Greece 2023 – Santorini

Map of Santorini After visiting friends in Thessaloniki for a couple days, we hopped a short flight to the island of Santorini.  We stayed in Fira, a small town on a ridge overlooking the Caldera.


Fira

A white door against the blue sea of the Caldera and the gray sky.

Looking down from Fira at a cruise ship anchored in the Caldera.


Cruise ship passengers are dropped off at a small ferry terminal where they can hike up the steep path shown here which zig-zags up the hill, ride a mule up the steep path, or ride a cable car up to Fira


Our first morning in Fira, I got up early and went for a walk through the town before the shops opened and the tourists descended on the town. I heard a clattering of small bells, looked around the corner, and it was one of the mule drivers walking his mules through the village on the way down to the small ferry terminal where the cruise ship passengers are dropped off.

The Black Beach

Black Beach

 

We drove to the Black Beach.   There were storms headed our way and we were lucky to get a nice day at the beach before the winds kicked up.

Domaine Sigalas and Oia

Our last day on Santorini, we visited the Domaine Sigalas winery and had a nice tasting before heading on to Oia, a village made famous by sunset photos with the whitewashed buildings and blue church domes.  Alas, during our visit it was a little cloudy and hazy so the sunset was not great.  We enjoyed a nice dinner together.

The Ferry

We took the high-speed ferry back to Athens, a little over 5 hours with 3 or 4 stops at other islands.  The high-speed ferry holds over 1,000 passengers who board the ferry by walking up the big ramp to the car deck, leaving bags on the rack labeled for their destination, and then walking upstairs to their assigned seats.

Leslie waiting for the connecting ferry to Hydra at the Athens port.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

A yellow-rumped warbler sits on the fence with his head cocked to the side. He’s not quite sure what I’m doing.

One of these days, I’ll get a photo of both the head and the namesake yellow rump – I always seem to get one end but not the other.

I think we both enjoyed the sun this morning.

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A Boy and His Shadow

Long shadows of a man and a dog on a hill of sparse grass

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Mendocino – September 2022

Main Street on a foggy September morning


The farm stand behind the Goodlife Cafe and Bakery operates on the honor system.  Write down what you take in the book and leave your money in the box.

Seeing that sort of restored a little faith in humanity.


A stop at Scharffenberger Cellars just outside Philo to enjoy the sunshine and view (as well as to taste some sparkling wines)

Looking out over the vineyards from Sharffenberger Cellars

 

 

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Between Rain Squalls on the Atlantic

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