Santorini, Greece

Thursday March 31

Such a lovely sunrise this morning.  The seas are calm, the sky is clear.  A perfect setting for a momentous occasion.  We met our little sister, The Viking Sea, in the Santorini Caldera.  She begins her inaugural voyage April 3.  A helicopter flew overhead taking photos and video of the occasion.  It was pretty cool seeing a mirror image of ourselves.  We will meet her again in St Petersburg in May.  By 2020 there will be 6 sisters.  Once the Sea circled the Star and the 2 ships played duelling horns, the Sea followed us to Santorini where we dropped anchor.  From here we were tendered to the dock where we found our coach.

Santorini's official name is Thira (Theerah).  We went for a scenic drive up Mt Profitis Ilias, the island's highest peak, for a spectacular view of the Agean Sea.  Then we continued in the country past villages, vineyards and churches to Oia (eeyah).  Here we spent over an hour, on our own, walking up and down the sidewalks, viewing the castle, whitewashed homes, azure blue church domes, shops, restaurants.  Unbelievably, all the photos we see of the blue roofed churches and the sea are REAL!  The colour of the sparkling Aegean sea is spectacular!  It is a very quaint city with very narrow streets.  We returned to our coach for a return ride through the countryside.  Our guide gave us an interesting lecture on the local agriculture.  Fava beans, olives and wine are the main staples.  We were dropped off in Fira, the capital, to spend time on our own.  We walked around the shopping area and had lunch at a restaurant with a view of the Viking "sisters".  A Greek salad for two,  2 rolls and a beer came to 20 Euros.  Pricey lunch!   We walked some more before returning to the tender via cable car.