All language subtitles for The Greek Islands With Julia Bradbury Series 1 Part 3 Santorini 1080p

'Head to the Greek Islands
for our holidays.

'And it's easy to see why.'

This is Greece.

Look at that.

'I have a strong affinity
with the islands, my mum is Greek.

'But I've only holidayed here...'

Here we go.

'..Until now.

'So I'm going to explore
their hidden side...'

There's nobody here.

Hello, everybody!
You're good.

'..From their breath-taking
natural wonders...'

Let me show you our real mother.

'..To the colourful customs
and the architectural splendour.'

That is a miracle of loveliness.

It makes me proud to be
just that little bit Greek.

This is a voyage of discovery,
and I'm taking you with me.

I haven't been to Santorini
since I was 17

and since then
it's changed unimaginably.

It's become one of the most popular
destinations in Europe

and one of the most famous
in the world,

and this is why -

the impossibly scenic,
gorgeous views.

Every year, nearly two million
people are lured to Santorini,

not least for its
spellbinding sunsets.

But my tip - it's well worth
setting the alarm early

at least once so you can experience
the total tranquillity

of a sunrise like this one.

And then you have it
all to yourself.

Located southeast of mainland Greece
in the Aegean Sea,

Santorini is the undisputed jewel

in the crown of the Cyclades.

Striking blue-domed churches

and whitewashed villages

populate this
76-square-kilometre island.

But Santorini
owes its seductive looks

to one of the most catastrophic
geological events

in recorded history.

About 3,500 years ago,

that volcano erupted...

...and the centre
of the island collapsed.

Then the interior
filled with the sea

and created this, the caldera.

Believed by some to have inspired
the legend

of the Lost City of Atlantis,

one thing is certain,

it left behind one of the most
spectacular landscapes

in all of Greece.

Only 60 years ago,

Santorini lacked
even the most basic amenities.

But now with more than
50 five-star hotels and resorts,

it's become a playground
for the rich and famous.

I'd better scrub up a bit.

I'm meeting the woman
who kick-started the transformation,

opening Santorini's first
luxury hotel in the '90s.

Today, Kalia's still catering

to its most discerning visitors

here at her newest hideaway.

And, yes, she does look a bit like
a Greek Sandra Bullock.

You know this island very well.
Yes.

So Santorini has gone from micro,
from this,

it's exploded, hasn't it,
over the decades?

Back in the '90s, Santorini was

a very simple, like, um...

not well- known island.

It was more a place for
bed and breakfast, for camping.

If you then said Santorini
was a luxury destination,

everybody would think,
"Are you crazy?

"Who would go there for luxury?"

Local people never expected
from no electricity in the '70s

to this kind of amazing,
wow destination

that Santorini became today.

Once the rustic retreat
of an eccentric widow

with connections
to the Greek royal family,

and a passion for horses,

these clays her stables
are luxurious suites

and the hotel has one of the most
lnstagramable pools

I've ever seen.

Santorini has become so popular
because of its natural beauty.

The Santorini selfie.

Exactly, the Santorini selfie.

And do you think there is still

a hidden, unexplored Santorini?

Oh, my God, absolutely.

If you stay here for a week,

I will take you to places
that you never thought they exist.

Almost two thirds of Santorini
are unexplored.

All in good time.

But there's no way I'm passing up
the opportunity to take a dip

in THAT pool.

With as many as 18,000 tourists

descending on the island
some days...

...it's hard to imagine
finding peace and quiet

away from the crowds
jostling for the best view.

But it's the hidden Santorini
I'm after,

so I'm back in my hiking boots
and on its trail.

I don't think when you mention

the island of Santorini to people

that the first thing that pops into
their head is walking and hiking.

Well, neither was I thinking about
walking in Santorini

before I moved here.

My guide is fellow walking fan Nico,

who first fell in love
with the island 20 years ago...

and probably knows how to get off
the beaten track here

better than anyone.

During the first season,
I actually got overwhelmed

with the tourism

and I started walking the paths
realising that

nobody is walking on them any more.

So it was very satisfying
to discover

that there's about 65 to 70km

of paths all over the island.

Nice.
Around landscape like this

where it's so quiet.

It is nice to be able to
escape like this.

Yes.
And to share all of this beauty.

Absolutely.

Today, we're following an
ancient track linking villages

which still bear the sign of a time
when the island was ruled by Italy.

Let's have a look behind us.

0h!

So what's that village called?

This is Emporio.
Emporio.

Meaning "commerce". One of the
biggest villages of the island.

Built around one of the five castles
the Venetians built

in the 1200s and 1300s.

So you don't think of castles
when you think of Santorini.

You've got five of them.

Five of them.
Quite greedy!

It's not us, it's the Venetians.

There we go.

Up here, it's easy to see
Santorini's spectacular coastline

isn't the only legacy of that
explosive chapter in its history.

The rich, volcanic soil
makes this a forager's paradise.

Fig trees.

Just the random fig tree
on your walking path.

Capers growing wild everywhere.

Capers.

One of the hardest plants
to cultivate.

You don't get this
in the Lake District

or the Yorkshire Dales or the Peaks.

THEY CHUCKLE

Fantastic.

Winding through a landscape
of vineyards,

every bend of the path
reveals more of the island's

unexpected edible delights.

What's this?

It's a weed, essentially,

so you can cut some
and just rub it.

What is it?

That's wild fennel,
if I'm not mistaken.

Mmm. Oh, that is a really
zingy aniseed smell.

Goes right up the nostrils.

Especially when your nostrils
are as big as mine. Lovely.

It hasn't escaped my attention

that we're heading ever upwards
on our hike.

In fact, our destination

is the highest point in Santorini

and the former capital Pyrgos.

A labyrinth of traditional houses

built around one of those fortresses

left behind by the Venetians.

The alleyways were designed
to be deliberately

misleading and confusing,
weren't they?

Yes, to confuse the pirates
who were trying to find

the only entrance of the castle.

Certainly worked. It confuses me.

Nico is promising me

we'll be rewarded for our efforts.

We're in search of
a secret sunset spot.

Is this it?

There is no way I'd be able to

track this down without him.

Is that not our
viewing platform there?

No, not quite yet.

It was pretty lovely.

I've got something more special
for you.

And to your right.

Let's turn left here.
OK.

In here.
Oh, good Lord.

In through the door?

Up the steps.
Oh, up the steps.

It's a proper
magical mystery tour, this.

0h!

Now this is a special spot.

Efharisto poli!
Parakalo.

Oh, thank you.
My pleasure.

That is a miracle of loveliness.

Where would most people go
for the sunsets?

I would think here,
the northwestern tip,

the most famous spot
for watching the sunset.

Not as special as this spot?

See, I bring you
to all the best places.

Well, Nico does!

In the memory bank.

The blue dome,

the two crosses,
the sun setting over the sea.

I'll remember this.

I'm on Santorini,

known today as the supermodel

of the Greek Islands.

More Gisele than Kate Moss, I'd say.

But for years,
Santorini was considered

one of the Aegean's poorest places
to live.

This island
has very little rainfall,

but because of its fertile,
volcanic soil,

everything that grows here
is rich in flavour,

including an old peasant dish

that's still a Santorini speciality

and one of my faves.

I'm heading to a local cafe

in the village of Pyrgos
to try the fava beans.

Lovely to see you.

Antonis owns Cafe Brusco

where his fava beans are prepared
in the same way

they would have been
generations ago.

So, this is the old-school way,
traditional way.

Basically, the stone grinder...

OK.
..Is taking off the shells.

And you're left with the favas.

Wherever you go in Greece,
you'll be served fava beans,

but the Santorini favas

are unique to this island,

and they've been granted
special status.

They're dried for a year before
they're ready for grinding.

Will you hire me? Do I have a job?

Yes?

Once the bean has been ground
out of the husk,

they need to be separated.

As you swirl them,
you can see the casings

rising to the top.

Then, kind of...

And then...
Yes.

There they are.

So this is for the chickens.
Yes.

And these are for us.
Yes.

Very nice.

Very nice.

JULIA LAUGHS

In our family,

we are a little bit partial
to the old fava bean paste.

It's similar to houmous
in texture,

but the taste is sweeter.

It's just delicious.

Far from its peasant roots,

the Santorini product is now
an expensive, gourmet product

harvested by farmers on the island.

The locals here like to enjoy it
as a dip

gently cooked into a smooth paste.

It's the moment of truth.

Yasou.

From Santorini, sweet wine.

Ah, Efharisto poli.

I have a feeling

that this is going to be the best
fava bean paste I've ever tasted.

Mmm.

Such a delicate flavour.

They mix the fava beans for
a long, long time. They heat them.

They add olive oil,

they add onion, they keep mixing,

they scoop off the top
of the surface.

And they end up with this.

This is Santorini

in a little dish.

It's just a demonstration of

the deliciousness

of the fruit and vegetables on this
very, very fertile volcanic island.

Not even 11 and I'm drinking wine.
Whoop-whoop. Winning.

I've had a taste
of the old Santorini,

but these clays, it's hard
to escape the signs

of the island's recent reinvention

catering to the massive influx
of tourists.

Sadly, one of the biggest downsides
is what they leave behind.

While laws are being introduced
to ban single-use plastic,

a huge amount still ends up
in the sea every day.

But I'm meeting someone
who's doing something about it.

Yasou.

Hello, hello.

I'm Julia.

Nice to meet you, Julia.
Xanthe?

Xanthe.
Hi, nice to meet you, Lefteris.

How are you, Lefteris?
I'm fine, thank you.

Xanthe, the same name
as one of my daughters,

is the skipper of this boat

and she's taking us along
the south coast of Santorini

past the famous white beach.

That's pretty incredible, isn't it?

It's like a huge iceberg.

Born into a family of
five generations of fishermen,

Lefteris is determined to bring
Santorini's waters

back to their former glory.

What's the project called?

The name of the project is Enaleia.

Which in Greek means
"together with the fishermen."

I saw that together with the nets

the fishermen were collecting
a lot of plastic.

And I saw a can of Coca-Cola.

It had a weird colour

so I saw the expiration date

and it expired in 1987.

And you realised how long
all the rubbish stays down there.

Yes.

The biggest shock was when
the fisherman took it from my hand

and threw it back in the sea.

He told me that's the problem
we have.

And then he threw it back?
Yes!

So how are you and this project
going to get over that?

So we give them now bins
to put the plastic there.

Then they bring it up in
seven ports, currently in Greece,

where we store it and then
we recycle and upcycle it.

And these are made from plastic

that's been collected
by the fishermen?

Exactly. Specifically,
this one is made from net.

They are turned into socks.

So you're upcycling and recycling.

Yes, and we are just
getting started.

So hopefully we are able to clean

maybe four or five tonnes
of marine plastic per week.

Now our fishermen,
they are so proud.

They are really, really inspired
and talking to other fishermen

because they see that in the areas
that we do the project,

the sea is becoming cleaner.

And the fish are more again.

This is a subject that
I'm really passionate about.

This story and the people
behind this story

are genuinely inspiring.

This is one of the problems
that we're all living with.

And these guys want to do
something about it.

I've been told if I want to see
what life on Santorini was like

before tourism took hold...

...all I need to do
is take a short boat ride.

Thank you.

This is Thirasia, baby Santorini.

You can see Mama Santorini
over there about ten minutes away.

This is how it used to be

about 60 years ago.

What a contrast.

It may share the same dramatic
landscape as its glitzy neighbour,

but Thirasia really is
like stepping back in time.

This is the Greece
always described to me by my mum.

Just three and a half miles square,

much of its sparse, mountainous
landscape is uninhabited.

Calling this place sleepy
is an understatement.

There are signs that tourism
is starting

to spread across the water
from Santorini,

but the visitors who come here
rarely venture beyond the harbour.

Maybe it's the steep climb
that puts people off exploring.

But, fortunately,

I've bagged the island's only taxi
to take me to the top.

I think this is my ride.

And I'm definitely
travelling in style.

It's the Popemobile!

Hi.
Hello! Yasou.

Thank you.

Lovely carpet.

SHE SPEAKS GREEK

Efharisto.

It's a far cry from the black cabs.

The old kitchen cupboard door
is a bit rickety.

A bit wobbly.

It's definitely unspoilt,
this island, isn't it?

Couldn't be more different
to Santorini.

It's quite mad, really,

to go from all that glamour

and pulsating tourism...

...to this sleepy little island.

An island that didn't even have
electricity until 1980.

I'm gonna get out here,
wherever here is.

Efharisto, Manoli.

There we go.

Thank you.

I've come to the capital, Manolas,

but it's little more than a village.

Strolling through
its almost deserted lanes

feels a world away from anything.

The hub is the
church of Saint Constantine

built over 100 years ago.

That's where I'm meeting
Papa Loukas,

the village priest
of nearly 30 years.

What a beautiful church.

Behind us, this is very beautiful.
I haven't seen...

This is Grandfather.

Your grandfather made this?
Yes.

Shipwrecks?

That's why it's so unique.

How many people live on the island?

And what do you think of Santorini,
which is... so big?

What is so special about Thirasia,
the island,

what is so "orea" about Thirasia?

So they're all wrong.

This is the place to come
for the best sunsets, not Santorini.

We're all wrong.

Thirasia is the most untouched
island I've been to so far.

It's like stepping back in time.

And even though it's so close to
the glamourous energy of Santorini,

it's a different world.

I wonder how long
it'll stay like this?

Returning to Santorini
after so many years

really has been full of contrast,

from 21st century luxuries

to rustic, undiscovered charm.

I certainly won't be leaving it
so long before I come back again.

'Next time, my Greek odyssey
takes me to the Sporades -

'the paradise islands.'

There's nobody here.

'Visiting Skiathos and Skopolos,

'I'll be discovering
colourful local traditions...'

I feel very Greek and very hot.

'..And taking in
the blockbusting scenery

'of the Mamma Mia island.'

That is just amazing.

This is Greece. Look at that.

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