Santorini, Greece

We saw a spectacular sight when we walked out on our veranda this morning. We were awestruck with the picturesque beauty of the islands of Santorini. Even though the temperature was in the 60's it appeared we were looking at snow on top of the cliffs. Looking through the binoculars we saw that what we were looking at were clusters of homes and other buildings, all white. Santorini’s spectacular physical beauty has contributed to its becoming one of Europe’s hot tourist spots. Many visitors also come for the alluring beaches but Santorini’s attraction goes far beyond the beach.

Santorini is a small, circular group of islands located in the Aegean Sea, about 124 miles southeast from Greece’s mainland. Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island and leading to the creation of the current islands.

This was a tender port and the only one where Holland America had to use the port’s tenders. It was a very rough ride going into port. We loaded into our coach and drove up to the highest point on the island, Mountain of Prophet Elias to enjoy the best views of this gorgeous island and to take pictures. We were then headed on to Oia, and along the way to learn from our tour director about the volcanic nature of the island.

Oia ( EE yuh )is a picturesque town with blue-domed churches, old two story mansions, narrow cobblestone streets lined with tiny shops selling hand made ceramics, paintings and semi-precious jewelry. The population of Oia is 400 people but they have 70 churches. This is about one for each family, some of the churches are private. The priests for these Greek Orthodox churches travel to a number of churches.

Oia and Fira town, which was our next stop, are perched on the side of a steep cliff above the sparkling blue Aegean Sea. From the landing, at Fira, there are three options to reach the lofty town. The cable car, riding donkeys or walking. Those with energy can walk up in 40 minutes but are warned to watch where one walks as the donkeys use the same path.

We noticed an area in the water close to shore that appeared to be marked. We later heard from some other passengers that a cruise ship had sunk one year ago and , in fact, was still there at the bottom of the sea. All 1600 passengers were saved. Evidently the lawyers are still fighting over whose fault it was so they are leaving the ship there because someone has to pay to remove it.