The Greek island of Santorini lived up to its picture postcard beautiful views of the white-washed buildings and bright blue domes of the churches. There are actually many islands making up Santorini but the largest island is shaped like a comma because it is the outer ring of an ancient volcanic crater. There are constant earthquakes in this area, but most of them are very small. David discovered there was an earthquake there the day before we arrived. Though certainly pictureque, it was very hot, even in early October. The small areas separating the village buildings are little more than a sidewalk in width. The huge tour buses nonetheless find ways on the main roads to get us up the huge steep paths from the harbor area to the cliff tops. After viewing the view from many areas, we had a traditional lunch of white wine, fava bean hummus, sausage, cheese and bread before shopping in Fira and taking a cable car back down to the dock.
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| I like this newer thinner me, so I won't adjust the picture frame size :) |
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| View from our cable car |
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| It was a beautiful sunset this evening from our suite. |
This day was dedicated to the Voyager Club sponsored tour. Our group was divided onto two busses. David and I were riding with Jennie, Laura and Kirk on bus #2. We were taken to the House of the Virgin Mary for a short look around then we were taken to Epheseus. Each time we've visited these ruins we find the archeologists have made a great deal of progress putting the pieces of the mosaics, frescos, and ancient dwellings together despite the thousands and thousands of many times, tiny fragments. The weather was very sunny and hot. Though we carried umbrellas for shade, we still had to fight dehydration from the heat. The tour of Epheseus was followed up with a great luncheon at the Hotel Kismet with a tour of the sea. The shade and breeze were a welcome addition to the view.
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| Turkish dancers entertaining us for lunch |
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| Turkish dancers entertaining us for lunch |
Back on board, we dined in the italian dining area, Sette Mari for a last dinner with our friends before they disembark in Athens.
Saturday, October 6th Athens
David and I visited the Acropolis Museum on our own today. The museum did a superb job in our opinion of displaying the artifacts in a way that allows us to build a picture of the historic surroundings around the artists and artisans of the time. I'm particularly pleased with the parthenon portion of the exhibit that takes up an entire floor positioning the pieces of the artifacts that were found, either when the museum was created in the Acropolis, at the British Museum, the Louve or in some other location.
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