I am now in Naxos, two islands to the north of Santorini. I rode the boat up with a young couple from Sacramento that had spent a week here. I was going to rent a motorcycle, but it was overcast and cool so I picked up this Smart car. It's a hoot to drive with a really different transmission. I never did find the engine to see what it was, but it was spunky enough. Naxos is the largest island in the Agean group and it too seems to be quite tourist dependent. I met up with a frustrated Greek marble sculpter who had married an American, moved to her home in Oregon and then she left him. He said it had been four years since he had seen his 8 year old daughter. I thought his work was so so, but he is also a farmer with fruit trees.
This is Costos who ran the only coffee shop that was open at 7 in the morning. Everyone else waited til 10 or so to open up. Two boys, 4 and 8, and he works in the winters at a restaurant in the capital of Fira. My hotel was just down to the right.
The wildflowers on Santorinio and Naxos have been spectacular. Then toss in all of the flowers that the residents grow and its a colorful place. These red poppies were my favorite. This shot is from the excavated roman city above Perissa and it's black beach.I stayed 5 days here in Perissa on the southeast coast of Santorini. The price was still 25 Euro a night and it was just off of the beach. I walked a lot. There was an ancient roman town that had been excavated on top of the hill overlooking the sea. An hour hike to the top and 2 Euro to get in and it had lots of explanatory signs in English. I rented a bicycle one day and rode south on the beach road to the fishing marina. I had had dinner one evening with a man from Athens that also had a rental property on Santorini and then ran into him again for lunch overlooking the marina. He was riding an 1150 GS. The beach was great as well as the swimming pool and I continued to water paint. Three Rumanians ran the corner hamburger stand and they were quite informative about different parts of the EU.
This is mama of Mama's restaurant in Fira, a joyful and entertaining hostess. I had pancakes there and when she brought them to me, the top one was cracked open and showed raw dough. I brought to her attention and she exclaimed loudly, 'That bitch!" and returned it to the kitchen. I chuckled for days.
The Santorini sunsets are supposed to be the best, but without any clouds, you only get the marine layer and a hazy sunset. I spent a week here, but I'm not sure where the time went. This was the view from skallos, a rock point looking out over the caldera of an old volcano. I only spent one day and night in Fira, the capitol and largest city on the island.
This is Costos who ran the only coffee shop that was open at 7 in the morning. Everyone else waited til 10 or so to open up. Two boys, 4 and 8, and he works in the winters at a restaurant in the capital of Fira. My hotel was just down to the right.
The wildflowers on Santorinio and Naxos have been spectacular. Then toss in all of the flowers that the residents grow and its a colorful place. These red poppies were my favorite. This shot is from the excavated roman city above Perissa and it's black beach.I stayed 5 days here in Perissa on the southeast coast of Santorini. The price was still 25 Euro a night and it was just off of the beach. I walked a lot. There was an ancient roman town that had been excavated on top of the hill overlooking the sea. An hour hike to the top and 2 Euro to get in and it had lots of explanatory signs in English. I rented a bicycle one day and rode south on the beach road to the fishing marina. I had had dinner one evening with a man from Athens that also had a rental property on Santorini and then ran into him again for lunch overlooking the marina. He was riding an 1150 GS. The beach was great as well as the swimming pool and I continued to water paint. Three Rumanians ran the corner hamburger stand and they were quite informative about different parts of the EU.
This is mama of Mama's restaurant in Fira, a joyful and entertaining hostess. I had pancakes there and when she brought them to me, the top one was cracked open and showed raw dough. I brought to her attention and she exclaimed loudly, 'That bitch!" and returned it to the kitchen. I chuckled for days.
The Santorini sunsets are supposed to be the best, but without any clouds, you only get the marine layer and a hazy sunset. I spent a week here, but I'm not sure where the time went. This was the view from skallos, a rock point looking out over the caldera of an old volcano. I only spent one day and night in Fira, the capitol and largest city on the island.
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