Everybody thinks Santorini comprises entirely of gleaming hotels, infinity pools and little white houses cascading down the Caldera cliffs. Well, it doesn’t. It’s full of dilapidated dwellings and forgotten pathways interspersed with unfinished, often illegal, building sites.
When you move away from the pumping nightlife, trendy beach bars, quaint cafes and souvenir shops inundated by preening peacocks overdosing at an alarming rate on selfies – “Look where I am, wish you were here (not really)” – you will realise there’s another side to Santorini.
Within those neglected neighbourhoods live the elderly, or soon-to-be. Since the tourism boom of the ’70s, some became wealthy; their mules and goats traded in for a Land Cruiser. Others became greedy landlords demanding robbers rent for a hole in the ground. And still others recall their childhood when food on the table was a luxury. When a family was so poor that their father had no choice but to feed his nine children cauliflower stalks – the ‘good’ part must be sold at market. Such is a story my former landlady told with glistening eyes as she handed me a plate of boiled stalks. She still eats them to this day.
The photos are taken in Pyrgos from an upper terrace and view towards the sunset and the rest of the island. The last photo faces Pyrgos Castle.
Keep It Simple 
Joanna thank you for your honesty and for keeping it real.
People forget that life exists beyond the pools and beautiful white cottages in Santorini. Thanks to your story we are reminded that life is hard for many on a tourist filled island but stories of the heart bring us back to our senses even for a moment.
Shell my friend thank you. I may be raining on someone’s parade when I write this stuff, but it is what it is.