Well, its becoming a bit repetitive, but Santorini has stunned us. Maria and Johanna have both blogged this afternoon about our hike along the northern part of the island to Oia. The cliff faces, plummeting to unfathomably deep calm water below, with Greek Island style white accommodation houses perched on the precipaces boasting to-die-for view after to-die-for view. I'm sitting on our terrace, Ben Howard playing from the iPad, another giant cruise ship slides by a kilometre below. As Johanna says, its hard to believe the scape is actually real.
Of the four countries we are visiting on this trip, Greece was the one I had anticipated least. This trip was about exotic and unknown, I thought the Greek Islands would be a variation on summer beach holidays in Australia. How niave.
Santorini is a great example of how landscape determines culture. The contemporary accommodation on the cliff faces is an evolution of the cave dwellings that were developed in times past to shelter from the wind. The eastern side of the island is flat and barren with its own beauty. But the Caldera on the West is spectacular. What a privilege to have been here. The Greek Islands had not been on my 'bucket list' but I am so thankful they were on Maria's. Somehow, as ridiculously bourgeois as it sounds, I think my life has been enriched just from being here.