Picturesque Santorini

Fira with the old port below
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We spent the day checking out Kos Town before catching a 9:45 PM ferry west to the island of Santorini.  We arrived at about 1 AM in the morning.  We decided that we wanted to stay near the caldera in Fira.  This is a good central point for buses around the island, especially to beaches as there aren't any right at Fira.  Accomadation is on the pricey side here so we stayed at Camping Santorini (our first camping site).  How to describe ... if you don't have a tent, there are a bunch of sleeping sections with cement floor and palm leaves overhead giving you cover.  You lay your sleeping bag and mat down and you're all set to sleep.  It was okay but we found there were lots of insects (and consequently bites) and it stayed really hot even in the evenings--we didn't need any cover at all.  The place does have a pool and the price is good.

Greek Orthodox church
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Santorini is wonderful with great views and whitewashed buildings.  The cliffs of the caldera are layered and multi-coloured.  Donkeys or funicular cars bring people up from the old port (that or 600 some steps).

I think I'm going to lose my breakfast!

As we were staying in Fira, we had to take a bus to visit the beaches.  Our second day we went to Kamari beach, which is southeast of Fira.  It's pretty much a beach town with lots of tourists.  The beach was black sand with rugged limestone cliffs and the water was really clear.  Later that night we took a bus to Oia which is on the north end of Santorini.  It's said that it is a must-see place for sunsets, but it was very crowded (people climbed on rooftops even) for a view and the horizon was rather hazy.  So it's fair to say that the highlight of the evening (for Aidan) was her lamb gyro.

Red beach
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The next morning we took off for Red beach along the southwest coast.  Red beach was really neat with its high red cliffs, multi-coloured pebbles, and clear water.  We saw some neat multi-coloured fish with the snorkel gear as well.

Our last day in Santorini we took an excursion boat to the islands of Nea Kamenia and Palia Kameni.  The boat was a 'traditional' boat whatever that meant as it had sails but a motor was used instead.  These two islets are still volcanically active; the last eruption was in 1956.  On Nea Kameni we were able to see the eight craters and got some great views of the surrounding islands.  Then the boat took us to Palia Kameni where we jumped from the boat and swam in the hot springs (Aidan's first jump from a boat).  The water was reddish brown and left red silt on our skin.

Aidan's ass
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The boat dropped us off at the old port below Fira.  There are something like 600 steps up (it took us about 30 minutes to walk down), so we decided to catch a ride on some donkeys on the way up.  Aidan's donkey was a bit 'mental' (according to Aidan) as it liked to try to squeeze between other donkeys (Ainsley's seemed quite tame in comparison).  The ride up was really fun and it sure beat walking up.  A nice end to our visit to Santorini.  Tonight we leave for the island of Milos.