Santorini!!

We have slept through every sunrise since we've been here, however today we had to get up early for the boat to Santorini, so here's a Rethymnon sunrise.

And here is the marina:

One more:

About three hours on a fast ferry and we are on lovely Santorini. We take a coach tour with three stops. First stop, Oia, pronounced EE-Yah because there are a lot of donkeys on Santorini and that is how they sound. Does the tour guide make this stuff up, I wonder?

My photos are less brilliantly white than the archetypal Santorini photos because it was a bit overcast--fine by me as I don't handle full sun terribly well.

The white cross on the Greek flag symbolises Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the established religion of the Greek people of Greece and Cyprus. The flag was outlawed during Ottoman rule, so the sneaky Greeks painted their church domes blue and put white crosses on top to symbolise the banned flag. At least that's what Sofia the tour guide said.

I'm a sucker for dog portraits. Today on Facebook I posted a video of a dachshund playing a video game on an iPad, for instance. And who can resist a wedding?

Lots of colours.

The island was formed after a volcano erupted, providing excellent soil for growing grapes. Wine has been made on Santorini for more than 3,000 years. During our visit to our second stop, Fira, I ran through narrow alleyways packed with tourists to the other end of town to visit the Catholic cathedral, hoping to find a giftshop where I could buy something for my mom. No such luck, however a lovely cathedral:

Our third stop was at the south end of the island in Perissa, which has a black sand beach. We went swimming, which felt incredible. Then we had a wonderful lunch with local wine.

Bus descending to the port.

Looking south from the port, which is near Fira in the centre of the island.

Goodbye Santorini! The white "icing" on the lava rock is houses.

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