Arc Houses Imerovigli

Our relaxed schedule meant that we had one last day to enjoy what Fira could offer. We visited the museum that houses the finds from Akrotiri – lots of pottery and some interesting wall paintings. A small gold animal figurine was particularly impressive. The museum is modern and well displayed, but as we were the only visitors there we didn't really enjoy the personal security supervision that followed us from exhibit to exhibit like a distrustful overseer.

As we ...

... the fellow said ‘OK – here is hot springs’ and he waved his had vaguely towards the shore’. ‘But how do we get to them?’ ‘You swim’. Yes, through the icy sea water to the shore. This was not part of the plan. The girls got into their swimming costume and Heath stripped off to his boxers and there followed much angst from all parties about whether to brave the conditions.

Of course, as the responsible father I ...

... interesting to note that after the rain that had fallen in the past couple of days there was a huge amount of rock and volcanic sand strewn across the roads.

As sunset approached we found ourselves back at Oia. The rain and clouds put paid to any ideas of a magnificent sunset, but we saw the bay of Ammoudiou and Jess had a close encounter with a donkey. We decided to keep the car for another day.

A power cut in the morning meant we hurried out the door. Our ...

... because we walked slowly, took breaks and lots of photos. At times the route is on a cobbled path and at times it’s just a goat track. It climbs up and down and skirts the cliff edge at all times. It really is something to experience. Along the route are dotted a series of picture-perfect chapels. I was disappointed to find them locked though.

Although the walk is only 12 km, its climbs and descents make it very challenging, at least for us and we were completely buggered ...

... such a crazy, fun experience.The boat soon took us back to the Old Port at Santorini. To get back up to the town, you could either take the cable car or ride donkeys up the zig zag path along the cliff. It was really a no-brainer, we took the donkeys. There was a little man wearing a greek fishing hat at the port yelling "DONKEY RIIIDE DONKEY! DONKEY RIIDE DONKEY! YOU! FOUR GIRLS! DONKEY RIDE!!!!" So we followed him.   We thought that maybe they would help us get ...

... that makes it beautiful to me. I checked into my hotel, and go for a walk. The hills of Fira, where I am staying, are covered mostly with white villas that cling to the side of a cliff that overlooks the Caldera. There are many shops, stores, cafes, Taverns, and of course churches, in amongst the villas, that sell everything, but plumbing goods. There's a market here for Crane ;o) It was a delight to walk through the maze of streets, and ...

... tour :) Oh well I really just wanted to see the furthest town Oia, so I hopped on the public bus. First off we in Vancouver are getting ripped off because the buses here are like big coach style buses with comfy seats. The ride was about 25 min and only cost 1.20. So Oia was stunning I'll try and post photos because it's so beautiful. Some people stay there but its kinda far from the hustle and bustle of the main town Fira, so I'm pretty happy with where I ...

... while sun bathing :p
















In the evening, we went to Selene for dinner. This is the most expensive meal throughout our trip! The ambient was quite nice, but the food is nothing to shout about. I guess we prefer the gyros to Greek fine dining...







We have each a mussel for a ...

... br>




These two houses out of nowhere, are actually painted very nice, and they aren't any special buildings. We just cannot resist and had to stop our car just to take a picture of them!













Greece also export a lot of pistachios. And it is from here that we first see a pistachio tree. They ...