Exploring Santorini

5 hour tour today with our guide Christos who drove us around the island. The photo above was taken in Firostephani.  Toured a small town called Megalochori, where our tour guide lived. Small picturesque street. Got to see an old cave home carved out of the volcanic pumice.  Later, we went through the town of Pirgos to the highest point on Santorini - Profitis Ilias monastery - amazing views of the entire island and a somewhat scary drive to the top.  We continued on to the far side of the island to the lighthouse at Akrotiri and had some authentic Santorinian lunch at a nearby restaurant Maria’s. Wrapped up the afternoon with a wine tasting at a small family winery (Art Space) where we bought too much wine to send home to Boothbay, Maine (arriving in mid-July).  More shopping in Oía after arriving back at our hotel.  Drinks and dinner in one of the many restaurants overlooking the Caldera and hung out in our pool for rest of the evening (also overlooking the Caldera).




Santorini grape vines. They plant them low to the ground and wrap them in circles, nesting the fruit in the middle to protect them from the wind and sun.  Each circle of vine represents one year of growth. The volcanic minerals make for some very tasty wine!

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Maria’s restaurant

View across the Caldera from the lighthouse in Akrotiri. The land in the distance is the town of Oía where we are staying







Evening panorama from our balcony. Not a great photo but it gives the feel of our nighttime view from our pool





Comments

  1. André: Very nice photos, so we take part in your trip to Greece. You are very well together.

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  2. André: why is everything painted white and blue on the majority of houses in Greece?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, André. There are two reasons for the white and blue. (1) they are the national colors of Greece. The tradition startled when when Greece won independence in the 19th century. (2) the white paint, along with the dome roofs, serve to minimize the solar heat.

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    2. Thank you Greg

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