Tuesday Santorini in Greece

Today was another tender boat day as the island of Santorini has no ports large enough for the bigger ships. This is great as they have to stay in the harbour and not spoil the magical view of the island which from a distance looks like a snow-capped mountain. Its only apparent when you get closer that it is the houses that are the white capping. The island is some 80km long and was a old volcano. It's higher peaks stretches up some 600m into the sky in front of us. This island is so different to where we have been up it now as all the building are flat or domed roves and painted white, well except for a few rebel people who have opted for beige or a soft dirty sand colour. They look so soft, they are rendered heavily so no sharp lines. They are all stuck on top of and hanging to the sides of the cliff faces that drop to the oceans below some 300m. The cliff are void of any vegetation and are made up of volcanic pumas stone that look loose and in many areas there are land drifts thus explaining the no vegetation, and these people choose to live on top they must be crazy! From our safe viewing point of the tender boat we can see the donkey track that zig zags it way up the side of the cliff. In the past this was the only access to the cliff tops. It is still a option to go by donkey but I think they would need 2 donkeys to get me up that cliff. For the donkeys sake lets opt for the bus up and the cable car to come back to the ship later tonight.

We didn't arrive into the harbour until 1.pm, it was a long trip from Corfu some 400 naughtyial mile north of here. We will be on the island till 10pm tonight as we are doing a Greek Fester as the end of our day. The days are getting longer and warmer as we move south but that will be short lived once we head back to Venice by this Saturday.

The houses are white washed each May as the start of the Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations. Most of the island inhabitants are orthodox and the churches have blue domes that are very obvious with all the white around.

They are break away group from the catholic's several hundred years ago and celebrate Easter later and don't believe in the Pope. 

As we were driven around on our tour bus it was clear to see the vast amount of unfinished building, the country is in a financial mess and a real lot of developers have done their money and place are gust sitting with dry grass tall around them. They look like grey concrete moramorials of what could have been, if time's stayed good. So many people just spent to much to quick and then it just died.  

Most are just that to the frame stage so columns of 500mm 3000 tall spaced around a slab with concrete staircases going to nowhere. A sad and sorry site. We make our way most the way around the island with stops during the afternoon to see the local villages and a spot of shopping. Today it my turn and I fine the "most me" watch that will come in handy as we have to meet back at the bus at 6pm prior to the Greek Fester tonight. So it green and soft and has Santorini written on the band with a face of a comical frog that was trying to look like miss kitty!!!! Just the sort of watch this fashionistic hipster wants to wear around town. Or perhaps a 13 year old Japanese school girl would wear. But I needed a watch so this is the best one. I must say I'm please with my 8€ investment as the time did slip way and well it's back to the bus, we waited till 15 minutes after the "Have To Be Back On The Bus Time"and 1 poor person still was nowhere to be found so they left!!!! That's the rules and fair enough as you have a ship load of passenger waiting and they don't wait for one. Thanks to my little green miss Kitty froglet or that may have been us!!!!

Had a great Greek dinner on top of the cliff with 300 m of sheer drop in front of us and the view over the other little islands with the sun setting was magical