Santorini

The Church at Kamira
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After leaving Naples we had nearly 36 hours at sea, giving us plenty of time to recharge our batteries, catch up on Email, Blogs, and sleep! The weather was fine and warm and the sea like a mill pond, so smooth. We explored all the amenities on board that we hadn’t had a chance to see before, and discovered so many things that were available to use – a small golf putting green, a children’s trike race track, many boutiques etc. that are only open at sea, entertainment like movies, music, cabaret, etc. You certainly don’t get bored at sea.

1580 metres Highest Point on Santorini
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Arriving in Santorini at 7.00am we had a morning of leisure before boarding the tender at 1.15pm to catch the coach which would take us on a tour of the whole island of Santorini.

Once again a volcanic eruption was the reason for the group of islands called the Cyclades. It is believed by some that this could be the lost continent of Atlantis. As you approach the island you might think that the high peaks are covered in snow, but in truth it is the white houses that you see perched up high above the sea. Almost every hilltop has the white houses in rows, and the houses in the lower central area are also mainly white, but a lot have blue painted trim around doors and windows (the national colours) which up until a short while ago were the only colours that were allowed, but a law has now been passed meaning that quite a few new houses are being painted in different colours.

Emerald Princes at Santorini
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The highest point on Santorini is marked by the Monastery of the Prophet Elijah. There are over 200 Churches on the island, mainly Greek Orthodox, and mainly because wealthy people are allowed to have their own church. The beautiful blue and white church at Kamari is only viewable from the road, as it is only open on one day each year. The capital Thera or Fira , is high above the sea and only accessible by cable car straight up the cliffs or you can climb up about 800 steps. Coming down by the cable car takes 2 minutes and the walk down the steps at least 25 minutes. We travelled by coach and so we can’t prove it either way! Arriving back at the tender dock we then had a 20 minute ride back to the ship, and just made it to our stateroom before the anchor waqs raised and we were away again, this time overnight to Kusadasa in Turkey. More about that next time.