Santorini. Volcanic Land of Cliff Towns And Donkey Taxis

Now, we are on our way to Athens, to catch a flight to our final destination, Croatia. As our ferry plugs along northward, let's catch you up on Santorini. Santorini is a beautiful horseshoe shaped island with a live volcano (called the caldera) in the center. It is made of pumice from the recorded eruptions that have altered the landscape. We even got to see photos from its last eruption in the 1950's. We stayed in Fira, a town carved into the rocky mountainside that  struts out of the ocean. All the homes and businesses are stacked above one another and interconnected by mazes of concrete steps. This Island is really  Known for its blue domed churches you may have seen in pictures. We had a magnificent view from our room, towering over the port. From our room, the port could be reached by descending 550 stairs. You also had the option to take a cable car ride down, or ride your own personal donkey for 5 euros. We walked down the seemingly endless staircase and took an excursion on an old wooden galleon type ship to march around on (the caldera) volcano. The volcano was cool, we saw the craters from the past eruptions and even some live vents that still pump steam out at 100 degrees C. Nearby there is a natural hot spring in a cove that makes the ocean water feel like a warm bath. Diving off the ship and swimming around was refreshing surrounded by such a surreal landscape. We returned that evening up the mountain to our rooms by donkey. The Donkeys were awesome! Ours were really well behaved, they just kept on clomping up the steps toward home, but others had rowdy biting donkeys that did not listen well. Aside from mine taking a break to eat some plants overhanging the path, he gets five stars. Sarah's Donkey was faster and figured it was a race. Even though I got on first, she soon passed me on an inside turn and kept me in her donkey's dust. Our dinners here were amazing, with prawns the size of bananas and a Greek dish called moussaka. It's kind of like lasagna with potatoes instead of noodles. Baked fresh and golden crispy on top, its delicious! We spent the evenings in a local bar called two brothers. An awesome little club with a balcony, great martinis, shiesha pipes, and popcorn. We took in the nightlife as the whole room grooved and thumped to current american hits and Michael Jacksons's most famous anthems. This place really had a pulse all it's own. See you again Greece, it was a pleasure... Next Steps, Dock Ferri Catch Plane Catch other plane Find a place to call home in Dubrovnik Croatia... Starting a whole new chapter Eurotrippin, Pat and Sarah