Our first Greek Island, Santorini

After leaving Athens we flew to the first of the Greek Islands, Santorini, on a quick flight, only 40 minutes. Arriving in the small airport there we were surprised to see how run down and dirty it was, like something we would see in a third world country,again we think an example of the state of the Greek economy. We were picked up by our host and driven to a little village just outside Fira which is the capital of the island. The family were very kind to us and we had a lovely accommodation for only 25 Euros a night.

As we went further down in the village the streets were too narrow for cars, so only pedestrian paths...

 The old part of the village consisted of cave houses though much of the village was in a state of disrepair..

Though still great photos shots...

The church as usual was pristine...

And there were some beautiful houses as well...

Santorini is not a very big island so we spent most of our time there walking and exploring the beautiful landscapes, so  the first day we went out the gate and turned left....

There are churches with blue domes everywhere...

This part of the island is flat with many small vineyards...

Though the fields were bare this time of year...

Lots of little towns by the sea...

We walked through fields...

 

Past farmers and their cows...

And then up into the mountains with the terraced farms, this area was beautiful. It reminded us of some of our walks in Switzerland...

 And of course on the way home we stopped at a small taverna for beer and the owner who was from Albania gave us pork and tzatkiki

Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC that destroyed the earliest settlements on a formerly single island, and created the current geological caldera. A giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi), is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high, steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward to the Aegean Sea with houses perched on the slopes...

One of the most famous walks on Santorini is to hike from Fira to Oia on the edge of the caldera and this indeed is spectacular! 

Here are some shots of our walk on a gorgeous cloudy day that added to the beauty which was all around us...

A look back at Fira from the first hill...

The cliffs...

The next village in sight...

A photo stop...

Some views to the sea...

Here we come to the narrow part with the ocean on both sides...

Only 9 more kms. to go, but wait we saw this sign three times! 

Some more views...

It's a long way down...

We kept going....

And going...

And going...

He finally stopped for a rest....

Getting to the other side...

love the clouds in this one...

Now we go down 

Had to move out of the way...

We finally reached the town of Oia which was a very picturesque town with lots of renovations going on everywhere getting ready for the tourist season.

And there were some buildings that weren't white and blue!

 

And of course beers with a view!

Santorini was such a beautiful island even though it was low season and a lot of shops and restaurants were closed, we found a great bakery cafe which we visited everyday and a supermarket with great produce. 

We thought Athens was expensive but the islands were beyond that especially when it came to food and drink so we ate in most days. However we did try the Greek fast food, the gyro at Lucky's...here is Don and Lucky

There were a few people around enjoying drinks overlooking the cliffs...

This is the view from the main part of town...

.We really enjoyed our stay on Santorini, the weather was beautiful, the scenery was stunning and the people were so warm and friendly. As we were waiting for the ferry there were a group of men throwing firecrackers on the ground as they welcomed in a small ferry filled with people coming to the island for a wedding...

  

There was a priest, musicians and they looked like it was time to party!

As one of the people we met here told us, the Greeks are loud, friendly and are always looking for an excuse for a party and good food and drink! We believe that to be true! 

We left on the ferry for Naxos and our last glimpses of Santorini