May 30, 2019, Santorini, Greece. One of our favorite places. 139/183
Cruised into the Santorini caldera under partly cloudy skies, temperature heading for the upper 70s. Three other cruise ships were moored, so a busy day with tenders operating and several thousand people swarming the streets. Our excursion included a visit to a local winery, not sure about tasting wine at 8:30 AM, but we did. Next stop was the city of Oia, for a tour of the narrow streets, nice shops and thousands of tourists. Finally, we were dropped off in Fira and left to our own designs. Merrilynne and I really like Santorini with its spectacular scenery, charming ambiance and Mediterranean cuisine.
We had tickets to a cable car but opted to walk down to sea level on the donkey / pedestrian trail, a 900 foot vertical drop.
Comments:
- Greece has 9,000 islands, 220 are inhabited.
- The 84 sq.km. caldera, where we moored, largest in the world, was created 3500 years ago when the mountain disappeared in an explosive eruption. Crete was overwhelmed by a huge tidal wave and ash, killing most of the population there too. The volcano is still active with the last eruption occurring in 1950.
- A huge '9' earth quake destroyed most of Santorini in 1966.
- No electricity on the island until 1967.
- International airport is busy with a record 121 flights in a 24 hour period.
- VAT Tax on all purchases) is 24%, thanks to Greece's poor financial management and their propensity to take it easy, 3 months vacation, overstaffed government system and very generous pension plans. ( No hate mail please )
Cruised into the Santorini caldera under partly cloudy skies, temperature heading for the upper 70s. Three other cruise ships were moored, so a busy day with tenders operating and several thousand people swarming the streets. Our excursion included a visit to a local winery, not sure about tasting wine at 8:30 AM, but we did. Next stop was the city of Oia, for a tour of the narrow streets, nice shops and thousands of tourists. Finally, we were dropped off in Fira and left to our own designs. Merrilynne and I really like Santorini with its spectacular scenery, charming ambiance and Mediterranean cuisine.
We had tickets to a cable car but opted to walk down to sea level on the donkey / pedestrian trail, a 900 foot vertical drop.
Comments:
- Greece has 9,000 islands, 220 are inhabited.
- The 84 sq.km. caldera, where we moored, largest in the world, was created 3500 years ago when the mountain disappeared in an explosive eruption. Crete was overwhelmed by a huge tidal wave and ash, killing most of the population there too. The volcano is still active with the last eruption occurring in 1950.
- A huge '9' earth quake destroyed most of Santorini in 1966.
- No electricity on the island until 1967.
- International airport is busy with a record 121 flights in a 24 hour period.
- VAT Tax on all purchases) is 24%, thanks to Greece's poor financial management and their propensity to take it easy, 3 months vacation, overstaffed government system and very generous pension plans. ( No hate mail please )
A collection of Santorini views follow.
One of many spectacular views
Dome rebuilding .
Walkway to sea level from town of Fira.
Another photo of the walkway to sea level.
Windmills converted to residences
Interesting that these are grape plants. Water shortages exist, so because dwarf plants are able to absorb the frequent evening dew, they thrive.
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