Akrotiri

What do you get when you cross the ruins of Pompeii and the archaeological dig in Xi’an? … No, it’s not the set up for a joke, it’s the way I felt deep in my gut when I toured the “dig” in Akrotiri. Oddly enough, I actually have...

Black sand and blue domes

No, contrary to popular belief, “Mama Mia” was NOT filmed on Santorini. But it it had been… Well, it’s for sure that Perissa would have been THE place to be! Stereotypical to a fault, Perissa’s waterfront is lined with quaint cafés and...

Intoxicating view!

We were told that a half million bottles of wine are produced annually on Santorini, yet none are exported. We were told the tourists drink it all up. (I think they probably have some local help, but I have no proof.) Our advertised “wine tour” stopped at...

Megalochori

Besides Fira and Ia, there are many smaller towns on Santorini. A sudden rain shower almost kept me from enjoying one of my favorite unexpected experiences, but thankfully, the dark cloud passed quickly by. Our bus driver dropped us off at one end of Megalochori, and...

Shipboard Sunset and Dancing

Let’s take a look back at this “Optional Tour” off Santorini. We’d left our hotel at 1:30, took another wild bus ride down the side of the caldera, boarded a fully-appointed sailing vessel, made our first stop to hike up a volcanic island,...

In the (Aegean) swim!

“They said” we’d have an opportunity to swim in the Aegean Sea during this optional add-on tour. What they didn’t tell us was that we’d be instructed to literally jump off the boat to do so! But I was here for the adventure, and I gamely...