Santorini, Greece

Yesterday we visited the island of Santorini, Greece. Promotional pictures of Greece often show the round blue domes of Santorini. I've seen these travel photos many times, and was really excited to visit.

We were on an eight hour tour, and the time flew by. It turns out most of the 500 churches on the island have the blue domes, so we saw many. Also, most buildings are painted white which really makes the blue domes pop.

They built the airport around this church 

The most iconic of the domes are in the village of Oia. I was able to get pictures from two directions. Just beautiful!!

Oia was a quaint little village right on the cliffs overlooking the water. Lots of restaurants, shops, boutiques, views and just a great place. 

I managed to do a little shopping, and Kevin sampled a Greek beer brewed in Athens.

We visited an archeological site called Akrotiri. This was a community that was thriving around 3,600 years ago until the volcano erupted and covered it completely in a deep layer of ash. It was only discovered about 60 years ago when an earthquake uncovered part of it. A museum has been built over the section of the city they have uncovered so far. They estimate there is still much more to find.

Diorama of what has been uncovered so far

This society was quite advanced for their time. They had multi story buildings, beautiful artwork, indoor bathrooms and a sewage system.

Here are some sketches of what they believe it looked like. The paintings on the walls were actually found in the dig, and are on display at a museum. 

This was a toilet. Clay pipes ran down from the crack all the way to ground level, and emptied into sewage pipes. Amazing how advanced some people were so long ago.

We stopped at a winery for some wine tasting. Three types were sampled, white, rose and a red desert wine. Neither of us are big wine drinkers, but it was fun to try some Greek wines.

Next to tourism, Santorini's biggest business is wine. There are 15 wineries on this small island.  With a total population of only 20,000, that's a lot of wine!

They grow the grapes all over the island wherever there is a little extra space.  

We're used to seeing grape vines growing up along trellisses. Here they are trimmed low to the ground in the shape of a basket. Rain is scarce, and this helps the plant retain moisture from the dew, and keeps the grapes in the middle to protect them. They also grow them on terraces in the hills.

After the wine, it was time for lunch and some entertainment. We went to a restaurant where we were served a lunch of pork or chicken skewers with fixings and more wine. One of the side dishes was a local favorite, tomato fritters. Not my favorite!

After lunch, two musicians played some Greek music, and then two ladies in beautiful dresses danced for us.

That's a mandolin on the left. Such a beautiful sound!

Of course, there had to be audience participation. Kevin says he was the photographer, so couldn't participate. 😃 

Finally, we were given come clay plates and encouraged to participate in a Greek tradition of breaking the plates. It's supposed to make you feel better!

This guy gave it his all

A windmill from days gone by.

We stopped in the capital city of Fria for a little retail therapy time. Kevin sampled a local bear called Blue Monkey.

The volcano eruption of 3,600 years ago left a deep layer of ash all over the island. You can really see it as the top light colored layer in the rocks.

The old port was below Fira. The only way to get to the top was a cable car, a donkey ride or walk on the very steep path the donkeys use.

Its the steep zig zag line in the center

A new port was built in 1982. Ships must still tender their passengers, but now busses can pick them up from the tender pier and drive on a hair raising road that switchbacks all the way to the top. Yikes!

Santorini is such an unusual and unique place. It's 14 villages are built along the rim of a dormant volcano. Definitely an unusual place to settle down in. The views from a distance are spectacular with all the white buildings. 

Santorini is the big island shaped like a crab. The water in the center of the islands is the caldera, the center of the volcano. The water in the caldera is a gorgeous deep blue color.

You can see all the houses along the top. Some houses are built into the hills.

There were five cruise ships anchored off of Santorini that day. It is a tendering port. They allow a maximum of 8,000 cruise visitors per day. I think we hit the limit! 

Our ship didn't leave until after dark. Santorini is beautiful at night, too!

Sunset

Our towel animal tonight is a stingray. Some of the towel creations on this cruise are new ones we haven't had on previous trips. Interesting what can be done with a few towels.

Pictures from the balcony with waves from side of ship and a star.

And, a few more sunset photos from two nights ago. 

Sicily, Italy

Today we will be at Palermo, the capital city of the island of Sicily, Italy. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Palermo has a population of 700,000. The island has a population of 5 million. 

The port has the 7th largest dry dock in the world. This ship was being worked on. Looks like they are inserting cabins.

We took another bus tour today.  Things are starting to all look the same! 😃 

We drove up to the top of a mountain to a lookout point. Nice views of the city and the port.

This castle like building is way up on a mountain and must have spectacular views. It was never acastle, but was built as a luxury hotel in the 1920s. It closed down during WWII, and later reopened as a management training center. It is now vacant. What a shame.

This is one of the most popular beaches, just outside the city because of the white sand. The water colors were beautiful!

It was another warm, sunny day, and it was busy. The chairs belong to a club, and you have to belong to sit there. Most were empty,  sad!

During the 18th century Sicily thrived under King Ferdinand.  Chinese architecture was in vogue in Europe, so he build this hunting palace in his private hunting park.

We stopped and were treated to Italian Ice as part of the package. Yummy!!

This monument is in memory of all the victims of the Sicilian Mafia. 

We drove by the Palermo Opera House. It is the largest in Italy, and sure was impressive. It was featured in the movie Godfather III.

Our guide gave us some history on the mafia in Sicily. It began around the early 19th century, and thrived for over 200 years. They even had a summit with The New York dons to broker a deal for drug trafficking. The police ignored it.

In 1982, two magistrates cracked down on the operation, and 200 members were convicted and sent to jail. Those two judges were later assassinated. 

The mafia still exists, but are much reduced. They mainly focus on drugs, money laundering and political corruption.

Another interesting day. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head towards Greece. 

This cutie greated us today. What do you think? Rhino, hippo, ???