Sunday 3-23-25
When you think Greece, you probably think about the white buildings with blue tops. Well, the day before left for the cruise, Gate1 informed us that this city was finally opened back up after the tremors from volcanic activity. That meant we got to visit Santorini, perhaps the most iconic island of Greece.
After getting the luxury of sleeping in until about seven, I got breakfast and got with the group to disembark and head off on our excursion. There was a little a mishap with our bus before we could even get out of the parking lot so we switched buses real quick and it was all good lol. Not sure what the issue was but I am glad we did not try to drive up the mountain in it. Also, a side note: I have no idea how those bus drivers drive up those skinny, narrow, windy, roads or in Greece period. It really is impressive.
Anyways, let me go ahead and tell you Santorini is not just one little place packed into a tiny village with white buildings. There was an about a thirty minute drive to reach the most north city, Oia, where you will find the Pinterest worthy views. The landscape was very barren and covered with lots of grape vineyards along the way. One of the things that Santorini is most known for are their white wines. However, the vines look a bit unusual. Since the island is so dry, they are wound up in a circle that is placed very close to the ground and then watered by humidity.
When we had finally reached the top, our guide walked us to the iconic spot with the blue domes before leaving us with free time. I took some pictures and shopped around a little before going back to the bus. It was a very pretty area but the views were even better. It felt a bit older and more relaxed to me than Mykonos. I loved looking at all the doorways because each of them were so unique and colorful.
Our tour guide also shared some valuable history about Santorini with us. The island got its name from the crusaders in the thirteen hundreds. It now has about twenty-five thousand inhabitants.They believe that Santorini is the remaining part of a volcano where the middle part collapsed. There was a very strong eruption that caused the center to collapse in three days and the caldera formed. The smaller islands you see in some of the photos were connected before the eruption.
After about an hour we drove down to Fira, the capital city of Greece. This city was originally built with volcanic rock and limestone mortar. Ever since, they have strengthened their houses even more to resist the earthquakes.
If you walked to the water front, there was a magnificent view of the volcano. We decided to outstay the group and take some time to relax and enjoy the island. We had lunch with one of my friends and her mom, got gelato, shopped a bit, and then got coffee while we waited in the bus.
I am so glad to have gotten the opportunity to visit such a bucket list destination even if it was for a short time!
Once we made it back in the ship, it was time to relax a bit. We went to set our stuff in the cabin and then headed to lunch with come friends. After, I decided to go set out in the deck, get a drink, work on the blog and enjoy the views of Santorini until time for dinner.
We enjoyed a nice meal on the outdoor dining deck for our last night. You already know we had to go support the show one last time after dinner to end the cruise with a bang.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with my first cruise experience! We definitely got to see a whole lot in just four days. I already want to go back and visit each of those charming islands.
We have an early final disembarkation back in Athens tomorrow to journey to our very last site, Corinth
Leave a Reply