high standards

I keep struggling to believe what I see here is real, the steep cliffs sloping down into the dark, smooth depths of salty ocean water, the dark silhouettes of surrounding islands, the swirling mist that is always on the horizon, blurring the clear cut between ocean and sky and making it seem as if our view is endless.

Because I am very anti unnecessary exercise I literally had to be dragged to go on a hike to what seemed like a very distant Oia, pronounced ee-a. It started off alright as we walked slowly along and I listened to music, the view of course was spectacular, and at the top of the first hill there was shade and a friendly dog waiting. As we progressed on and I had less time to focus on the negative 'why would we hike when we could take the bus' thoughts I started to appreciate the rugged and barren beauty of what was around us. Dry crumbling earth, dull green plants and high red rocks, doesn't sound too appealing, but it was. I watched small lizards speed away as our shadows fell over them, and birds swooping with the wind. The dry life appeals to me in some way, also in such a contrast to the deep, pure depths of water that line every edge. I picked up several small rocks and threw them, one by one, over the cliff edge as they fell, almost in slow motion, through the pure air and down onto the rocky shore line, something so simple, but amazing. The second hill we ventured up was steep, hot and hard, a VERY complain worthy situation, but since I've found my tail...

When we reached Oia we sat on a garden terrace in the shade and had a nice cool drink, then a lunch which was very nice, a Greek salad, sun dried tomato and feta pie, and a mixed sandwich. We then wandered around and got some ice cream, watched some donkeys, etc, etc. we got the bus back (thank god) and then dad and I went for a swim in the neighbouring pool which looks out over the magnificent view, very nice. Now we sit around on the terrace, snacking on nuts and chips, drinking juice and writing blogs - (me).

I'm going to miss Santorini, the cliffs, the mist, rugged landscape, the smooth water, warm days.
Tomorrow we depart to Naxos, lets see if it can impress me seeing as my standards are pretty high now.