Thursday, October 1
Santorini is as beautiful as everyone described, but I didn't realize how steep the cliffs were. I expected that there would be houses right down to the water, but they are all perched way up on the hillside (at least on the side of the island where we landed). They are mostly painted white or a pale yellow with turquoise blue trim that matches the water.
We had to take a tender boat from the ship to the shore and then the tour bus traversed back and forth to get us up the hillside. For people who weren't on tour buses, they had donkey rides that zig-zagged up about 600 steps. For the less adventurous, there was a tram to take you to Thiera.
Our tour stopped at a winery on the top of the hill for samples and pictures (and, of course, purchases) and then around the rest of the island. We stopped in Oia (pronounced e-a) where they have a marble-paved street that overlooks the caldera and the many cruise ships in port.
The humor of the tour was passing a restaurant named Zorba's Mexican Restaurant! I guess they like foreign dishes in Greece just like we do.
The lights from the cities at night were beautiful as we left port. Next stop - Turkey.
