Chapter 4 - DAY18 - Greek Islands (Day 3)

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GREEK ISLANDS

Our whirlwind Greek Island tour continued today with a visit to Crete followed by one of the iconic Greek islands – Santorini
Crete had a good business/retail centre and we weren’t on an organised excursion so we had plenty of time to have a look around. There were lots of character buildings and a couple of nice squares where you could sit and watch the world go by. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours without being sensational.

SANTORINI
From there we sailed to Santorini one of the most famous of the Greek islands and one we were really looking forward to visiting. There are two ways of getting off the ship, sometimes it docks at port and others where the harbour is too shallow we take tender boats. Small boats come out and Ferry the passengers to shore. To make this an orderly process we are usually galled in groups with a gap between – avoids congestion/stampede for the disinbarkment area!

Unfortunately the person who called the numbers didn’t allow any gap and basically called everyone together – one of our people got knock over in the rush, fortunately she was OK. The major problem was a group of Americans who decided they would just barge through everyone. As a result our group got split up and we had about half an hour to wait at the port before everyone made it to land and our bus could take us up to the village of Oia

To get to the village we took a zig zag road up a cliff face (or that’s how it seemed!), as you got higher there were brilliant views across the harbour for those game enough to look, I preferred to focus on the road ahead. Our local guide was full of enthusiasm and energy, and despite the bus microphone not being great we got a good idea of the history and features of the Island.

Oia was incredible, perched on a cliff top with the most amazing views possible. There is a narrow main street (pedestrian only) that runs along the ridge – on one side buildings cling to the cliff face. All the buildings are White wash in colour and built in traditional Greek island style. We followed the path out to the castle where we got the best photo opportunities and then came back and linked up with Don and Sue for a quiet drink in one of the cliff top bars overlooking the bay – it was definitely a WOW moment!

The bus then took us to the capital city Fira so we could sit and had a quiet drink while we watched the sun set into the sea – just amazing! As we entered the town we saw a group of donkeys being lead through, people can ride them down the 600 steps to the bottom of the hill and the bay where boats pick people up from. Bill said DONT take the donkey ride, they are fed and watered at the bottom and they know it so it’s a hair raising 600 step ride for anyone game enough! This was confirmed as a donkey came around the corner, skidded before regaining his balance and trotted on – definitely an activity for the young, brave or foolish.

Instead of donkey power we took the cable car, which had its own challenges, the cars held six people each and were suspended below a main line. Each time they came to a pylon they slowed down, jolted and raced on. It was very steep but fortunately because it was dark we couldn’t see anything!

Then it was back to the mother ship - another successful day.

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Photos

Santorini
The village of Oia must be one of the most beautiful in the world

Santorini
Typical Santorini architecture

Santorini Streets
The narrow streets flanked by white wash buildings (mostly) create a brilliant ambience