Hello from Cathy! Had two excellent days on the island of Santorini, noted for its volcano that blew its top around 1500 BC, affecting weather and civilizations all over the world. What's left is the top of the caldera with a volcanic island in the middle, visible from the towns on the surrounding outcroppings of land. Santorini is unlike anything else in Greece or elsewhere.
We took a 5-hour dinner cruise last evening that took us on a reproduction of an 18th century brigantine sailing ship that was the highlight of our stay on this island. They took us first to the volcanic island, and we hiked as a group to the top, stopping along the way for explanations from a charming Greek-American woman named Zoe. From the top of the volcano we could see the whole rim of the caldera and understand better the workings of the volcano over the centuries. The rest of the cruise included stops at a hot springs, dinner, and stopping below the town of Oia to watch the sunset.
Another interesting aspect of this island is that the steep hills from the harbor to the town require vehicles (where there are roads) that take switchbacks that zig zag up the hill, OR riding a donkey up a zig zag path (which we did NOT do), OR walking the same zig zag path, avoiding the donkey dung (which we DID do going down the hill), OR taking a cable car (which we DID do going up th hill). It's an important part of the Santorini experience, I am told.
The other neat thing about Santorini is that the views from everywhere are "picture postcard" perfect. It's hard to take a photo that isn't spectacular. The little white buildings with blue trim are everywhere, as they are on the rest of the Greek Islands.
Randy left this morning to go back to the island of Mykonos for a few days. I leave in a few hours for Crete to see the ruins at Knossos and the Archeological Museum in Iraklio (also called Herkalion). Then I take a bus to the town of Hania, in western Crete, for a couple of days before taking an overnight ferry back to Athens. Randy and I will meet up in Athens on Tuesday, to stay at the same hotel where we stayed at the beginning of our journey.
Hope you're enjoying these blogs. You'll note that my entries are very, very, very long, and his are very short. Not surprising.
We return to the United States on Friday, September 28, and return to Atlanta the next day.
Cathy
We took a 5-hour dinner cruise last evening that took us on a reproduction of an 18th century brigantine sailing ship that was the highlight of our stay on this island. They took us first to the volcanic island, and we hiked as a group to the top, stopping along the way for explanations from a charming Greek-American woman named Zoe. From the top of the volcano we could see the whole rim of the caldera and understand better the workings of the volcano over the centuries. The rest of the cruise included stops at a hot springs, dinner, and stopping below the town of Oia to watch the sunset.
Another interesting aspect of this island is that the steep hills from the harbor to the town require vehicles (where there are roads) that take switchbacks that zig zag up the hill, OR riding a donkey up a zig zag path (which we did NOT do), OR walking the same zig zag path, avoiding the donkey dung (which we DID do going down the hill), OR taking a cable car (which we DID do going up th hill). It's an important part of the Santorini experience, I am told.
The other neat thing about Santorini is that the views from everywhere are "picture postcard" perfect. It's hard to take a photo that isn't spectacular. The little white buildings with blue trim are everywhere, as they are on the rest of the Greek Islands.
Randy left this morning to go back to the island of Mykonos for a few days. I leave in a few hours for Crete to see the ruins at Knossos and the Archeological Museum in Iraklio (also called Herkalion). Then I take a bus to the town of Hania, in western Crete, for a couple of days before taking an overnight ferry back to Athens. Randy and I will meet up in Athens on Tuesday, to stay at the same hotel where we stayed at the beginning of our journey.
Hope you're enjoying these blogs. You'll note that my entries are very, very, very long, and his are very short. Not surprising.
We return to the United States on Friday, September 28, and return to Atlanta the next day.
Cathy
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