Santorini

Santorini May 27th 2013 I've read about Santorini. I know it is a collapsed volcano caldera. I know it is perched on top of volcanic cliff. I know it is supposed to be picturesque. Nothing you read will do justice to this place. The ship pulls into the center of the caldera and uses it's thrusters to stay in place because the ocen floor is 1,200 feet down, much too deep for an anchor. Village ships come to tender you to the island's dock, (note, the tender is small and rocks A LOT which might make some of us have motion sickness) From the dock, you have 3 choices of you wish to visit the village of Fira up on top. Walk 600 stairs (approx 900 vertical feet), ride a donkey up (yummy smell) or take the cable car. We took the easy way up. The village is very photogenic. Everything is crushed into such a small space. The "roads" are often not as wide as our sidewalks. Nearly every building is white, with some blue tossed in. I've never seen a town that screams for a photo like this. We went north to another town, Oia - pronounced EE-Ah. It is even more amazing. WOW takes on a whole new meaning. This place has been a cruise ship destination for a thousand years. The crusader ships used to stop here for supplies on their way to Jerusalem. Ever wonder where the term "cruise ship" came from ? Like Crusader ship ? Our guide was a local who had a lot of info about the place. Put this on your list of places to visit someday.