Santorini - last stop on the cruise

Hello from Athens! One more post covering our last stop on the cruise:

Santorini was the much-anticipated last stop on the cruise.  The day did not turn out the way we thought it would - to say the very least.

We learned early in the morning that effectively ALL excursions were cancelled because of wind/waves at the port where the excursions start.  The tenders, which go to a different port, were still running.  The situation was made more challenging by the fact that there were FIVE cruise ships full of people with no excursions!

Now, I know what you are thinking  - just go into Santorini and walk around Sheri.  Sure, of course! The challenge is that Santorini sits 1,300 feet above sea level.  There are three ways up the rock - 1) a gondola, 2) ride a donkey or 3) walk.  Don't know if you would have guessed, but we walked.  The line to ride the gondola was 2 hours long (remember the 5 cruise ships?) and the donkey line was long and the ride looked terrifying.

Here is a small section of the 600+ steps.



This is the view of the donkey trail that we walked up - from the ship. The walk up took about 35 minutes.  Not too bad, but we were a sweaty, out-of-breath mess when we got to the top.


A view from the top!

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Constructed in 1823. Damaged by the earthquake of July 1956 it has been restored again and opened for worship in August 1975.


We had lunch at this lovely place - what a view! The seafood and greek salad were both delicious!


St. Gerasimos Church


It is really beautiful in Santorini!


Like many places in Europe you have to pay 1 EURO to use the WC (Water Closet).  Sometime it is better than others.  You should at least expect a clean bathroom with toilet paper, paper towels - and generally a surly attendant who is not interested in more than taking your coin.

This was completely unexpected eastern-style toilet - I have used one before (and worse for sure) - it was funny seeing the look on the other women's faces when they saw the challenge ahead - LOL!  

I did feel like 1 EURO was a steep price for this and 2 squares of t.p.
Oh well, it got the job done.

This dude looks like he is ready for any style toilet!


Back on-board for our last dinner - we are all happy and healthy ... and very, very tan!



Goodbye Santorini!

Next up Athens!

Sheri & Carsten

PS - yes, we walked back down the trail as well.

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