Santorini

We woke up in Santorini on the second day of our adventure. Such a striking island, seems much has been written about it, many artists have attempted to depict its beauty in paintings, but I'm not sure anyone or anything can quite convey its breathtaking views and its unique character:

Santorini is actually a complex of five islands. Santorini (Thira) is the main island and around it Thirasia and Aspronisi and the two volcanic islands, Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni.

Until about 1645 BC, it was one island named Stroggili (circle in Greek). The volcano in the middle of the island erupted at that time and the caldera was created. This eruption is quite possibly the largest that our planet has ever seen, and it essentially led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete (just to the south of Santorini) from the gigantic tsunami that it created.

The eruption also seems to have inspired many Greek myths, as well as Plato's story of Atlantis.

Here is Todd doing a little beach scouting for us:

Our daytime destination was this volcanic beach, another by-product of the eruption that destroyed all life on this island, but created such dramatic scenery:

Tendering in for the sunset and dinner in Thira:

I will never forget these first impressions of Santorini, probably one of the most unique destinations that we have visited yet!