Tuesday, Sept 1
When we awoke today we were anchored in the Santorini Caldera. Santorini today is an island that remains after a huge explosion thousands of years ago. The island is as ridiculously beautiful as the photos you see – it is the classic Greek island. Most of the photos taken for the purpose of Greek tourism were taken here. After a ride in the tender boat we took a cable car to the top of the cliff. Of course I am very much not a fan of cable cars, but the only other options were a donkey ride or a long uphill climb on the same path used by the donkeys. I closed my eyes and we were up in no time. The smell of the donkeys made me glad we opted for the cable car. We walked through the town of Fira to find the local bus station. Once there we managed to find our way on a bus to the town of Oia. Once again, we were on a very crowded bus navigating winding roads. The view was spectacular – if you opened your eyes long enough to look down. Scott and Shannon thought it was cool! Us, not as much… Once in the town of Oia (eeya) we stopped for a cappuccino and some cold drinks in a small square before we started on our adventure. Oia has even more beautiful Greek buildings and views of an impossibly blue sea. You always imagine how beautiful it is from the pictures you see, but to see it in person is even more spectacular. There are no cars in the village as it just narrow cobblestone walkways with lots of shops, cafés, art studios etc. We wandered through the village for a while, took in the amazing views of the white and blue. It truly is a place we can see ourselves spending more time one day. We caught the bus back to Fira, stopped for a lunch of bread, Greek salad and cheese on a quaint roof top café overlooking the sea. We headed back to the dreaded cable car and once again, Maurice closed his eyes and prayed all the way down while everyone else enjoyed the view! We lucked out with the weather, too – warm but not hot and with a nice breeze. As we rode the tender back to the ship that breeze became a stronger wind. The tender was rocking back and forth pretty good – Shannon thought it was better than a roller coaster! Once we left port, the winds became very strong and the sea a little rough - looks like it’ll be a rockin’ night.
Tomorrow we are off to ancient Olympia – our last stop before we return to Venice. We will be checking out more ruins which, of course, has Shannon overjoyed. Not!
When we awoke today we were anchored in the Santorini Caldera. Santorini today is an island that remains after a huge explosion thousands of years ago. The island is as ridiculously beautiful as the photos you see – it is the classic Greek island. Most of the photos taken for the purpose of Greek tourism were taken here. After a ride in the tender boat we took a cable car to the top of the cliff. Of course I am very much not a fan of cable cars, but the only other options were a donkey ride or a long uphill climb on the same path used by the donkeys. I closed my eyes and we were up in no time. The smell of the donkeys made me glad we opted for the cable car. We walked through the town of Fira to find the local bus station. Once there we managed to find our way on a bus to the town of Oia. Once again, we were on a very crowded bus navigating winding roads. The view was spectacular – if you opened your eyes long enough to look down. Scott and Shannon thought it was cool! Us, not as much… Once in the town of Oia (eeya) we stopped for a cappuccino and some cold drinks in a small square before we started on our adventure. Oia has even more beautiful Greek buildings and views of an impossibly blue sea. You always imagine how beautiful it is from the pictures you see, but to see it in person is even more spectacular. There are no cars in the village as it just narrow cobblestone walkways with lots of shops, cafés, art studios etc. We wandered through the village for a while, took in the amazing views of the white and blue. It truly is a place we can see ourselves spending more time one day. We caught the bus back to Fira, stopped for a lunch of bread, Greek salad and cheese on a quaint roof top café overlooking the sea. We headed back to the dreaded cable car and once again, Maurice closed his eyes and prayed all the way down while everyone else enjoyed the view! We lucked out with the weather, too – warm but not hot and with a nice breeze. As we rode the tender back to the ship that breeze became a stronger wind. The tender was rocking back and forth pretty good – Shannon thought it was better than a roller coaster! Once we left port, the winds became very strong and the sea a little rough - looks like it’ll be a rockin’ night.
Tomorrow we are off to ancient Olympia – our last stop before we return to Venice. We will be checking out more ruins which, of course, has Shannon overjoyed. Not!
"stopped for a cappuccino". Wow! Won't be long before Maurice is a Starbucks regular.
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