The Flying Cat from Irakleio to Satorini (Thira) is fast, sleek and, as you might imagine, much smaller than the ferry to Crete. Santorini is a small series of islands that exist because of a number of volcano eruptions. The island of Santoini is the largest of these islands, and from the top of it you can clearly see the shape of the caldera. I was told that is both active and inactive. For your benefit, I will not speculate as to which is right. The plan was to make Santorini a day trip and take the late overnight ferry to Rhodes. However, the ferry company cancelled the ferry that we had planned to take out. Being ever flexible and somewhat realistic, we decided to spend the night. Note: published ferry schedules are only good for the week they are published and can change very quickly. I had read that fact in the travel literature but assumed that it was not likely. You are forewarned. 

When arriving on the island, we rented a car and immediately headed to Oia on the far north end of the island. Remember those iconic pictures of the Greek Islands with the white buildings and cerulean blue trim and domes? That is Oia. It is a maze of homes and shops built into the side of the cliff connected by narrow sidewalks and alleyways. Buildings are stacked on top of each other like blocks. A title search and survey would be impossible to complete in this setting. It turns out that homeowners buy "their hole". They own no property, just the improvements on it, and disputes concerning leaky water and sewer lines and a myriad of other problems are rampant. The underside of Paradise, you might say. 

. Santorini is an island famous for its sunsets. We were able to enjoy two. Nick, an American from Hollywood, CA, who rents cars on Santorini during the season and lives in Thailand during the off season encouraged us to view the sunset from Señor Zorba's Mexican Restaurant, owned by an American from Colorado named Mary, or the Santo Winery next door. Both are at the top of the island where you have a panoramic view of the caldera. Our first evening was spent at the winery and regarding the sunset, I will paraphrase Mark Twain: we expected lightning and experienced lightning bugs. Nice, very nice, but... 

The next day we spent the day diving near a couple of islands that form the other boundary of the caldera. The water is exceedingly clear, but the marine life is sparse. A very pleasant day but not a great dive experience. The second sunset; however, was magnificent. We drove again to the north end of the island to Amoue Bay (the spelling is not right). It is on the water at the bottom of the cliff below Oia. Boats congregate there at sunset and the tavernas on the water fill with sunset gawkers. Please promise me that you will experience a sunset from Amoue Bay before you die, but remember that the best part of the show starts when the sun drops below the waterline. 

When going from the port to Oia, you must go through the main city of Thira (Fira). This is a crowded cruise ship stop. Avoid it. 

Now, we take the overnight ferry to Rhodes and anticipate our entry into Turkey. 

Special note to Hank: if the peach juice in Hungary is better than that in Greece, you are a lucky man indeed!