It begins in Santorini

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What better way to begin our grand European adventure! Fours hours after catching the 6.35am flight from Gatwick (plus two hours time difference), we landed on the island of Thira otherwise known as Santorini. As we walked off the plane we were immediately hit with a wave of dry heat and the sight of incredible tanned airport staff. It's always a great way to start a trip when your wife turns to you an says "that customs officer is gorgeous!". Anyway, after some light but tasteful flirting at immigration, we grabbed our bags and head for our hotel. Given the temperature and the amount of baggage, the €15 transfers to our accomodation was the best money we had spent in a long time. We checked into our villa (Argonaftes - very good value btw) and head out to Fira, the main village to catch the view of the caldera - the town is perched on the edge of a huge caldera wall in the middle of the South Aegean sea. From almost everywhere in the town you can see the caldera or equally magnificent views of the Greek style buildings teetering on massive cliffs that plunge into the sea. After a cheeky souvlaki for lunch, we walked down the steep path to the old port beneath the town. At the start of the path hundreds of Greek men and their donkeys offered to take us down for a few Euros. The donkeys looked less than pleased themselves, having to ferry boatloads of lazy or unfit tourists up and down the steps. "Don't worry, the donkeys have been doing this for thousands of years" - one local said as he smacked the ass on the ass. Well that makes it fine, doesn't it we thought sarcastically. To our left was a cable car whizzed people up and down in seconds. We declined both options and made the decent ourselves. 587 steps and half an hour later we arrived at the bottom almost completely drenched. The old port is where boats pick people up for day tours to the centre of the volcano and other parts if the island - something we've booked to do on our third day. After a quick look around and a breather, we retraced our steps back up the cliffs. Looking up from below, it was amazing to see the different layers of sediment that comprised the cliff wall. Red, black, grey were so clear and distinct in the rock. Apparently there is even a red beach on the other side of the island which we may check out. The ascent back up was fine as we no longer had to negotiate the combination of slippery stone steps and gravity. After rehydrating and a quick shower, we found a cheap but nice restaurant over looking the caldera. We ate, drank and watched the the most incredible sunset, we'd seen in years. For those who love photography, sun and Greek food, Santorini is the place to be - day one did not disappoint!

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