Oosterdam European Adventure, Fira, Santorini, Greece...

 We got the first tender to shore and hurried to get in line for the cable car up to the village of Fira as there were four ships in…it was pretty efficient, and we were up to the top of the island in no time. And the views… absolutely stunning…The Santorini villages have whitewashed houses with blue doors and domes, carved in tiers at the top of dark cliffs. Our guide Aris met us, and we were off to the highest point in the town of Fira to see the views…the island is relatively small 18 km by 12 km. Next, we started a tour of the island crossing the narrowest point of the island to the north with its flat plain of fertile land. We stopped at Oia, the most famous of all villages on Santorini. It is known throughout the world for its quiet life and fantastic sunset and is certainly the most beautiful and picturesque village of Santorini. The village is situated on top of an impressive cliff and offers spectacular views and where the most famous blue dome church is. We strolled through town admiring the cliff side view and capturing the panoramic beauty of this village. After touring Oia, we drove across a vineyard-covered landscape to the island’s highest point to the Prophet Elias monastery built in 1711. The monastery was closed to the public but the views from the highest point on the island were memorable. We then drove across rocky hills and sparse grassland approaching the ancient city of Megalochori in the island’s center. We parked and walked into town This village is made up of hundreds of modest whitish cottages with delicate architecture, lovely, blue-domed churches, and underground cave dwellings. We did visit the inside of a cave home where the temperature remains a constant 20C all year long. Megalochori was a quaint village that dates back to the 17th century. Next, we went to the Red Beach. On our way to the Red Beach, we passed the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri known as "Greek Pompei" but did not stop. Our final stop was at Perivokos’ Black Beach at the southernmost end of the island. We stopped for a delicious Greek lunch at the Forty-One Santorini seaside restaurant. Aris dropped us back in Fira to get the cable car to the tender port. The line for the cable car was so long it took Ann and Cathy over an hour to reach the cable car ticket booth. I decided not to wait in the cable car line and to walk down the to the tender pier on the steep and uneven flights of 600 steps…On my decent, a number of times I slipped and thought my number was up. It all worked out and we were able to see the famous Santorini sunset… However, today was not our day; the clouds kept us from seeing a spectacular sunset.   Great day on this beautiful island.