Santorini

View of Fira

My kids at school love this book character

Santorini has a really interesting approach. It is a ring island created and developed by numerous volcanic activity throughout its history. What is left is a large opening for ships to come in to tall, tall sheer cliffs. There's a tiny landing area that accommodates moderate sized boats and the ferries. It is totally packed with cars, buses, and, of course, a handful of tourist shops. We were again picked up by our driver and taken to the top, traveling in a long parade winding its way up to the top of the cliffs. We wove our way through a high plateau type area to the other side of the island where our hotel was. We didn't have the ocean view but did end up in a room with a small sitting area, fresh breezes and sunshine. We were near the beach and headed down to the ocean to walk along the boardwalk, check out e stores and dine on the water. Delicious. 

Now, if you happened to be from one of the cruise ships, there was another small landing area setup to accommodate the traveler, connected to the top of the hill via a funicular. One look at the line and I was glad we didn't have to use it...at the top the people waiting to go down numbered in the hundreds. Of course, there was a way to walk up...

The next morning found us at the top of the hill outside our hotel, site of an ancient city, perched strategically to watch for invaders to protect itself. Despite being on top of the hill, they found ways to bring up enough water to sustain some agriculture and a population that survived for over 800 years.

We headed from there to the tourist town of Fira, site of the mandatory spendy restaurants and lots of shops to buy local goods. They did have some gorgeous pottery and beautiful jewelry. Our goal, however, was to hike from there across the mountains to the city of Oios where we could sit at the edge of the world to watch the sunset.