Santorini

Tuesday April 7, 2009
When we woke up, weather was a little cloudy. We got news of the earthquake that had devastated Italy, but unfortunately all news outlets were in Greek, so we could only see the pictures. Later in the day I was able to purchase an international newspaper in English to get updated information. My area of Rome was unaffected, with only feeling a little rumble.

Our hotel offered a boat tour to the volcanic island off-shore. I took a chair-lift down the cliff to the dock with the boat. We sailed over to the island, and climbed around the volcanic cliffs. Our guide was very helpful in explaining the rock forms and different volcanic activity. We then cruised around to another part of the island that had natural hot springs. In the summer, these are like a hot tub, but early in April, not very warm. A few braved the water, I chose to stay dry and on board, watching the others freeze. When we arrived back to the mainland, we all took donkeys up the mountainside. It was pretty scary, but lots of fun! The donkeys felt the need to race and walk right along the edge of the cliff, only adding to the drama. All in all, made it to the top safely!

In the afternoon/evening, we took our ATVs for a ride around the island. The first destination was Oia, known for its sunsets, and its where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed. On the way there, Jackie and I were followed by a local stray dog. It was quite the experience. The dog wouldnt leave us alone, and looked ready to attack! I kept changing speeds and directions trying to get the dog away, but it was persistant with styaing with us. The locals we drove by were laughing at the site of two girls riding an ATV with our feet in the air, screaming, trying to get this dog away.. Luckily the dog was distracted by another group of ATVs, and we drove away as fast as possible. The town of Oia was cute, similar to Mykonos town. We then went to Pygros for dinner. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the sunset and town. I had baked feta and pork souvlaki for dinner.

Wednesday April 8, 2009
Finally a sunny day for the beach! We took the ATVs to the south end of the island, to a beach called Perissa. This beach had black sand from the volcano. We spent the day frying ourselves in the warm Grecian sun, it was a great last day on the islands. We drove around the island a little more in the afternoon.

We spent the afternoon in Fira, the town we were staying in, shopping, and just walking the streets. It was a very cute town, perfect location for us. We were close enough to the beach, but right in the middle of the town life, with close restaurants and things to do. For dinner, we went for a traditional Greek dinner. I had a Greek platter sampling - you'll get to see a picture of it!

We took an overnight ferry back to Piraeus, the port near Athens. The boat left a little after midnight and arrived around 6 am.