An absolutely gorgeous day on probably the most picturesque
Greek isle, the island of Santorini, an island formed by a volcanic eruption! The volcano, named Thera, first erupted in
1450 BC. The emptied-out volcano
collapsed under its own weight, creating the world’s largest crater. This
collapse resulted in a huge tsunami, which travelled to the island of Crete, 70
miles away. It is believed that this
tsunami, as well as accompanying earthquakes, were responsible for the
destruction and disappearance of the Minoan civilization. The volcano most
recently erupted in 1954, disrupting and completely changing the island again. The island itself, as well as the surrounding
islands and the beautiful blue-green water, sit in the crater of the volcano –
known as the Caldera. The towns and
villages of Santorini sit perched high atop the cliffs formed by the volcano and
offer dramatic views of the Caldera (cauldron).
Greek isle, the island of Santorini, an island formed by a volcanic eruption! The volcano, named Thera, first erupted in
1450 BC. The emptied-out volcano
collapsed under its own weight, creating the world’s largest crater. This
collapse resulted in a huge tsunami, which travelled to the island of Crete, 70
miles away. It is believed that this
tsunami, as well as accompanying earthquakes, were responsible for the
destruction and disappearance of the Minoan civilization. The volcano most
recently erupted in 1954, disrupting and completely changing the island again. The island itself, as well as the surrounding
islands and the beautiful blue-green water, sit in the crater of the volcano –
known as the Caldera. The towns and
villages of Santorini sit perched high atop the cliffs formed by the volcano and
offer dramatic views of the Caldera (cauldron).
Today, because the ship is too large for the port, we were
anchored in the harbor and had to ride tender boats into the dock. The dock sits at the base of a steep cliff,
so we then took a cable car to the top to reach the village of Fira, the
gateway to the beautiful island of Santorini.
anchored in the harbor and had to ride tender boats into the dock. The dock sits at the base of a steep cliff,
so we then took a cable car to the top to reach the village of Fira, the
gateway to the beautiful island of Santorini.
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| View from the tender as we appraoched the island |
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| Cable cars up the cliff |
The village of Fira dates back to 9th century BC
and sits atop the cliff, 1,000 feet above the sea. It overlooks the bay where the lost city of
Atlantis is reported to be.
and sits atop the cliff, 1,000 feet above the sea. It overlooks the bay where the lost city of
Atlantis is reported to be.
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| Fira |
Because we had such a successful adventure with the ATV on
Mykonos, Jeff convinced me to rent another ATV to explore this island. This
time, we had an “upgraded model” which had much more pep, and Jeff was a
“highway star”. I had to tell him to slow down at times and we did get the horn
beeped at us a couple of times. But God
protected us and Jeff did a great job, once again, of navigating on a strange
island where all the signs where literally “Greek” to us.
Did we have trouble getting around? Well, I was, as usual,
concerned that we were going to get lost and not going to make it back to the
ship on time, while Jeff was more interested in his adventure of exploring the
island. But we, as always, made it back in plenty of time, although we did take
a few detours along the way.
concerned that we were going to get lost and not going to make it back to the
ship on time, while Jeff was more interested in his adventure of exploring the
island. But we, as always, made it back in plenty of time, although we did take
a few detours along the way.
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| Ready for another adventure! |
First we travelled to the picturesque, cliff-top village on
the northern part of the island called Oia. Today Jeff had the camera and I
call him “crazy camera man”. Whenever he has the camera, he takes multitudes of
pictures. There were SO many absolutely gorgeous views and angles to look at,
in every direction (I can easily see why anyone could get carried away in this
town). By the time I got the camera, the
memory was full, which caused me to laugh, since I always comment on his going
crazy with the camera. But, we had forgotten to erase the pictures from the
previous day after downloading them, so we erased them and had enough memory
for more pictures.
the northern part of the island called Oia. Today Jeff had the camera and I
call him “crazy camera man”. Whenever he has the camera, he takes multitudes of
pictures. There were SO many absolutely gorgeous views and angles to look at,
in every direction (I can easily see why anyone could get carried away in this
town). By the time I got the camera, the
memory was full, which caused me to laugh, since I always comment on his going
crazy with the camera. But, we had forgotten to erase the pictures from the
previous day after downloading them, so we erased them and had enough memory
for more pictures.
Oia is a charming, beautiful village town, perfect for just
wandering around and taking in the sights. We walked around and simply marveled
at the magnificent views of both the east and west sides of the northern tip of
the island. On both sides were pastel tinted houses and stark white churches with
brilliant azure roofs, the deep blue Aegean Sea on either side, and the
colorful multi-hued strata of rock, lava, and pumice cliffs in the distance
forming the walls of the Caldera. Once again the pictures are awesome, but do
not fully capture the beauty of this place.
wandering around and taking in the sights. We walked around and simply marveled
at the magnificent views of both the east and west sides of the northern tip of
the island. On both sides were pastel tinted houses and stark white churches with
brilliant azure roofs, the deep blue Aegean Sea on either side, and the
colorful multi-hued strata of rock, lava, and pumice cliffs in the distance
forming the walls of the Caldera. Once again the pictures are awesome, but do
not fully capture the beauty of this place.
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| Notice the windmills. There was a hotel below the windmills that was beautiful. |
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| The windmills with an old church. |
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| The colorful caldera |
The many shops and local merchants were very interesting and
it was fun to talk to them, especially for me (Deb). One shop that I ventured
into had been a cliff home and the man showed me where the kitchen, living, and
bedroom had been. These homes, built into the side of the cliffs, are ideally
insulated, keeping them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Another shop advertised that we could rent a
cat for the day for 5 euros. We did not!
We had a delicious lunch at a small outdoor restaurant
overlooking the sea and the village, complete with free Wi-Fi.
overlooking the sea and the village, complete with free Wi-Fi.
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| The restaurant |
We left Oia and returned a different route along the eastern
coast of the Aegean Sea to Fira. The
beaches have pitch-black sand and the landscape is dotted with white churches
with blue roofs and characteristics windmills.
coast of the Aegean Sea to Fira. The
beaches have pitch-black sand and the landscape is dotted with white churches
with blue roofs and characteristics windmills.
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| This one is for you, Donna. The only 2 of 4 cows we saw the entire trip. |
Then, instead of taking the cable cars down to the dock, we
decided to walk. I did not mention in the beginning, but upon arrival you have
3 options for traversing the 1,000 foot climb to the top – cable cars, walking,
or donkeys (yes, donkeys). The walkway is a long windy, slick, narrow; cobblestones
trail that zigzags up and down the cliff. The walk takes about 30 minutes. It was very hot, hot, hot. The walkway is also
the same path that the donkeys use, so it is filled with many donkey “pies” –
very fragrant by late afternoon. It is treacherous due to the slick stones and
the multiple donkey pies (and I do mean multiple!). But when you get to the
place where the donkeys are waiting for riders…it is CRAZY. There are about 50+
donkeys that you had to maneuver around with their masters yelling, in Greek,
at the donkeys, the riders, and to each other. They were more concerned about
their paying customers, so did not make any effort to ensure that we could get
by safely. Remember, the walkway is VERY narrow and we are walking right behind
40-50 donkeys who were not, themselves, having the greatest of times. My Dad
said never walk behind a horse or donkey, which might kick for no reason at any
time. It was nearly impossible to walk anywhere. We did, finally, make it past
the logjam of donkeys and continued down the steps, being passed periodically
by groups of donkeys with their riders, tethered together with their leader
either on their way up or on their way down. We learned NOT to be on the
outside curve at the turn backs of the windy trail because that was their spot.
They would press us against the wall if we were walking in their spot. Needless
to say, it was a most memorable experience.
decided to walk. I did not mention in the beginning, but upon arrival you have
3 options for traversing the 1,000 foot climb to the top – cable cars, walking,
or donkeys (yes, donkeys). The walkway is a long windy, slick, narrow; cobblestones
trail that zigzags up and down the cliff. The walk takes about 30 minutes. It was very hot, hot, hot. The walkway is also
the same path that the donkeys use, so it is filled with many donkey “pies” –
very fragrant by late afternoon. It is treacherous due to the slick stones and
the multiple donkey pies (and I do mean multiple!). But when you get to the
place where the donkeys are waiting for riders…it is CRAZY. There are about 50+
donkeys that you had to maneuver around with their masters yelling, in Greek,
at the donkeys, the riders, and to each other. They were more concerned about
their paying customers, so did not make any effort to ensure that we could get
by safely. Remember, the walkway is VERY narrow and we are walking right behind
40-50 donkeys who were not, themselves, having the greatest of times. My Dad
said never walk behind a horse or donkey, which might kick for no reason at any
time. It was nearly impossible to walk anywhere. We did, finally, make it past
the logjam of donkeys and continued down the steps, being passed periodically
by groups of donkeys with their riders, tethered together with their leader
either on their way up or on their way down. We learned NOT to be on the
outside curve at the turn backs of the windy trail because that was their spot.
They would press us against the wall if we were walking in their spot. Needless
to say, it was a most memorable experience.
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| The donkey jam |
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| The donkeys were colorfully decorated with muti-colored blankets. |
Once again we made back to the ship in time. This was by far
the hottest day for me. Santorini is a most beautiful island with some of the most
picturesque views we have ever seen. Someone commented that it was almost too
pretty to be true.
We had difficulty choosing which pictures to post here, for
we had many to choose from (remember, Jeff went crazy).
we had many to choose from (remember, Jeff went crazy).
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| Once last view… |
After having another delicious meal in the Grand Cuvee dining
room with our Australian friends, we went to the Silhouette Theater and were
very much entertained by a hilarious comedian.
Then we retired for the night. Love you all.
Kali Nichta
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