Island North Of Santorini

Florida Gators track star Cory McGee aims for strong NCAA outdoor meet finish

GAINESVILLE — Florida freshman Cory McGee's interest in running began with her efforts to spend more time with her father and older sister, Shannon. The longer the 8-year-old could hang during their 4-mile beach runs, the more time she could spend with them.

Her love for the sport came as she ran through some of the most exotic places in the world — the pyramids in Egypt, the Black Forest in Germany and the ancient roads of Sparta.

Her middle distance running as an eighth-grader competing in varsity competition fueled her desire to succeed in the sport, and has continued throughout her first season with the Gators.

The 18-year-old won the SEC Indoor title in the mile and was named SEC freshman of the year. When the Gators begin competition in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, today, McGee has high hopes to be in the running for a national title. Not bad for a kid who didn't realize until age 13 that this running thing might really be her calling.

"When I was living outside of the United States, I didn't realize then that my running might lead to a college scholarship or maybe to the Olympics," said McGee, the daughter of Jim McGee, a former UF football player. "Living in Athens, Greece, and seeing the possibilities of maybe going to the Olympics one day, that definitely inspired me a little bit. And then running in so many amazing places with my dad, that definitely sparked my interest."

Jim McGee is a retired FBI agent whose job took his family to exotic locales. When Cory was a student at an American school in Greece, the cross country and track seasons consisted of one meet per season against students at area schools. She competed in a cross county meet in Cairo, a race on the Delta of the Nile and another near the Pyramids. She won them all.

But it was on a long run with her dad on the famed steps of Santorini that McGee experienced her first real thrill of victory.

"Santorini is one of the more famous islands in Greece and there's a set of stairs that goes all the way up the side of the island," McGee said. "It's a volcano actually, the island itself, and it's a few hundred steps. It's just mules out there. My dad and I decided to run that one day and on the way back I finally beat him going up the stairs. It was the first time — it took a good five years for me to finally beat him. People talk about the runner's high, I think that was the first time I experienced it. It was exciting.

Greek Islands: Santorini Past and Present | The Global Herald

I first visited Santorini, a volcanic island north of Crete, 40 years ago as a newly graduated teacher on a back-pack tour of the Greek islands.

The over-night ferry (the only way to reach the island) docked at the port at the foot of a daunting 600 foot high cliff. The only way to reach the top was via a hair-raising ride on mule-back, bumping up 900 steps carved out of the rock with a sheer drop into the sea below.

My destination was Kamari Beach, which took its name from a small village on the other side of the island. The local bus dropped me off in the middle of a tomato field on my way there. As both the earth and sand were black it was impossible to see where the tomato field ended and the beach began.

I found accomodation in a modest boarding-house set back from the beach but apart from that there was absolutely nothing, except for a ramshackle wooden hut  where ouzo and Coke were served to the few bathers – mostly Greek families and a few adventurous foreign tourists with their bathing towels and sandwiches.

At night-fall the shack was transformed into an eating-place (‘restaurant’ is too grand a word) with a simple but delicious menu of typical Greek dishes washed down with retsina wine. This was the night life on offer in those days. There was no public lighting and I remember staggering back along the beach to the boarding-house in utter pitch-black darkness.

The Santorini of today is a completely different affair. There is now an airport with regular flights from Athens; tourists who arrive by ferry-boat or ship (the island is on the itinerary of many luxury cruises) can reach the top of the cliff by cable-car. The mules are still there as a tourist attraction, so the more adventurous can still go up the 900 steps on mule-back. In the nooks and crannies off the mule-track there is now an infinite variety of little restaurants and piano bars all lit up with fairy-lights for the pleasure of the tourists.

What was once the tomato field  is now the beginning of  Kamari Promenade with its long row of  luxury hotels – all with swimming-pools – overlooking the sea.  The beach is no longer sparsely peopled by improvised tourists with their towels and sun-hats: instead there are rows and rows of  beach-umbrellas and sunbeds – all occupied by sun-oiled, suntanned bodies – and an incredible choice of trendy beach restaurants and bars where you can lounge over a meal in comfort or sip cocktails with a fantastic view of the sea. These and the discos make Kamari one of the hubs of island night-life.

The A to Z Guide to Santorini

Santorini Volcano

The Santorini volcano and the desolation of Minoan Crete

Santorini and its eruptions

Modern history or the present state of all nations