July 14, 2009

We docked near Santorini this morning and after a leisurely breakfast we were tendered ashore at around 9:30. To get to Fira, the largest city on Santorini, you can either climb a path with 600 steps, take a donkey up the same path, or take a cable car. Karen and the boys chose to take a donkey while I accompanied Karen’s parents on the cable car. Once at the top we admired the beautiful view of the ocean and the town from various vantage points and wandered through the narrow streets looking through some of the shops. We also explored both the Catholic church and the Orthodox cathedral. Both had beautiful artwork in the Byzantine style. Most of the buildings on Santorini, as in Athens, are white, and the churches often have a blue domed roof, which really stands out against the sea of white buildings.

In the afternoon Karen’s Dad took Sol and Isaac back to the cruise ship while the rest of us took an island bus to the town of Oia, located at the northern tip of the island. We had a great time walking through the town and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. We had read that this was the most picturesque of the town on Santorini, and were glad that we had taken the time to travel to it.

In the evening we took in the show, featuring a pianist, while the boys hung out with other kids their age on the ship.