Back to our Mediterranean cruise...
we stopped at two Greek Isles, Mykonos and Santorini (officially known as Thera.) They were two stops I was really looking forward to with all the romance and beauty I had grown to expect from films and the Athens Olympics a few years ago. As often happens though, the build up in my mind led to some disappointment with the high price of artisan goods and discovering the high winds we experienced on Santorini were not unusual.
Santorni looked much different coming in then Mykonos. Where Mykonos was of relatively low terrain, Santorini greeted us with gigantic cliffs that did not disappoint when visiting the villages on top for views.
When gazing from the top of the cliffs one can see its volcanic origin. In fact where our ship was anchored was in the center of the caldera! The land slopes down to the Aegean on the other side. According to Wikipedia: "The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization." There's a theory that this eruption led to the legend of Atlantis.
Although Santorini is only one of two places in Europe that is considered to have a hot desert climate, we got rained on quite hard while lunching in the town of Thera. The fantastic meal of Tomatokeftes (dish made with the famously sweet cherry tomatoes) and kotsi (meat dish) eaten under a plastic tarped shelter along with a bottle of the local wine reminded us to slow down. However, it was the wind in the very picturesque town of Oia that really surprised us.
Not in Utopia, -- subterranean fields,
--Or some secreted island, Heaven knows where!
But in the very world, which is the world
Of all of us, -- the place where in the end
We find our happiness, or not at all! ~William Wordsworth