Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
26) After such a great time on Naxos we went to Santorini with some trepedation since the volcanic island is ground zero for all the island tourism in Greece. We did find masses of tourists flooding off the cruise ships but the island is so stunning that it didn't matter. The plan was to take off on a hike as soon as the ferry tied up at the pier but sweltering hot temperatures convinced us to turn it into an evening hike instead. We retired to our hotel in picturesque Fira for a couple of hours to cool off.
27) Santorini is ranked as one of the top islands in the world to visit and the hike from Fira to Oia is surely the best way to see the island. We walked along the edge of the volcanic caldera first alongside the lavish infinity pools of the private resorts just north of Fira, then past the quintessential blue and white churches of the islands and then onto the undeveloped rim on the north side of the island. The view from the Church of the High Cross is spectacular! We arrived in Oia just in time to watch the sunset and to enjoy yet another amazing meal.
28) The next day we explored Fira, including visiting the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. The collection in this museum focuses primarily on the artifacts found at the archaelogical site of Akrotiri on the south coast of the island. The ceramics, sculptures, jewelry and wall paintings on display are 4 to 5 thousand years old but are in surprisingly good condition because Akrotiri was covered by a volcano eruption in 1627 BC. Fascinating stuff.
29) The highlight of our time on Santorini, and of the trip as a whole, was the sunset sea-kayaking trip we took with Santorini Sea Kayaking. Our guide Jeremy was fantastic. He lead us on a peaceful paddle along the base of the caldera cliffs to a secluded beach with an amazing fisherman's chapel where we did a little snorkeling and enjoyed a picnic. Finally, we started paddling back but took a break to just float, eat some watermelon and enjoy the sunset. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Santorini!
30) The secluded chapel mentioned above was built inside a cave at the base of a 600 feet high cliff. Imagine our surprise when we looked inside and found this beautiful sanctuary.
31) The tour was officially over after our sea kayaking evening but we enjoyed our time with Anna so much that we invited her to join us for a morning tour of Nea Kameni. This is the National Geological Park on the volcanic cone in the center of the caldera. This was probably the most touristy thing we did and was anti-climatic but was still interesting. We did the short hike, about 1/2 mile in length with about 350 feet of elevation gain, to the upper overlook and then back down all with about 500 other tourists. The tour also included a very brief stop at the Palia Kameni hot springs, basically just enough time to swim out to where the water got warm and then swim back to the boat.
32) With the Bike Hike tour over Brianna, Jonna and Alan took the ferry to Crete in order to spend a few days exploring the island on our own. We arrived in Heraklio in the evening and only had time pick up our rental car and find a hotel. The next morning we jumped in our car and made a beeline for the ancient site of Knossos. Over 4,000 years old and the source of many great Greek myths like the Theseus & the Minotaur, Daedalus & Icarus and Queen Ariadne. It is also the source of one of archeology's biggest controversies thanks to the Arthur Evans' interpretation and reconstruction of parts of the Minoan ruins. Nonetheless, it was amazing to see a site so old it straddles the border of history and myth.
33) From Heraklio we drove to the opposite side of the island to the small beach town of Paleohora. Thanks to the magic of the Internet we had reserved an apartment ahead of time so our plan was to enjoy some beach time and to explore some of the southwestern corner of Crete. There are two beachs on the Paleohora penisula: a sandy beach on the west side (pictured here) and a pebble beach on the east side. If the weather was calm, the sandy beach was the place to be. If it was windy, we made the 5 minute walk to the other side of town to hang out on the pebble beach.
34) Remember way back at the beginning of these web pages when I mentioned the great food? We continued that in Paleohora where we had terrific dinners including this one at a lovely outdoor cafe with a wood-fired pizza oven.
35) Brianna and Jonna swam in the beautiful Libyan Sea every day. Here they are soaking at the pebble beach.
37) Above Paleohora, on the south end of town, were the ruins of an old Venetian fortress. Mixing old military defenses with new, there were also foundations from WWII German gun emplacements amongst the 700 year old Venetian walls.
37) The beaches aren't the only reason to visit Crete. The White Mountains in central Crete, which loom over the southern coast as seen in this photo, are quite striking.
38) For our final day in Palehora we decided to do the famous Samaria Gorge hike. This involved an early morning 2 hour bus ride up into the White Mountains to the Samaria Gorge National Park entrance. From the starting point at 3,200 ft of elevation we dropped down into the stunning Samaria Gorge.
39) The National Park rangers in Samaria Gorge have rescue donkeys pre-staged in various places throughout the gorge to deal with medical emergencies. Brianna the horse girl had to greet them all as we hiked past.
40) The highlight of the Samaria Gorge hike is the 2nd half of the hike where the floor of the canyon is about 40 ft across but the walls tower nearly 1,000 feet above you. Stunning!
41) On our final morning, before catching our flight back to Athens (and from there back to the US), drove back over the mountains from Paleohora to Hania and spent a couple of hours checking out the port city.
42) The final surprise of our trip was a delayed flight from Athens to Philidelphia that resulted in a missed connecting flight. Our unexpected stay in Philly for July 4th allows us to track down Brianna's sister Rosie who was in Philly for a ballet intensive. We all met up at a high school ball field to watch the July 4th fireworks which allowed the two sisters to see each other after a month apart.
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Greece Trip Photo Page.
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