Sun Kissed Santorini

Santorini. The word alone conjures up images of utopia. We were only there for about six hours, but they were among my favourite moments this year. The island is enticing to a photographer - so very beautiful! We took so many photos that day, that I have decided to give this little island jaunt its own blog post.

A view of Oia

Standing by the water

Santorini is white upon white with many, many blues. The buildings which seem to hang precariously on the edge of the cliffs, appear uniformly whitewashed and pristine. The shock of so much whiteness is in stark contrast to the Mediterranean waters below. Private chapels are domed in another shade of blue. And once in a while, butter yellow buildings add to the warmth of the scene.

Two of the little chapels with their blue domes.

Boarding the hydrofoil

We started our day on Crete, where we were bused from our resort to the Heraklion harbour. A speedy hydrofoil transported us to Santorini in a couple of hours, so that by 10:00 a.m. or so, we were ashore again in another paradise.

These are grape vines on what looks like the surface of the moon.

We were immediately ushered onto another bus which ascended to the top of this very hilly island. On the way, we heard about the unique local wine industry where the vines are grown in spirals and the product is quite sweet. At the end of our day, our guide gave us a bottle of this wine to bring home with us. Quite tasty.

The donkeys are led down the steps for their next journey up.

I named my donkey Benny - because he had jets.

Having arrived at the top of the island, we descended again on a funicular. At the bottom, we had an appointment with 46 donkeys. Riding on my donkey was great fun. At first he appeared sluggish and then suddenly, he decided to hurry past the others ahead of him, so that in my little group, we were first to the top.

Melanie captured this picture of us. I really like it. By the way, my shirt, purchased in Athens, was inspired by Santorini.

Next, our group travelled the length of the island to the picturesque village of Oia. As it was mid-day, we sought out a table with a view for lunch. Surely, we were given the best perspective possible from a restaurant rooftop that overlooked parts of the town, as well as the shores below us.

Our lunch location - not bad.

The view from the restaurant

My moussaka was delicious, but the highlight of the meal occurred when I spotted a bride and groom sitting upon one of the rooftops in the distance. Very close by, on another rooftop, perched a photographer who kept changing angles to get the most out his shoot. Apparently, this sort of thing is very common on Santorini.

The wedding shoot

Oia is small but it is chock full of stunning vistas and charming shops and restaurants.I LOVED being there, walking the winding pathways to see its beauty from various angles. The photos I have attached don't fully capture its glory. Between us, Bob and I took hundreds of shots. As usual, his are better than mine.

Oia cathedral

Oia from another angle

So gorgeous!!

Too soon, we returned to the bus and made one last stop on our way to the harbour. From this location (Thira) high above the water, we took a group shot.

One happy group

So long Santorini

Then it was time to board the hydrofoil and return to Crete. If I return to Santorini someday, there is a chair waiting for me.

Imagine me here.