Monday, September 3, 2012

Greek Gods and Spectacular Sunsets

While it is in the dark of the night that the Greek Islands come raucously alive, it is during the light of the morning that they are truly interesting; vegetables being sold in the streets, vivid pink bougainvillea draped over trellises and coatings of brilliant blue being painted on balconies and balustrades by local Yia-Yias.

The past 10 days in the Greek Islands have been worlds away from my recent life in the American Midwest. The crystalline waters of Santorini, dazzling sunshine and the open arms of old friends and new greeted me and I easily slipped into undertaking some important work.... basking in the mediterranean summer sun and admiring the view.

Santorini is pretty as the postcards for sale on every corner, dazzling white architecture along with signature blue architraves and window frames dominate the volcanic cliffside. Cruise ships arrive daily, it becomes a guessing game as to how many you will see when you look out each morning. It is almost as if you become entranced by the beauty of the vista, unable to do much else other than lie in the sun and stare in awe. It could of course have something to do with the raging nightlife that kicks off around 1:00am and continues till sunrise on a daily basis.

The village of Fira is perched on the caldera of the remains of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc and according to Greek mythology the location of the legendary city of Atlantis. According to Plato, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune", the island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, some 3600 years ago.

We could have easily stayed in Santorini but instead we kept to our itinerary; loitering in Ios just long enough for a dip in the turquoise waters and an evening of dancing on tables before we headed to Mykonos.

I have found that everything Greek is better in Greece, the salad, the yogurt, the men. The only issue for a single lady is that on Mykonos most of the ridiculously handsome men are gay, the fact worsened due to our visit coinciding with "Xlcior", a 5 day International Gay Festival. It was a case of 'water, water all around and not a drop to drink'; so we settled for Vodka, danced on sofas in Little Venice, guzzled Chardonnay and pillaged seafood overlooking the bathers and yachts at Psarou Beach and lazed the days away poolside in 5 star luxury.


My island hoping life of opulence has come to an end all too soon, there is nothing for me to do but slip on my crystal encrusted Havaianas, farewell my white prince(ss) and board my pumpkin to the mainland..... 



Next stop the ancient city of the goddess Athena.



As you can see the hotel is terrible ;)
Morning cruise ship count 
A cliffside village of white and blue
You cannot get enough of this believe me!
Entranced....
Fira, Santorini
Stunning sunsets...every single day
Volcanic sunset seascapes  
I think Plato got it wrong, this could be Atlantis!
The party town in the quite of the daytime sun...Ios 
Blue dome topped churches everywhere
A beach view
This bus picked Anna and I up in Mykonos, just the two of us!
Pool time 
Room with a view....
The most gorgeous hotel I have every stayed in!
Quite a contrast to the cruise ships!
Little Venice
Such a view for sofa dancing
Yeah thats a boat
Damn people in my photos
Mykonos
Lost in the maze that is Mykonos
Wandering the cobbled streets
Six hours later... 
The original Greek... and the lovely Anna
This never gets old
Breakfast on the terrace...don't mind if I do! 
Spectacular but slippery slopes
Can't. Look. Away.
Psarou Beach 





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