Santorini

Waking up in Santorini was very dramatic. This was the one time we weren't at a dock. All the cruise ships have to park in the bay and small boats, called tethers take them back and forth.









Daniel and the girls came with me (with Ronnie refusing to leave the kids' club...as usual!) but when Daniel saw the huge line for the cable car, he didn't want to face that. The girls went back with him on the very same tether. They thought it was great fun and didn't realize that there was anything more! I saw two little curly heads sticking out of the boat. As cute as they were, I wanted to yell "get back in there!"

The line moved quickly and I was soon on my way up the cliff;





The view on the way up;





Reaching the top;



Our ship way below;



The view near the cliff;











The Catholic church;





The Greek Orthodox church;









There was a great museum behind the Greek church with prehistoric objects, one figurine dating from 3000 B.C.E. There was a community that was pretty sophiticated there around 1700-1800 B.C.E. who were wiped out when the volcano erupted and turned Santorini from a round island into the dramatic crescent shape it has today. I found it rather humbling. Also, it should be noted, they've only dug up about 5% of the settlement...

Just walking around Fira village;



I like these statues;



I did have some wonderful Greek food in a restaurant up there. I was afraid it would be the usual tourist fare (like I had in Rhodes).

I opted to walk down, rather than wait for the cable car. It was paved but a mess from the donkeys. A lot of visitors complain about the donkeys. Some are upset about the fact they are made to wait in the sun and often mistreated. There are basically too many of them and were, quite frankly, dangerous. I had to walk between them, which meant they could have kicked up and really hurt me. I was told to never walk behind a horse for this reason and found myself squeezing between their backsides!

Also, they mess up the path, making it both smelly and slipery. If you ever go to Santorini, please don't ride the donkeys! I hope they can eliminate or at least reduce them in the future. If tourists pay, this business will continue...





Returning to the dock;







My ship awaits me!



Here the donkey trail that I went down can be seen;





Leaving Santorini. The views from the deck of the ship.