That noon in Ammoudi – the fishing port under the world famous Oia village in Santorini –  the weather was hazy from the southern wind . It was humid and dull, with a smell as if it was coming from the coasts of Africa, smoothly falling on the cliffs of the caldera.

 

We were sitting with our friends from China drinking ouzo, waiting to choose a fish for our dinner . A polite young fisherman brought us a basket of seafood goodies that he had just brought from his boat.  A big, delicious, super fresh rose sea bream (pagrus to be accurate) immediately caught our attention. Its eyes were shining from freshness  and  the cut line with the hook from the longline was still in its mouth. We chose it without hesitation and invited the young man to drink an ouzo with us.

 

 

A red catamaran was entering slowly into the small port to drop the few tourists. It was mid-October. Santorini island was quiet and covered with a gray sweet light.

Our friend with the sea bream was well educated and a connoisseur of history. An intellectual l fisherman.  What a surprise….

” You want me tell you the story of Ephimios? ” he asked.

“Of course .. .” we all said, grabbing a tomatoball  while the rose pagrus was grilling on the charcoals. Damn me  if I knew who the Ephimios was…

 

 

Well, once the god Triton (son of God Poseidon and Amphitrite ) gave to the Argonaut Ephimios an island in the form of a rag of fabric. Strange gift … Ephimios kept the gift of Triton in its tunic, close to his heart. Then he saw a strange dream in his sleep.  He saw that he nursed the rag on his chest with milk! Still in the dream, the rag was transformed into a gorgeous woman, with which Ephimios made ​​love in his sleep… And the dream continues …

After the “games of love” the woman said he was Callisto, daughter of Triton . She told him that if  he threw the rag into the sea, then the rag would become  an island. When Ephimios woke up after this lovely dream, he took the rag and threw it into the sea and … – miracle! – … a nice island appeared in front of his very eyes. It was Thira island… Today we call it Santorini!

According to the myth the island was named Thira, from Thiras,  a local king and  descendant of Ephimios.

“And behold ! “ cried our friend, the fisherman, showing us the caldera ” how that  dirty rag became  all this beauty . “

 

 

Wow …  what a story … What meeting… Our fisherman left drinking the last sip from his glass, we thanked him and lean back the wicker chairs, silently staring Thirasia island trembling in the heat of midday .

The big juicy rose sea bream was served on our table. Our guests were excited.

It was time to ignite the smartphones!

Forks follow …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where am I ?

But in Santorini, the most famous travel destination in Greece ! The quickest way to come here is by plane from Athens (and from a bunch of airports round the world ! )