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High on a Hill - Santorini, Greece
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Northern Italy by Land & Med Cruise 2011 with Phil & Carol Swartz
High on a Hill - Santorini, Greece
September 26, 2011  | The weather is warm this morning when we arrived at the island of Santorini. We tendered in from the ship and then needed to ascend up the mountainside about 1000 feet to the welcoming town of Fira. There are three ways to get up there. One, ride the cable car, two, take a donkey up or three, walk up the donkey trail. Seeing that is a rather warm day, we decided to take the route that will make us sweat the most - walking up. Now this is truly a unique experience. We walk up the cobblestone donkey trail with hundreds of fellow walkers. But most of these walkers are the four-legged kind, donkeys, and they don't know enough to use the restroom before starting work. So... you really have to watch where you walk, if you know what I mean.
| There are lots of donkeys with riders walking up the hill. At the top, the riders get off and the donkeys all come charging down the hill. But don't worry, just wave your hand at them and they'll move over to the other side and let you pass. This is just all part of the flavor of the local culture. It took up about half an hour to climb the hill and we all knew that we had gotten some exercise by the time we were at the top. Of course, some of our group had decided that they preferred the cable car and beat us to the top.
|  | Santorini is full of whitewashed houses, blue-domed churches and quaint little shops and cafes, so it's very easy to wile away the day enjoying the sun, breezes and wonderful local people. We did some shopping for gifts and then had lunch at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall - gyros for everyone. In the afternoon, we grabbed a cab to the neighboring town of Oia, still on the island of Santorini. This has to be one of the cutest, little towns I've ever seen. Again, whitewashed houses on the hillside and shops filled with all kinds of colorful goods. Four-wheeling is big here, so you see all kinds of people riding in and out of town.
|  |  | Late in the afternoon we headed back to the ship, once again, by way of the donkey trail. As we sat and ate dinner, we reflected on what a great day it had been. Filled with the adventure of new and exciting things to see and do.
|  | Holiday Cruises & Tours
2522 Capital Circle NE Ste 14
Tallahassee, FL 32308
www.FunSeas.com
850.386.7327
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Tags: Phil Swartz Holiday Cruises & Tours Santorini Greece
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