Santorini
We started our day with a breathtaking sunrise at sea while sailing into the beautiful caldera of Santorini. It was an incredible entrance with the quaint little white villages aglow with dawn light atop the dramatic cliffs below, which were created by one of the most legendary volcanic explosions in Mediterranean history.
Our exploration of the island of Santorini began in the historic village of Oia, where we strolled among the whitewashed houses along the rim of the caldera, and explored the many local art galleries and craft shops. Wandering down the winding alleyways we discovered the picturesque view of the three blue domes of Oia, made famous on the front of many postcards and guidebooks to the Greek Isles.
We enjoyed a delicious traditional Greek lunch at the cliff side tavern Aeolus, with yet another beautiful vista of the caldera below, and then made our way to Thira, the capital of Santorini. There we visited the Nomikos Museum exhibition of the life-sized reproductions of the frescoes found at Akrotiri, an ancient society buried under the ash of the volcanic eruption of Santorini around 1600 BC. In the late afternoon we spent our free-time in the charming cafes and shops of Thira before taking the cable car down the cliffs back to the port to embark Panorama. The more adventurous of the group opted to ride donkeys down the switchbacks to the bottom and had a great time. Once back onboard we set sail for the island of Ios for a refreshing swim off the back of the ship, including a couple of impressive back-flips and cannonballs off the side rails, and witnessed a beautiful sunset before dinner. It was another amazing day in the Greek Isles and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure.
We started our day with a breathtaking sunrise at sea while sailing into the beautiful caldera of Santorini. It was an incredible entrance with the quaint little white villages aglow with dawn light atop the dramatic cliffs below, which were created by one of the most legendary volcanic explosions in Mediterranean history.
Our exploration of the island of Santorini began in the historic village of Oia, where we strolled among the whitewashed houses along the rim of the caldera, and explored the many local art galleries and craft shops. Wandering down the winding alleyways we discovered the picturesque view of the three blue domes of Oia, made famous on the front of many postcards and guidebooks to the Greek Isles.
We enjoyed a delicious traditional Greek lunch at the cliff side tavern Aeolus, with yet another beautiful vista of the caldera below, and then made our way to Thira, the capital of Santorini. There we visited the Nomikos Museum exhibition of the life-sized reproductions of the frescoes found at Akrotiri, an ancient society buried under the ash of the volcanic eruption of Santorini around 1600 BC. In the late afternoon we spent our free-time in the charming cafes and shops of Thira before taking the cable car down the cliffs back to the port to embark Panorama. The more adventurous of the group opted to ride donkeys down the switchbacks to the bottom and had a great time. Once back onboard we set sail for the island of Ios for a refreshing swim off the back of the ship, including a couple of impressive back-flips and cannonballs off the side rails, and witnessed a beautiful sunset before dinner. It was another amazing day in the Greek Isles and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure.
