Margarita Hotel Santorini Fira

... a little winding path and such a steep incline we were both knackered just looking at it!! However, instead of doing the right thing and walking up we decided it was a good idea to get a taxi... in the form of a donkey!! I was great fun! There was massive amounts of confusion with Greek men yelling at people and donkeys as they tried to sort out which person was riding which donkey. It was comedy! Once we all finally were saddled up, the donkeys started the climb. Needless to ...

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 ...

... past the suckers who chose to walk up. <br>We decided not to book an excursion and instead rent an ATV for the day which turned out to be an excellent decision as we saw most of the island for a little under 30 EURO. We drove on most of the island's roads to all the tiny settlements and were amazed at the landscape and houses built in the middle of nowhere. Oia was our last stop before heading back to Fira to get back on the ship - it is probably the most visited ...

A much more sensible pickup time of 9.45am this morning, saw Spiros drive us to Athens airport in another lovely Mercedes taxi. It took only 30 minutes in light Sunday morning traffic which was a pleasant change from the Athens city congestion typical of a place where 5 million people are endeavouring to get around, appearing every now &amp; then to try to do so at the one time!<br><br>While waiting for our flight, we had a quick look ...

... of Santorini. Then in 46 BCE, "fire" was observed in the sea--fire that water could not quench, according to contemporary reports. Soon new volcanic deposits appeared above water level where the old volcano had been, and they've increased over the centuries. The last eruption occurred in 1950, but we visited the crater of this recent explosion and found sulfurous steam rising from vents (with the unmistakable odor of eggs), and just a few inches below ...

... ship. Sunsets everyday but somehow they seem just a little different as if the sun stays up just a little longer so its beautiful view of Santorini will last just that much longer. Could stay for days, could stay for years, in Santorini I don't think there is much difference...

... a ton of money to the islands, but at the same time causes everything to be much more expensive. Santorini is a big party island now, especially on nights with big soccer matches (such as last night, Arsenal vs. Barcelona), and it's a nice break from the normal grind of staying in the hotel room doing homework. Not a bad way to spend a few days. We leave Santorini today for Athens, and then head to Cairo on Saturday.