Santorini

Getting off the ferry wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had read that the hordes of people can be rude and pushy. There was a little of that retrieving the luggage from the storage room and also walking to the van picking us up. Traffic lines are long and everyone is trying to get in the line. There seemed to be just two roads to choose from depending on which town you're going to. 

Once we were dropped off, the rental agent met us and took us to the apartment. It was grueling handling luggage on cobblestone and rocky terrain. We were not happy with the location but walking it today, we noticed it's not that bad, especially if we hadn't already climbed every mountain on the mainland. The apartment is newly renovated and beautiful. There's electric outlets every few feet and a/c units in every room. There's a washer but no dryer. It has 3 balconies. It also has hot water every time you turn on a faucet. The last place had a boiler system. Whoever got up first had to press a button in an electric panel and wait about 30 minutes for the water to heat up, which was enough for two showers. Then you have to start over. 

Entrance to the condo 

Santorini is beautiful like everyone says but walking around is difficult. It really is uphill in every direction.

See what I mean 

We had eaten on the ferry so dinner was the only meal we needed the first day. The maps app works but there seems to be no street signs and no matter where you're going, it's a circuitous route. The rental person told us not to eat dinners here because it's touristy and the food isn't great. But we didn't want to take a bus or cab so we found a highly recommended restaurant.  We walked for what seemed like hours until we could see its sign...way at the bottom of the mountain. Nice place with beautiful views. Many bars and restaurants advertise sunset views. This one was spectacular. The food was ok, not great, and we had our second baklava of the trip. It was not like the other one. Fewer layers, not as crunchy, and it had lots of cinnamon. We walked down three long staircases to get there and were ready to climb up when the waiter pointed us in the other direction and said it was longer but easier. It was just a little longer. Not sure about easier. We were wondering how food and supplies got to the restaurant. Today we found out. A young man had a dolly full of boxes of beer and other items which he unwrapped when he got to the top of the hill. Several men carried all the boxes down the stairs. 

Sunset from Aris Restaurant 

There's always cruise ships and tenders in the water. We see tour groups walking around but I don't know whether they're from the ships or from the ferries.

Today we wanted to go to the archeological museum but it's closed on Mondays so we went to the Museum of prehistoric Thira . It's magnificent. The items on display are from an excavation of Akrotiri. The exhibit is in chronological order beginning from the 20th century B.C. Most of the items are from the 17th century B.C. when the city was at its most advanced before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 16th Century B.C.  Because the city was covered in ash, much of the pottery is intact. Their artwork on the pottery is mostly scenes of nature and animals but at one period in their history, they standardized what design could be on each type of item maybe for identifying the content. Only 3% of the excavation has been completed but thousands of items are warehoused. Most of the excavation is from the center of the city. They expect to find much more on the outskirts; for example, pottery studios.

The most surprising thing to me was the paintings taken from walls in houses. I've never seen that before. 

After the museum, we walked a short distance to the Cathedral Church of Candelmas of Our Lord. 

 The orthodox churches we've seen have been similarly decorated with colorful paintings and icons. 

I've become obsessed with the fact that our driver Pan told us many Chinese couples  come to Santorini to get married. I am wondering why and where. We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. There was a tour group from China but I don't think anyone is getting married. I am hoping to just run into a ceremony maybe at the famous blue domes site where we're going tomorrow.