Traipsing through Europe: A bit of R&R on Santorini

Well the last few days and the next couple are just relaxing and exploring this beautiful Greek island. I have to admit that at first the beauty was lost on me. That is until our sunset sail last night. There are about 6000 islands in Greece broken up into 7 major groups. Santorini and Mykonos are the best known of the Cyclades group located roughly 200kms from mainland Greece. Santorini is a pretty new place. Although it was colonized in 3000 BC, there was a major volcano in 1450 BC that renewed the landscape from that point forward. If you can imagine, the volcano is about 10 kms across the part above the water and 40% of the ring and the center are below water. So it looks like a half eat donut really. And then in 1950 a significant eruption occurs in the center of the volcano forming another island (though currently uninhabited) Below you can see the outline of the volcano (called a caldera once filled with water) and the island that formed in 1950 (New burnt Island)

So they discovered the remains of the Minoan settlement but the island does not have a lot of history. and what is unattractive about it is the grey dirt that makes up most of the island at this time of year. You really want to be close to the ocean looking outward to appreciate the beauty. The water is clear. You can easily see 20 or 30 ft below you when swimming. Its quite remarkable. What is eye-catching is the white houses set against the mountain with the Agean sea sparkling below. The inked in arrow is where out hotel/apartment is located.

We caught a sailboat from the West side of the island and sailed to the "new island" formed as I said earlier in 1950. What was interesting here is that all the rocks are new. There is little vegetation - just a big pile of rocks. We did a quick walk about and snapped a couple pics. First the sailboat and below that yours truly standing amongst the black rock of the island. Looking closely at it you can imagine the liquid rock flying into the air like a spilled glass of milk , hardening in the air and breaking into these great chunks as it lands. Fairly cool I think.

Pictured here are some old ruins and also some rocks...hehe

We went on to another island and swam with the group in the turquoise water and into a hot spring where that water was orange. You can see it below as Stevie, Jake and I do a bit of swimming.

Onto the north end of the island where we anchored and had dinner which was surprisingly good. Included was a local white wine that was a real standout in our amateur opinion. After dinner we sailed back back and forth the north end of the island and watched the sun sink into the ocean. I looked over at Santorini and the top of the island is covered with cars and people all watching this spectacular sight. And as we tacked back to the harbour the island were framed by the setting sun behind them turning the entire horizon into a pallet of reds, oranges, pinks and blues that we will never forget. Below are a couple shots.