tourism but is proud that I am involved and encourages me to keep that enthusiasm going ,so into the third year of doing these tours I wish myself and thank my family for their support and the joy in seeing lots of local Santorini people making my tours a joy to wake up every morning and write including my photos

Networking in promoting Santorini

http://www.paulknowlesphotography.com/

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.801539039882762.1073741848.221661467870525&type=1

I meet Paul knowles  and his wife last summer in Oia and had a lovely day with them. At the time I didn't know that Paul was a photographer while we toured the Island,but yesterday having seen his beautiful photos it is as we all know important to network and  share.
Paul is what I call and can express as a lovely person with a gift in capturing those special moments and I would even say to those in the field of #fashion #advertising #weddingsonsantorini #photography contact Paul.
Thank you Paul for sharing some of your moments of Santorini and a pleasure to know you.

Πνευματικό Κέντρο Αγίου Γεωργίου Οίας "Πανηγυρόσπιτο": Τμήμα Κινητικών Παιχνιδιών

Πνευματικό Κέντρο Αγίου Γεωργίου Οίας "Πανηγυρόσπιτο": Τμήμα Κινητικών Παιχνιδιών: Σας προσκαλούμε την Κυριακή 18 Ιανουαρίου και ώρα 11:00 στο Πνευματικό κέντρο Πανηγυρόσπιτο Οίας για μια γνωριμία-παρουσίαση του τμήματος...

Sitting back home in Glasgow but snow on Santorini today

 Sitting in Glasgow in my family home charging my batteries with warmth and fun moments with my lovely Mother, brother and sisters  the backbone of always believing and encouraging me to live my dreams.I hear today Santorini has a layer of snow but will for sure be gone by the time I return in late february when I will find blue skies and visiting those parts of the island that are off the beaten track or so relaxed such as parts of Akrotiri the small tavernas that are family owned for example https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinas-Tavern/139795929539782?fref=ts  where you can find their own homemade tomatokeftedes,salads,and fresh fish or even some homemade dishes of the day if you don't like fish. Or take the small taxi boats at 5 euro return ticket and view or stop and have a swim at one of the beaches
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Taxi-boats-to-Red-beachWhite-beach-and-Black-beach-Akrotiri-Santorini/680285238714049?fref=ts Great for people who want to take photos from sea level the amazing rock formations created over years of history of a volcano.

                                                                                  Wonder how Emporio looks today because it has snowed, I believe because of the historical method way of building houses before 1800 inside they will be warm and cosy sitting around their hobs for heating and cooking for sure in the pot a lovely meat stew will be simmering at the moment, maybe if I was there at the moment on my stove it would be my mother's Irish stew which is loved by Greek friends on the island.
Back in those days all over the world they knew how to build using natural resources well worth visiting and part of my tours Santorini Mysteries in as I say to people you never find my tours been the say every time as we all want to see different things depending on our moods of the day.

 The old port of Fira one of the main ports for visitors coming off the cruise boats for the day for sure didn't get any snow been in the depth of the volcano you have two ways of climbing out of the creator by the cable car or riding up on a fun venture on one of the local safe  mules both costing 5euro.Here I was amazed at how well organised the boat tenders ran and at times I was not aware they were there while I sat and had a coffee while admiring the views of the caldera and Fira rock formations surrounding me.
Here I leave you today to dwell on the mysteries of #Santorinimysteries

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays to everyone from Santorini Glasgow

https://www.facebook.com/martina.oia.santorini

 Back home in Glasgow for the holidays is the normal for me having time for my family and charging batteries over a few family gatherings with a good red wine or two.

 People wonder do we all stay on the island for the 12 months of the year well no the majority of people who work on Santorini start leaving around the end of Oct returning end of Feb.

 

 This summer has been amazing as I find it hard to keep quite and stay still in my free time I found myself picking up my camera and out the door.On my tours I had my camera and took some memorable photos to give to the clients I had that in the end became friends rather than strangers.

It was a year of opening up to finding new places and to my  amazement became so breathtaking and fun when at times I found something new or met a local who told me something about their life that created part of that puzzle as to what it was like before tourism

 I want to thank all my clients and the local people of Santorini for all their kind words and joy in showing and informing me to be able to share with tourism and look forward to 2015 when my first question I ask every year to the local farmers of Santorini 
"Well will we have a good crop this year?"  reply depends on the weather