Sailing the Greek Isles on the legendary Sea Cloud is a dream come true. I sit here in a deck chair, feeling the warm ocean breeze as an orange full moon rises over Santorini. Few places in this world live up to the hype in travel magazines, but Santorini does. The sights, the famous blue domes, and the iced coffee.
We spent the night anchored inside Santorini’s inner harbor, a caldera that formed following an explosive volcanic eruption, called the Minoad eruption, around 1600 B.C. This is the same eruption that buried the archeological site at the village of Akrotiri, which we will visit this afternoon.
We begin the day going ashore and making the steep drive up the cliffs from sea level. The views are immediately impressive, as we climb through layer after layer of volcanic tuff, lava flows, and cinders. There’s no escaping the feeling that we are visiting an active volcano.
The drive through the countryside is equally breathtaking with olive and pistachio orchards and vineyards, with there characteristic low growing grape vines. Our first visit is to the north end of the island and the community of Oia, the most picturesque of all Santorini villages. This were most of the classic views of the blue domes are photographed. We spend the morning exploring the narrow streets, searching out scenic overlooks, shopping, and, of course, stopping to enjoy an iced coffee while taking in the panoramic views of the harbor below.
