Santorini, Greece

Sunrise coming in to Santorini

Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements on a formerly single island, and created the current geological caldera. (It is an active volcano that erupted in 1956 and may do so again one day though perhaps not in our lifetime).  A giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km, is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high, steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward to the Aegean Sea.
 
"It is believed that when the volcano erupted in the 14th century BC it caused a tidal wave that destroyed the cities of Minoan Crete. That is quite a tidal wave and the eruption was perhaps the biggest cataclysmic event within human history (so far). It was this explosion and the disappearance of about 84 sq kilometers of land that has led many people to speculate that Santorini was the island of Atlantis which of course attracts all sorts of people looking for clues as to who we are and where we come from and perhaps where we are going."

 
               The caldera of Santorini

Waiting to be called for the tender

Beautiful, beautiful is the only way to describe this island. After leaving the ship at anchor, we went by tender to the dock at Ormos Firon, we then took a launch over to Ormos Ammondiou where we then transferred to a bus which took us up a very steep winding road to the little town of Oia (pronounced "Ear").  The alternative route to the top is by cable car, walk up 588 steps or take a donkey.  We opted for the launch!!!
The donkey is a very popular mode of transport on the island, thus:

 

Launch taking us to Oia

Barb waiting till the last moment to hop on!!!

300m high cliffs

Leaving our bus in the parking area and having been told we only had 2 hours, we set off to explore Oia.  Neither words nor photos can really capture the beauty of this island.  It was truly breathtaking! 

Narrow little streets once again

Beautiful clean homes on the steep slope.  Donkey path in the background

Homes built on the steep rock face

The island has no rivers and water is scarce.  Until the early nineties locals used to fill water tanks from the rain that fell on their roofs and courts, from small springs as well as by importing it from other areas of Greece.  Nowadays, there is a desalination plant that provides running, yet nonpotable, water to most houses. 

We couldn't get over how trusting these folk were with displaying their wares.  No-one was standing around watching for shoplifters!

Bougainvillea

We were back at the bus on time to go to Fira which is the capital of Santorini.  More spectacular views to take in which are said to be the most beautiful in the world.

 

Because of the depth of the caldera, the Queen Elizabeth is given the only anchor berth in the bay while others are at "drift anchorage" having to constantly "correct".

Now to take time to give our eyes a rest and to update blog and other things technical, we found a restaurant perched on the cliff with incredible views.  Here we are drinking iced coffees and I received a Skype call from Kim! Technology at its best!

Beers and iced coffee

The Bar

Les and Dave

Barb found a little place to relax!

Dave, Barb and myself

This is the very windey steep donkey path we walked down to get back to the tender to take us back to the ship in the late afternoon.

Walking down the 588 steps

A view of that windey path from the tender

Goodbye to an extraordinary island

 Tomorrow we stop at the large island of Crete.