SANTORÍNI
On Santoríni, the locals have been nothing but helpful and friendly. Maybe its just the farther you get from Athens, the nicer everyone is. One local told me that they prefer to be nice to tourists, because we’re their bread-and-butter.... so, I guess in the places that rely on tourism the most, the locals are nicest.

Firá, Santoríni, is built on the steep cliffside of the island. It looks like an anthill from above, with narrow walkways and stairs going in every direction. From the city, you look out over the ocean and toward a volcano.

Tara and I spent our first night in a hotel on the cliff >> the views are outstanding! Then, we moved into a cheaper hotel a few blocks down from the cliff-side.

We rented a four wheeler and took it to Kamári, on the other side of the island. That side features a black sand beach with dramatic cliffs on one side. Its another of the cities on this island that is popular for tourists.
Here in Firá, there are cable cars that take you down the cliff-side to the small port at the base....or, you can walk down the stairs. Of course, I walked... And I have to admit, it was reminiscient of my recent trip to Half Dome. Lots of stairs.... And, lots of donkeys taking tourists up and down them. If you visit this city, make sure you climb the stairs!
When Tara got here, to Santoríni, she decided all she wanted from this trip was to sit by the pool in our Mýkonos home and soak up the sun and rest. This morning, after we had wayyyyy too much fun last night, dancing and drinking at a local bar, she took the ferry back to Mýkonos. So, from here-on-out, till Tara and I meet again in Athens before the flight home, I’ll be traveling solo.
Last night I hung out again at the same bar, Tropical Bar... My new friends there greeted me warmly and I told them of my days events. Jeannie, the bartender here, is a CA native herself, on the island now for 17 years.

I had a date.... Michalis (Michael), a guy I'd met the night before, came out again to meet me, and after spending some time at the Tropical-we headed over to Casablanca—which is a live music nightclub. It was pretty awesome.
My last day on the island I took a short, but very choppy, boat ride to the volcano island across from Santoríni. It last erupted 3500 years ago, forming today's islands. From the active volcano crater, our boat swung around to another side of these volcano islands so that we were facing the mouth of a natural hot spring. The captain of the boat instructed us to jump off into the COLD water, and swim to the hot spring. I didn't anticipate getting there thru the colder waters! By the way, that's been pretty typical of my experiences with the greeks planning this or that--they often leave out some of the finer details. So, I took the plunge and swam for it. It felt pretty great. I'd heard bad things about the way the sulfur smells—but it was a sunny and windy day, and I didn't experience the foul side of things. The water was 10 or more degrees warmer than the open water. It is also tainted brown from the sediment and minerals. Some people believe in the heeling properties of the sulfur waters—i don't know about that, but it irritated the skin on my face a bit. Also, as I was approaching the boat, some buddies alerted me to the jellyfish in the water around me. I got out as quickly as I could.

When I got back to Firá, I ran to grab my baggage and changed before meeting Michalis. We hopped into his car and sped all around the side of the island I didn't quite get to, Ía. We first stopped by his place, a house he's pouring himself into—painting the inside, the backyard overlooks a vineyard and beyond that the ocean. He and his buddy have constructed outdoor seating from concrete frames and he's building a veranda. Its all really cozy. He thinks it will be complete in time to enjoy by June (he lives here during the season and in Athens in the off-season).
On the way to Ía we drove thru Oia and stoped at his friends church. Apparently, the reason there are so many churches, but never really anyone in them, is that people build them just to build them. Maybe thinking it will keep them on solid ground with the big-man. So, there are churches all over the country side, just either sitting there picturesquely, locked-up or open, with few, if any, visitors.

We had lunch in Ía. Michalis ordered his favorites for us, including spinach, eggplant, octopus and calamari. All very Greek in preparation and very tasty. The little port he took me to was so far the most serene and simply beautiful spot I’ve visited so far.
After lunch, he dropped me off here at the ferry, and I type as I'm waiting to board for Crete.

Photos from Santoríni:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=omz9rml.6q37jict&x=0&y=-qmr15o