The Greek island of Santorini, a well known tourist destination and popular holiday hangout, has become famous across the world through the countless photos of its volcano and its sunsets.
Michal Huniewicz, a 31-year-old photographer living in London, however, traveled to the island this spring when very few tourists were around.
The ferry that was supposed to take him to the island was canceled, forcing him to hop on a last-minute flight from Athens. “It’s a romantic island with little light pollution and spectacular skies at night,” Huniewicz told HuffPost Greece. But the time of his visit, "it was pretty dark and gloomy at the time, not very Mediterranean.”
Huniewicz says he lived through a “very Indiana Jones moment” on the island, when he lost his balance and slipped towards the edge of a cliff. “My hands bleeding from the cuts, adrenaline pumping in my veins, centimeters from falling many meters down onto the rocks.”
The clouds didn't ruin Huniewicz's visit. Instead, he returned home with a unique set of images.
“I am definitely coming back to Greece,” Huniewicz said. “I have always been fascinated by the Greek mythology -- my dad gave me a book about it when I was still a kid. I also like to read about the Byzantine Empire, and isn't Greece the cradle of our civilization, after all?”
Huniewicz is currently working on a project documenting women in the U.S. who help migrants who have risked their lives to try to escape poverty and violence in Central America. “I was humbled and honored to meet those women and listen to their stories, full of tragedy, but also love and compassion,” Huniewicz said.
Check out more of Michal Huniewicz's work on his Facebook page, and take a look at his photos of Santorini below.
This story originally appeared on HuffPost Greece and was translated into English.
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