Santorini Greece in February 2014

Our final trip before moving home we saved for Santorini, Greece - probably the most picturesque and most photographed of all the Greek Islands.  We stayed on the cliff in the town of Fira during the off season. There's positives and negatives about visiting this island in February - the weather is not perfect and there are fewer restaurants and shops open... but there are no cruise ships bringing in thousands of tourists, so we were treated like royalty everywhere we went.

With the help of an extremely friendly taxi driver, we visited surrounding cities like Pyrgos and Oia on either side of Fira.  He essentially was our guide/driver for hire every day of our journey.  He said in the height of the tourist season, it might take up to 3 hours to find a taxi.  So he was happy to find a couple in need of his services in February... and we were happy to find him. 

Viewing this island from above you can see how it was formed.  It looks like the top of a volcano. Parts of Greece covered by the Mediterranean Sea began to emerge due to volcanic eruptions, creating islands formed from mountaintops.  Thira is the formal name of Santorini, one of the southernmost islands.  The Minoan civilization is the culture that prospered on the island of Crete around 2000 BC.  Thira was home to Minoans who migrated from Crete. The Minoans traded in Saffron from Crete. A well-known fresco of Saffron gatherers on Santorini is a visual example of their expertise in trading.

As Rod Stewart said... so remember, "Every Picture Tells a Story, Don't It?"

Donkeys do most of the hauling up and down the steep walking paths.

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I found this wonderful hidden shop filled with treasures made only in Greece.



A glass of Santorini red on our hotel room terrace at dusk.

....and yet another glass on a sunny afternoon. 

We saw this cloudburst make a rainbow on a sunny afternoon from our terrace.

The town of Oia with it's signature windmill.



This was our final sunset before leaving this beautiful island. In April 2014, we returned home to South Dakota, after 4 years and 3 months living a wonderful life in Europe.   Tschus!