10. Santorini

Last evening we booked the alternative dining "Jasmine" option, this being advertised as a fusion of cuisine of various far eastern countries. Although the food itself was nice and the surroundings made a change from the usual Britannia restaurant, the rest of the meal was extremely disappointing. Needless to say that complaints were registered, refunds made and it is a dining option that we won't be doing again. Thus we skipped the casino and just had a late Commodore Club evening cocktail before retiring (relatively) early to bed ahead of our scheduled 7am start in the morning.

Today we are at anchor in the archipelago of Santorini in what is a flooded caldera created following a massive volcanic eruption many years ago. Our morning excursion took us to Nea Kameni which is an island created as a result of the most recent volcanic activity. There have been several eruptions over the past centuries with the most recent in 1950 and which created new land. We climbed up amongst the lava fields to the highest point of the island - there is no vegetation or resident wildlife - and in one or two places fumaroles spew hot sulphurus gasses. The excursion was not a long one, but extremely interesting nonetheless.

Immediately thereafter, we headed for the main island of Santorini which gives the archipelago it's name. The main town of Fira is one that often appears on postcards and in Greek tourism advertisements. The town itself is at the top of a one thousand foot cliffs and is reached either on foot by way of a similar number of steps, or by cable car. I'm sure, dear reader, you will have guessed which option we decided to take.
There is no doubt that the panoramic views afforded from the town overlooking the cliffs and the surrounding islands is one of the most stunning that you are ever likely to see, and which photographs cannot recreate. The sky is a powder blue, the sea a deep blue and the black volcanic cliffs of the other islands making up the rim of the caldera make a striking contrast. Having said that, there is very little of interest in the town itself unless you are a tourist looking to buy overpriced drinks, standard Greek gold and silver jewellery, or t shirts emblazoned with I "heart" Santorini.
A couple of hours was more than enough ashore and so we returned to the ship for a refreshing and well deserved swim.
We are scheduled to sail away shortly and I am hoping that the setting sun lighting up the islands will present one or two photo opportunities.

This evening we will no doubt catch up with the adventures of Steve, Elaine, Frances and Christina, following which we will go and support Stuart in his show.