MONDAY – 25TH – SANTORINI

Santorini is described as the most spectacular of the Greek Islands and you will get no argument from us. It is certainly the most spectacular of those we have seen.

 

We were neither docked nor anchored in that there is no wharf here capable of taking a ship of any size and, because the town of Santorini and the other towns on the island of Santorini are all perched on the rim of an ancient but active volcano, the water is so deep that ships can't anchor. The ship maintains position electronically in that its thrusters continually operate in such a fashion as to keep it within five feet of a preset position on its navigational system.

This morning we went on a Holland America bus trip and visited the highlights of the island including the beautiful town of Oia and the highest point of the island, the name of which now escapes me and I can't find.

 

We drove through Santorini but didn't stop there. It wasn't included in the tour. We finished the tour at a local winery where we tasted some very nice wines and enjoyed the spectacular view from yet another angle. Santorini has an extensive wine industry. Grapes are everywhere.

We returned to the ship for lunch and then set out again in the tender to explore Santorini itself.

We had been warned about the queues for the cable car from dockside up the 2,000 foot cliff to the town but there were none. We were also warned about the track which one can walk if one doesn't want to travel up or down the cliff by cable car or donkey but it looked perfectly acceptable to walk down had there been too long a queue for the cable car.

 

 

 

Tomorrow we wake up in Heraklion, Crete. It seems that it will be a considerable let down after the last few days but we are not complaining. We have had many fabulous experiences.