SAILING TO SANTORINI

We are leaving our ship at an early hour today.




This is a day that I've been looking forward to for a long time. We are going to return to my favorite of all the Greek islands, Santorini.

It's one of the southernmost islands in the Cyclades group. It was once an active volcano which exploded in 1628 BC. Although it looks like several separate islands it's really a single land mass.

We anchored off the island and tendered our way to the island.

From a distance Santorini looks like a snow capped mountain, but as you get closer you can see that there are whitewashed buildings that are sitting atop this land mass and trickling down the side.

Once we were ashore, we took a bus for our visit to the top of the hill today. Otherwise you could walk if you were really ambitious or you could ride a donkey. Here are some of those little cuties now getting ready to go back down the hill and pick up more passengers.

The architecture was amazing and the homes were lovely with the bougainvillea climbing on the walls in front. This bus ride afforded us the opportunity to get a close up and personal view of this remarkable place.

Our first stop was at the Santo Winery where we tasted 3 different kinds of wine that they make here on the island.

The white was our favorite so we bought a couple of bottles to take with us. You are allowed to bring wine on board from the ports but no hard liquor.

We then drove to the top of the mountain to take a look at the view and lo and behold, on the way there we passed a Mexican restaurant named Senor Zorba's where they also served ribs! It was the last thing I expected to see in Greece!

The roads were very winding and narrow and when we got there, there really wasn't much to see.

When we left there we made our way to the town of Aio which was at the far end of the island. I made it about half way to the top on foot as busses weren't allowed in the town, but then I had to stop and rest. It was a very steep climb and it was very warm. Frank had to be my eyes for the next hour and he took photos for me and also brought me back some delicious nuts which were coated with toasted sesame seeds and honey along with a coke, so I enjoyed my little rest. There was a lot of local art for sale with scenes of Santorini painted by local artists.

The views up here were breathtaking and the sea was the most exquisite shade of ultramarine blue.

The streets were steep and narrow, but as neat as a pin. Everything was very pristine.

Of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without a stop for a local beer for Papa!

I noticed as we were on the tender coming back that we had all modes of "transportation" on board with us. They do everything possible to make everything accessible to the handicapped. That's really important for people with disabilities.

When we returned to the ship around 5:00 and I was exhausted. It had been a very long day, so we decided to have a little drink on our balcony and I promptly fell asleep. It was not a pretty sight but I was truly relaxed and enjoying myself!

After about 30 minutes I was refreshed, so we cleaned up, went to dinner and then off to bed. Tomorrow is a sea day and we will be making our way to Sicily. It's wonderful to have these days which are filled with lots of R&R - no telephones, computers or errands to run. Just time to relax, play cards, sip on a little cocktail and take life easy as the world floats by.

I highly recommend it!

XOXO, Pcasso