Santorini, Greece
The second day of our cruise found us on the beautiful island of Santorini. What a wonderful way to start our day, sailing to the waters of the Santorinian caldera—the deepest in the world—and to enjoy the cubic whitewashed houses of Oia and Fira standing on top of the rim, hanging over the wild volcanic cliffs.
We took the tenders to the island's main port where the bus waited for us. From Athinios, we drove first to the northern tip of the island, to the charming settlement of Oia. As we strolled around it seemed that every part of the settlement was like a small painting, and for us, great photo opportunities: the narrow alleys, the white houses, the small white churches with their blue domes in full harmony with the deep blue of the Aegean waters!
After our stay in Oia we drove to the center of the island and in the medieval village of Pyrgos we had lunch at one the best-known Greek restaurants on the island, Kallisti. Lunch there was something hard to describe and hard to forget: home-cooked dishes of only local Santorinian specialties that kept coming, one after the other: the fava, the tomatokeftedes (stuffed cherry tomatoes)... and the local Santorinian wine! We couldn't decide which was the most delicious dish was served!
After our wonderful meal, we returned back to Fira, where we visited the Prehistoric Museum of Thera. What can we possibly say : through its unique exhibits and finds coming from the Acrotiri site, the most organized prehistoric settlement ever found, we travelled back in time, thousands of years ago, reviving a world that lived and highly prospered. By looking at the artifacts, by hearing about their achievements, it was hard for us to believe that such a sophisticated world truly existed—a world that was viciously destroyed by the catastrophic volcanic eruption of the island's volcano.
After the museum we had some time in the busy town of Fira, the largest village and capital town of the island, from where some of us took the "easy" way down to the old port—the cable car—and some others decided to take the exciting, fun way down—the donkeys!
Leaving the main island behind us, we sailed to the narrow strait between the two Kamenes (the Burnt) Islands where we had our swim in the deep waters of the caldera - such an unforgettable experience to enjoy the refreshing waters of the caldera and to be so close to the lava formations.
Later in the afternoon, sailing out, we had dinner while the sun was "diving" in the water! Although we had left Santorini behind us, its flavor enriched our dinner, thanks to the wine offered to us by the owner of the local restaurant where we had lunch: home-produced sweet dessert wine—the Vinsanto wine, the emblematic flagship wine of Santorini! What a way to take the flavors of Santorini with us, in our hearts and our minds.
