Oia Village on Santorini

Following our sister ship, the Cristal Olympia, to the port in Santorini.

That is not snow atop those hills, its houses.

The island of Santorini and the other islands nearby were formed by the volcano which sank the center of what was once one large island.  Some say it was the lost continent of Atlantis.

There is still an active volcano there under the sea and you can see massive hills of volcanic rock of various colors on the islands.

They say the soil is very fertile due to the lava ash.

We go ashore via tender boats again.  They say ships can't lay anchor there because it is too deep so they keep moving while we are on our excursion.

A view as we drive up the mountain.   It was a narrow road with switch backs and we kept meeting buses and semis.

Looking out from the top we could see some farm land on the other shore.

We arrive at the town of Oia.

What fabulous views there are.

This gate was just asking for a photograph.

It is the churches which have the blue tops.

So many people crowd the houses together on the cliffs overlooking the sea.  Of course they all want the view.

Churches showing off their brilliant blue tops.

But not all churches are blue.

It's us...on Santorini!

The place is so photogenic.

This entrance is down from the street and the back of the inner room would face the sea.  Does it have a window?  I don't know.

The classic shot!

A windmill.

They are crowded so close to each other on the rocks.

On the way down we saw what appears to be a church on the mountain side.

I tried to get the blue churches in a line.  Beautiful!

Self portrait.

We just had free time to roam around the town.  Looking at the clock tower.

The old houses are all turned into shops.

A small alley going toward the sea.

I am not sure if this cave is a house but we were told that poor people still live in caves.

The hills are made of many different colors of lava rock.

We saw Brad Pitt's home worth 8 million Euros.  Just the top though as it was inside a high wall.

This is the little harbor our tender boat came in on.  I am looking over the edge from the bus on the switchback road going back down.

We are due back on the ship by 8:15 PM for our sailing to Athens overnight.  Tomorrow morning we leave the boat.

Palace of Knossos at Heraklion, Crete

Today we are out at the bus at 7:30 and off to the Palace of Knossos on Crete.

Again, there are freshly squeezed oranges at the entrance.

Walking up to the ruins.

The doorways have been restored with cement but were originally wood.  There was lots of wood in the construction as well as stone and after the earthquakes fires would cause the wood to  burn and collapse the Palace.

The Palace was first occupied in 7000 BC but was rebuilt several times.

They seem to know that the posts were red.

These frescoes have been restored.

Most of the walls they found were only a few feet high.  The remainder was destroyed  by fire and earthquake.

A stone placement for a wooden post.

A view from the ruins.

Looking down on a series of rooms.

Overlooking the lower floor.

Recent restoration.

Another view of the walls.

I missed the most important part, the throne rooms, which were underground and there was a huge lineup.  I went across the street for shopping and found a book which showed everything.  Also bought a necklace and earrings in the shape of a square labyrinth, the pattern of the Palace.

Tiny blue flowers.

Back at the ship at 11 AM (by now you are getting the idea that this is a whirlwind tour) and off to Santorini.

We will arrive in Santorini about four PM.

Rhodes and Lindos

We hit the ground running in Rhodes at 8:30 and are off for the one hour drive to the town of Lindos.

Our first glimpse.

The tower of an old church.
No pictures allowed inside.

These homes are historically protected and no others can be built unless in the same style.  They call the original owners fishermen but they were actually men of the sea living as pirates.

There is always an abundance of fresh squeezed juice here.

A shot of the narrow streets.  We came to Lindos for the Acropolis but that would be 300 steps in an upward direction and Betty and I decided to explore the town instead.

We return to Rhodes by bus to the pier and then we depart on foot to the ancient medieval town.

Here we are going in through one of the gates.

Inside was a second gate.  There was a moat outside surrounding the town but it was never filled with water.

Me on one of the main streets of the old town.

The ramparts.

The knights of St. John the Baptist lived along this street.

Looking inside one of the knights doorways showed a back door to an open courtyard.

It is one long street and very well preserved.

Nice door eh?

On the same street was the hospital which the  knights ran.  It was using the most advanced medicine of the time.

Part of the town has merchants offering goods to the tourists.
Here is the Bank of Greece.

There were many market streets containing shops, restaurants and bars.  I managed some computer time here in one of the coffee shops.

You can usually get a glimpse of the old stone wall in some direction.

More restaurants, bars and shops.  They are well done shops and preserve the  natural look of the stone walls that contain them.

Looks like the balcony of a home.

Ruins of the Church of the virgin of the Burgh.

Looking out another gate toward the harbor.

There was a small beach right outside the gate and we see our ship from there.

I had no swim suit but did paddle my feet in the water.  There are nicer beaches in another location that we didn't go to.

I passed another one of those windmills on the way to the ship.

Found today's towel creation waiting for me.

Well, I think I like Rhodes the most as a place I would return to and spend some time..

We sail at 6:30 PM for Heraklion, Crete.