Petros Villas Santorini

... time to chat with the locals they told us how lucky we were to be visiting at this time of the year, how much nicer it is when it is quiet. As one shopkeeper told us 'Now you can see the real Santorini’

We had one last stroll around the laneways overlooking the caldera, one last meal at the excellent Pelican cafe and one last ice cream from our favourite sweet shop and one last soak in the Jacuzzi.

Ah Santorini, thank you for sharing your beauty with us.

... we could say we had done it and then take the cable car back up – it is 300 meters of sheer cliff after all.

We started out walking through the narrow alleys of Fira town, heading downwards. On the way we had to squeeze past donkeys that were working for a living, carry the building rubbish away from a worksite where some renovation work was being done. The donkeys are loyal workers and are decorated with bells and beads, so you can hear them as they ...

... was getting squashed! Just near there is the Red Beach. This is an impressive location, with towering red cliffs hanging over a beach of black sand and pebbles. We had a bit of a look around and then headed off for our next destination.

I saw a sign saying lighthouse. Ever a sucker for a lighthouse I turned the car in that direction. We came to the far end of the island, yet another location with stupendous views. Although the lighthouse itself is not accessible you ...

... the time we made it to Oia. Sadly, Oia was virtually shut down. It was a shame to see what is clearly a beautiful village present itself as a virtual ghost town. We eventually found one place where we could eat and we relaxed with a wine to distract us from the pain our feet were feeling. Unfortunately the famed sunset did not happen due to some low lying cloud. We’ll try again another day...

The next bus back to Fira was nearly an hour away so we called a taxi to take us home.

... from Oz and bump into a TV personality from home! His wife was a lovely lady and she didn't seem bothered at all that they'd been stranded in the middle of the Greek isle! Noma recognised Rex straight away from his voice. Very distinctive.

Anyway, back to the day trip!

The boat arrived and a group of about 40 people jumped on and headed off to the first stop at the volcanic island. What I didn't realise was that it's actually still active! It was quite a trek up ...

... back ate and then went straight to the pool where counting to three before I jumped in was unnecessary. Gabe is reading The Help now so he’s completely occupied and I just bummed around in the sun.

More shots from the day…

Eventually we decided to make one more go of a great sunset so we came back and Gabe made dinner. As we walked out towards the water hordes of people were coming ...

... of the towns on the island.

So, we were not overly excited to arrive and find out that during the 24 hours preceding our arrival there had been six earthquakes on the island - one of which had been quite strong and sent people scrambling into the streets.

We also learned that following the terrible earthquake of 1956, nearly all residents left Santorini and the island was basically abandoned. As late as the mid 1970s, the government tried offering free land for people who ...

... in English… Just incredible.

When we finally arrived home, I took a walking tour through my parent’s house. Something’s haven’t changed, but at the same time the small things that did change were super noticeable. But I’m observant, and I notice small things like that. The neighbourhood didn’t change, but the house and yard did. I thought I would be able to enjoy the house and especially sleeping in my bed, but to be honest, I hit the bed ...

... because they are so dangerous!" but I promise I made it to the bottom without a scratch. But anyways, I pretty much had a death grip on Jared's arm the entire way down because every so often my shoes would catch a slick rock or a pile of loose rocks and I would lose my balance. I guess all those years of dance lessons really did pay off though because I was able to regain my balance without falling each time. It also didn't help that we lost track of the main trail on ...

... there is no escalator to go up again!









This is our simple breakfast for the day. Ice cream in Waffle and coffee. We prefer McDonald's coffee... hehehe.












After breakfast, we went for the mule ride. Mule is actually a cross between donkey and a horse, and it is unlikely that ...