Greek Isle of Santorini

Mmmmmmm. . . what a great place we have found on this earth today. I've heard it's a haven for celebrities from all over the world and I can see why. According to tourist info, when a huge volcano erupted about 3500 years ago, it left an enormous caldera surrounded by a circle of islands now known as Santorini. The cruise ship anchored in the port and we were tendered to the wharf where we could reach the town of Fira situated hundreds of feet above on the top edge of the crater via only three ways, aerial cable gondola, on donkey, or on foot. Those of you who know about Stan's feeling about close spaces will understand the difficult choice he had to make when we chose the cable system up the nearly vertical cliff wall to the city.

Once there, the sight was unbelievable. The Aegean Sea is unbelievably blue which makes for an equally awe-insirping blue sky. I do hope the colors show up in our photos!! I kept thinking, this must be how pure, vibrant colors look in Heaven! We took a bus from Fira to Oia which sits on northern tip of the island. Now, this is where it is said that the movie stars hang out, and it's where I would like to return someday to spend a quiet week. We didn't see any celebrities during our visit, and wouldn't have cared one bit if we did. Everything else was so incredible. Again, I'll let our pictures say the rest.

I won't go into great detail, but we opted to by-pass the aerial cable car and instead, walk the trail down the tall rugged hill from Fira to board our tender returning us to the ship at the end of the day. Stan convinced me to take the trail instead of the cable car saying the walk would help us "earn" our dinner calories that evening. It's the same trail used by the donkeys. I need not say more except that it was steep, long, and a big mistake -- very steep, very slick, and very, very smelly . . . major league stink!

Isle of Mykonos

After such a grand experience in Santorini, we couldn't wait to see Mykonos! We were warned about the hot and dry air and the need to stay well-hydrated, but we somehow missed the warning about the wind! We haven't seen such fierce wind since the Trade Winds we found in Maui in March several years ago. Miserable.

The island is beautiful, however, as you will see in the photos, but quite harsh living must go on there. We did see fresh melons, eggplants, tomatoes and grapes in a local market as well as fresh fish. I'm sure the fish was fresh caught, but I saw little evidence of any agriculture in the area. Surely it came from the other side of the island we did not get to see. The town was just as it was said to be with a honeycomb of white-washed buildings each with roofs and trim matching the blue color of the sea. Lots of cool shops, bars and fabulous-looking restaurants lined the narrow winding streets throughout the village. Apartments and hotels occupied the upper floors above. I had my heart set on a true Greek lunch, but just could not make it happen. We did our best to stay long enough to see the windmills that used to grind the grain and to walk through the picturesque area they call Little Venice which hangs out over the water. Then we simply had to throw in the towel. The on-coming windburn was just too much. Even the beautiful swimming pools in the little exclusive hotels had white-cap waves. As we set sail this evening, the ship's captain referred to the wind as the abundant fresh air of the island!

Last port of call tomorrow is Katakolon, the birthplace of the Olympics. Perhaps we will find octopus salad, grilled calamari, or moussaka and calm winds there.