Santorini
Early in the morning, we sailed into the flooded crater (caldera) of Santorini volcano to find two dazzling white Cycladic towns dramatically perched high on the rim. The island is unique and offers one of the most appealing natural spectacles in the entire Mediterranean. After taking a local tender to the port of Athinios to the south of Thira, we boarded two buses for our visit to the island.
We drove to the north end to make our first stop in the most picturesque of Santorini’s villages: Oia. Its white houses, built virtually on top of each other, appear to hang on to the cliff; some of them are even built into it! We walked up and down the cliff edges, some of us did some shopping in the art galleries and jewelry stores while others relaxed in one of little cafes based on the caldera rim offering their visitors a cold frappe and a beautiful view.
Later we headed to the other end of the island for our lunch at the local restaurant, Aeolus. We had an opportunity to try many local appetizers, for example, one of the specialties of the island called fava that is a kind of bean puree. The delicious food and the breathtaking view of the caldera will surely be one of the memories to take back to the ship. But that wasn’t the end of our visit to the island. We went to Thira – the principal town of Santorini. Some of us decided to join our guides Elli and Eleni for a tour in the museum, where we learned about the fascinating archaeology of the island and about Akrotiri – a Minoan city destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption in 1625 BC. Others chose to wander the narrow alleyways taken over by jewelry shops, trendy boutiques and cliffside cafes. After taking a cable car or donkey ride down the cliff, we board a tender back to the ship.
In the afternoon we left the caldera heading to Ios Island hoping for a swim. We found a very nice calm bay with refreshing clear water – perfect for swimming after such a hot day. Snorkeling, jumping of the railing or just floating – that was what everyone needed. A couple hours later – hungry and happy – we ate our Greek barbeque dinner.
