If you have never been to the Greek isles I suggest you go. If you’ve been already, go back! On one of our trips to Europe we spent a few days in Santorini and we cant wait to go back to explore some of the other islands.
Santorini is a pretty amazing place. It was formed by a huge volcano. In ancient times the island had a circular shape. When the volcano erupted, the explosion was so strong it caused the whole center of the volcano to collapse and sink under the sea, creating a caldera. The large caldera in Santorini was actually created by a combination of three smaller calderas. The island is crescent shaped with a few smaller islands in the center and a larger island that remains from the outline of the original island. Some believe that the eruption in 1600 BCE was responsible for the extinction of the ancient Minoan civilization.
The island in the center of the caldera is geothermally active. You can swim up a channel toward the center of the island that becomes a hot spring. The water has an orange color from the sulfur in the mud.
The Aegean has some of the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen. Its very clear and since it is over 400 meters deep in the caldera, it has a striking deep blue color. We chartered a boat and sailed around the caldera, stopping in a few places to swim and for some cliff diving. Most of the residential areas on the island are along the top of the cliffs that surround the caldera, which at points is 300 meters above the sea. This makes for breathtaking views and particularly beautiful sunsets.
As a result of all the volcanic activity, several of the beaches have somewhat unusual colored sand. Our favorite was the black sand beach. We also visited the red beach. The road along the black sand beach is lined with restaurants and bars. The restaurants have lounge chairs and umbrellas set up on the beach where they provide full menu and drink service. I had never seen this before at the beach. It was pretty easy to get accustomed to.
If you’ve been to the Greek Isles I’d love to hear about your experiences.
LivingtheLife