Travel Diary

Imerovigli, Santorini Greece

Yesterday, was a day of relaxation for me, after all the travelling and touring I've been doing, as well as being the 7th day of the week. However, I was booked on a sunset cruise, but that was cancelled at due to bad weather and was rescheduled as an afternoon cruise. There were just two other people, both from Phoenix on the catamaran with me and we cruised, talked about the islands with the skipper and had a wonderful Greek lunch - provided by a excellent cook. After dropping us off at the harbor, the ship went back to the caldera to ride out the expected storm.

During the cruise I learned the reason for the port being in such disarray. It seems that a recent rock-slide destroyed two of the piers, so all the ships where having to use the remaining one. It was the construction on the other two that caused such a mess on my arrival.

Here are a couple of photos that I took shortly after my arrival in Santorini on Friday.

Virgin Mary Orthodox Church-Three Bells of Fira, Santorini, Greece.
Caldera view towards Thira from Imerovigli by night, Santorini, Greece.

Dreadful Weather

Today's weather is horrible, both from a photographic and tourism point of view. It's cold, rainy and windy. I took a walk into Fira town this morning and got soaked. There were some hearty souls on the walk and the shopping area of town was lacking for shoppers, in spite of the occasional puddle. The rain wasn't heavy, but a light steady drizzle, with occasional thunder. Still, I'm thrilled and happy to be here. Hopefully, the weather will clear up some, so that I can get some of the photos that I envisioned.

Imerovigli, Santorini Greece

I arrived at Santorini island at mid-afternoon today, on board the Blue Star Delios (the same ship I traveled to Naxos on). The scene at the port can only be described as organized chaos. You have a couple of thousand people trying to get off the ship, along with an assortment of cars, trucks and other vehicles, and the same number trying to get on. The port is very small.

View from the balcony in my room at the Ira Resort and Spa, Imerovigli, Santorini, Greece.

Like many of the hotels on Santorini, the Ira Resort and Spa is built into the cliff face. It makes for a unique experience. One of the things I loved about this hotel was its colorful buildings. Here I show some of the upper rooms, my room was a caldera view room down another filght of stairs, facing the caldera.

Aegean Sea, Greece

I'm back on the Blue Star Delos bound for Santorini. Similar to my first trip on the Delos, the sea is calm and relaxing. In a short 2 1/2 hours I'll be on the island of Santorini.

Naxos, Greece

Late yesterday afternoon, I went to visit the Portara, a popular place for taking sunsets. While I was there a Japanese girl kept asking me to take her picture with her phone, even though I was obviously busy, setting up my tripod and camera. Once i finished, I took a couple of pictures. Later, I noticed that she had gone into the area between the two pillars of the gate, which is off limits to entry as well as having photos taken of her and a toy doll. This is an Instagram shoot I believe.

I wasn't that interested in the sunset, being more interested in photographing the town at the blue hour. While I was waiting to take the photos I got to talking to an older couple, Ray and Coral from Brisbane, Australia. Coral seemed to be quite the photographer, photographing with an energy I haven't felt in years. We wound up talking for an hour, and later we purchased tickets on the same bus tour for the next day. I was able to spend an absolute wonderful day with these lovely people. I hope to hear from them via email once they get home.

Town at the Blue Hour, Naxos, Greece.

Naxos, Greece

One thing I learned very quickly, is that Greece is not the place to be if your intention is to see the sights early. Life and its activities seems to be more of an afternoon or evening affair. Yesterday, for example, I had dinner at 6 pm and I was the only one in the restaurant. The morning, just a little after 8 am, I went for a walk on the beach; it was deserted. By 9 am, I saw all of 3 people on the beach, although shopkeepers were just starting to prepare to open their shops for the day.

There is a very light breeze today, yesterday it was quite stiff. As a result the water is very calm. I went to the Portara after walking on the beach. The wildflowers here are simply amazing! I didn't see them yesterday, even though they were there. The light yesterday was harsher, which is probably why I paid them little attention.

Wildflowers at the Portara, Naxos, Greece.