The Greek Islands, A Photographer's Paradise  

Imagine a clear, beautiful, sunny day sitting on the deck of your hotel room perched on a steep cliff, with your favorite beverage looking out at the deep blue waters of the Aegean Sea! That’s what we experienced in Santorini during our stay in the Greek Islands, and there would be 7 more days of paradise.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the first of our three hotels in the Greek Islands had this “drop dead” view. We arrived in Santorini after an 8 hour ferry ride stopping along the way in Paros, Naxos and Ios to pick up and drop off passengers. While in Santorini, we enjoyed exploring the main village of Thira strolling along the cliff walkway to and from the quaint town each day while taking photos of the incredible view, attractive shops, churches and white washed homes with their vibrant blue trim. We also couldn’t get enough of the majestic views of the volcano and sea from so many different part of the island.

Santorini is one of the most famous of the many Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea and differs from the others due to the now large dormant volcano ,which erupted in the 16^th century BC, causing large parts of the island to sink. The eruption created a large crater (caldera) similar to Crater Lake but much larger in scale. It is also believed that there may be a connection between Santorini and the lost ancient Atlantis continent.

Our next stop was another ferry ride to Syros where we stayed 2 nights right on the harbor. We set off to explore the quaint harbor and climbed the countless steps to the top of the hill where an old Catholic Church stood. We enjoyed taking endless photos and wandering around the small whitewashed houses along streets and sidewalks laid in marble. We later shared a cab with a group of German students who just arrived into town and explored a noted beach on the other side of the island.

It was now time to take another ferry to Mykonos, our third and final stop in the Cyclades. We stayed at a very quaint hotel about 3 km outside of the harbor town of Hora. The hotel looked new and when we asked the owner about the age of the hotel we were told 20 years. She explained that they give the interior and exterior a “whitewash” paint job every spring season! Along the streets were brilliant white homes with rounded edges, stepped walls, wooden doors and windows with brightly colored balconies and shutters . Imagine all this work—even the patios and walkways get a paint job. We had lunch in the main town of Hora enjoying its harbor where colorful little fishing boats nestle happily side by side with luxury cruise ships. For dinner both nights we found a quite restaurant (Ithaki) near the hotel with an ocean view and delicious meals. Because it was still ‘low season’ we got special attention from the owner.

Each of these 3 islands had its own unique charm and beauty and were a photographer’s paradise!

Now we were off to Cairo, Egypt to see another wonder of the world, the ancient pyramids.

Where’s Pat and Mike?