Island of Santorini

Santorini, officially known as Thira, is regarded by many as the most spectacular of all the Greek Islands.

Debi and I visited it in late September and early October 2001. It is magnificent. The island is a semicircle around an ancient calder (crater), a vestige of what was probably the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The violent upheaved volcanic history is visible everywhere you look--in black sand beaches, in raw lava-layered cliffs that plunge into the sea, in earthquake-damaged dwellings, and in fertile soil that supports wonderful grape crops. The volcano may be dormant but it's not dead and could erupt again any time.

Volcanic activity has been pretty low-key since the last eruption in 1956, but minor tremors are quite common and the ground shakes, usually imperceptibly, almost every day.

One of the many
black sandy beaches



Beautiful sights


Most photographed church


Native life catching some rays