Santorini, Greece

Our next Greek island on the trip was the famous Santorini.

This was very much a tourist trap, from when you arrive on the island you are stuck queuing in line to ride an elevator up the side of the cliff. You can hike it up if you want on some switch back roads, but it’s not a great idea if you are traveling with kids.

Santorini is just one of several island that form the ring of a top of a giant volcano. I highly suggest finding a guide/excursion that will float you across the bay to one of these non-inhabitant islands, then return back to Santorini for sightseeing/lunch.

Here is a video of the crew and their very nice ship that we took voyage on to a nearby island mentioned above.

There is a path the leads through the entire island where some seismic instruments are maintained and studied for volcanic activity.

We got an excellent vantage point of the bay that is filling the Volcano’s crater at its summit.

Snagged a picture of my son taking in the view.

The ground was extremely warm where we were walking. A thermometer reads it at 94 C, over 200 degree Fahrenheit!

We then caught a ride to main island and waited about 30 min to ride the gondola up the cliffs. As soon as you reach the summit it is tourist trap center. We loaded up our next destination in the GPS and pushed passed the crowds.

The famous blue roofed churches are named Anastasi and Plat Sani. This church in particular was built in 1757 and survived an earth quake that almost destroyed most of the building in 1956.

Next to the church is one of the most amazing scenes I have every witnessed. It feels as if you are sitting on the edge of the world with nothing but the far reach of the Mediterranean as far as you can see.

The wife and I spent a good amount of time here, just taking it all in. Hands down, one of my favorite spots of our Greece trip.