First Day in Santorini

Fira, Santorini

I started this post in a hammock by the pool, but the breeze here on Santorini is a little chilly after the moon comes up.  We flew to Santorini today and the hotel had a driver to pick us up, so no worries about getting lost in the tiny, winding streets.  Our room wasn't ready so we went wandering and found a great gyro place, seemed like a Greek version of Chipotle, really good. When we got back our room was ready and it is nice.  Dream Island Hotel is older, but you meet the whole family running it and we have a suite again, score! Most water on the island comes from a desalination plant, so we picked up some bottled water at the owner's suggestion.

View from balcony at Dream Island Hotel

We explored Fira today, checking out old churches and tourist shops.  The picture here is at the top of where the cable car and donkeys offload the passengers from the cruise ships down in the caldera.  It looks like a wild ride to the city either way.  You have to be careful walking around, drivers here are "creative" and anyone can rent a four-wheeler or scooter and join the madness. 

Wine Flight at Santos Winery

Santorini is known for its wines, so we hopped on a bus to the nearest one, Santos Winery.  We had a 12 wine tasting with bread, cheese, olives and local Santorini tomato paste.  It was so good and the view over the caldera and back toward Fira was amazing.  We picked out some gifts and souvenirs, then tried to find our way home.  The bus stop was not marked and we found some others wandering around too.  I was about to try flagging down a car when the bus came by, whew.  We went down by the pool when we got back to the hotel, but moved to the balcony of our room with hot tea as it got chilly.  I definitely have at least one blister that is throbbing, treating it and hoping it improves.