Aegean Plaza Kamari

... slope to get to the crater. The hard slog was well worth the effort. some amazing views and we learnt all about the formation of Santorini Island. The last eruption was in the 50's and apparently she's ready to blow again! Fortunately everyone gets around 3 months warning before it'll happen so we weren't in any danger! Still the smell of sulphur pouring out of the open vent from 5kms below the ground was something! You can actually see how the individual rocks were formed from ...

Well, a very enjoyable last night in Santorini. had dinner at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sunset strip. Pity it wasn't the clearest of nights but still spectacular.<br>Dinner consisted of grilled pork with pureed red pepper and potatoes with cheese and Souvlaki Lamb with baked potato.<br>A 5.00 am start got us on to the flight to Athens then Rome.

After a sleep in we wandered into town to choose a suitable location for our anniversary dinner tonight (21 years!).<br>As usual we just had to take more photos ~ don't worry, after a few more tonight this will be all of Santorini.<br>Next, Italy where the forecast is 0 to 14 degrees. BRR BRR

The weather has improved remarkably, the wind dropping from the 40 knot+ from yesterday as we set off on the sailing vessel "Captain Yannis". We departed Amoudi Wharf and motored to Nea Kameni, the volcano island, where we saw the evidence of eruptions dating back to 1630 BC.<br>That first eruption was 70 times larger than Krakatoa in Indonesia and produced a tsunami 250m high!<br>The most recent eruption was in 1950 and even today we could see hot steam venting from the ...

... route there along the east coast of the island. I took a turn driving the ATV and had a blast! Then we stopped in Oia and had a look around.The views are awesome and the little village, perched on the hill, is filled with white buildings and hidden staircases. We headed back to Fiora and managed to walk down without getting run over by a donkey.<br>Corfu was nice as well but as Steve said, very different. It was very green and the sandybeaches were some of the ...

... the caldera in orange glow and creating the most relaxing &amp; pretty atmosphere you can imagine.....even though this was our second time here, one never grows tired of the fabulous views across the crater from the hotels which almost cling to the cliff-face 700 feet above the blue water.<br><br>Food &amp; a spot more shopping for t-shirts for the family (some shops do not close until as late as 11pm!) was now in order......the ...

... there were tons of 'asses' climbing the stairs. We managed to navigate our way down and found our boat. The first stop was Nea Kameni, the islet (or mouth of the active volcano) in the middle of the caldera. We got to climb up to the crater and see the views from the top as well as some of the sulphur plumes. It isn't active in the way that you can see lava from the top, but the sulphur smell was good reminder of where we actually were. It ...

... amazing, especially because we have nothing like that back in Australia. And the way that they lived is incredible, they were so civillised in the way that they lived and worked. From what has been discovered, it is believed that these people were very wealthy, and very smart. When excavation on the site began, most of the houses were completely filled with the pumice and ash, but they came across some areas where there were gaps or holes. they filled these with ...

... any creature make, to the amusement of all in close vicinity. This evening we took a bus out to Oia, a gorgeous little town on the northern tip of the island. If anyone's seen a postcard from Santorini, nine times out of ten the shot came from there. Like Thira, the town clings precariously to the edge of the caldera's rim, but with a much greater concentration of whitewashed, blue-domed churches popping up into the scene. Even under thick, grey skies the setting is ...

... that has a hot spring (it felt like a spa treatment in the middle of nowhere), and an island that is very sparsely populated. Things are still going great. I am peeling a little from the sun and my little tube of lotion is almost gone and I'm too cheap to buy the expensive big size from the little stores. But I really look like I have some kind of skin disease; maybe that's why people haven't been sitting next to me:) Except the smokers ...