I didn't know they still had 3.30am in the morning but it's still there. But no matter as we were saying goodbye to the cold confines of the UK & hello to the warmth of the Greek Islands. We returned the car, boarded the plane, & before we knew it we had arrived in Santorini. We felt the warmth as we exited & passed through security to meet our hire car man. We realized we had too much luggage to fit in our original hire car so with broken English the man organised the next size up. All those hours of tetris came in handy as we fitted all our bags in & headed off to find our accommodation. It took a little while to locate it but once we arrived we were so happy with the booking. We are staying in the town of Akrotiri & our apartment has views out over the caldera & our own private pool. It is a traditional Greek island building which adds to the whole charm with it's white washed walls. The views are just as you imagine of the Greek islands. We look across the blue waters of the caldera filled with cruise liners to the town of Fira perched on the hill, but you can see most of the western side of the island from where we are. As a result of the early start it was a bit of a siesta in the afternoon before Jac & I headed out to grab some gyros to tide us over until the evening. We then sat on the deck taking in the view & enjoying the sunshine on our backs. As evening approached & the cruise liners moved on we headed down to Perissa, a long stretch of black beach with bars & restaurants along it's entire length. We went to Lava tavern, which was recommended by our apartment owner, for a nice feed of calamari. After this we returned home for a quiet evening. Well quiet for a while as Jac & I watched an electrical storm roll in about midnight. The thunder & rain were loud but what was most impressive was the way the lightning would hang in the sky after it struck. It sparked frequently and as it moved across the sky it was an amazing sight as it flashed above & behind the islands hills. Eventually it drifted off into the distance so we returned to bed & slept peacefully. Not a bad first day on the islands.