Santorini - Day 3

The morning was clear and sunny - good for photography! But the weather also encouraged one of the rare unpleasantries of European life - the "old guy in a Speedo" phenomenon. Two such specimens were lounging at the hotel pool when I retuned from my morning shoot. What a nice mental picture that was! Have a heart, Grandpa! Cover up your stuff.

I took what they call "The Local Bus" to the town of Fira this afternoon. Bus schedules are merely a suggestion here. The bus arrived at the square in Oia twenty minutes late. By this time a large queue had formed. Some of us were told to wait for the next bus; it would arrive in half an hour. The bus was so jammed that they had to ask some boarded passengers to step off. Just then, a second bus arrived. On this second bus, which left five minutes later, we had seats and plenty of space. Ah, comfy!

Fira is busy and glitzy and trashy with lots of designer shops. In an odd way it reminded me of Atlantic City on a cliff, except without the casinos and high rises. Just the designer shops, the beggars, people on the walkway selling junk, etc.

Fira has a cable car that I'll never be able to ride without having a panic attack. It sails down the cliff toward the ocean at a high rate of speed.

The light was hazy in the afternoon and strikingly un-photogenic. I walked quickly through Fira and north to the next town of Imerovigli. The walk is not far, but it's all uphill. 

At Imerovigli, I photographed a beautiful church called The Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The caretaker said that this church is busy at Easter but less so for the rest of the year. Chapels and churches are so numerous on Santorini that they are used only for specific purposes and holidays, not for Sunday masses each week.

The caretaker mentioned a small chapel situated out on the edge of the cliffs. I followed the long, steep trail past a rugged rock formation and eventually found my way to the chapel. I scrambled on some rocks for a better camera angle. At one point I slipped and landed on my bottom and stuck my left hand directly onto a thistle. Ouch! It stung for at least half an hour. 

Here, I thought that I was exploring Santorini, and but I seem to have stumbled onto Thistleonia! (A little Greek island humor, there!)

All's well that ends well. I climbed back up to town and took some sunset shots that I'm hoping will turn out well. I took a taxi back to my hotel and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was simple, rustic cuisine that tasted like food prepared in someone's house.

Oops! I ran out of water. The market is now closed. Going to be dry tonight! I need to use the bag of cough drops! No drinks available until morning! 

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