Day 41

Kaliméra,

We had to get up very early this morning, as we were being collected from our hotel at 6:30am. No time for breakfast.

Being a Saturday morning traffic was very light, and our driver, a very nice man, suggested we stop at a bakery because the food would be better and cheaper than on the ferry.

The bakery was incredible. At 6:40am on a Saturday morning it was stuffed full of the most fantastic fresh baked breads, pastries, cakes and sandwiches. And there were plenty of customers there as well.

The bakeries in Europe offer a much wider selection of breads and rolls than we see in the bakeries in New Zealand. Conversely, there is almost no bread in the supermarkets in Europe; everyone seems to buy their bread at the bakery.

It was interesting listening to the driver this morning. He spoke very good English. He was a taxi driver for forty two years before he retired. Even though he is now retired, he says he still has to work. The government pension is only €520 per month, not enough to live on.

The driver told us that while the tourist areas of Greece are very nice, away from the tourist areas life is still hard as the country works

through the implications of the economic crisis that started in 2008.

Tourism is by far the biggest industry in Greece, hence the reason why it attracts investment to ensure the tourists keeping arriving and keep spending. Shipping is the second biggest industry. As it was in ancient times, Athens is one of the most important trade ports in Europe. Athens is at the cross roads of the trade routes from three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa).

Our ferry was the Blue Star Delos, which our driver told us is a very new boat. It is huge, it is flash and it is fast. The Cook Straight ferries pale by comparison.

Santorini is a tiny rock in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It didn’t look like there were any beaches as we were arriving, as the steep rocky cliffs drop straight into the sea. Koro thought there was snow on the peaks, until Grandma pointed out that it was actually clusters of tiny white houses. All the houses on Santorini are painted white.

The hotel we were booked into was very ordinary. The swimming pool didn’t look like the pictures on the website, and the freezing water had a green tinge to it. The view from our room looked over the Eastern side of the island, which looks like a partially finished subdivision, with the sea far in the distance.

Our room was very large, but, despite being a double room, just has two single beds pushed together. Even stranger, when we went to bed, we discovered the top sheet neatly folded under our pillows.

Grandma was not impressed. Grandma has made many, many beds in her time. When she is on holiday, and paying for a hotel room, she

does not expect to have to make up the bed herself.

We wandered around the pretty little town of Thira, the capital “city” of Santorini. The hotels on this side of the town cling to the steep cliff faces, offering stunning views from the rooms, and from the heated swimming pools.

Koro does not like heights, and was never completely comfortable walking along the street. The concrete wall is very low in places, and the path can become very narrow.

We saw a caravan of donkeys walking up the path with their bells jingling. Many cruise ships call into Santorini. Rather than walking up the very steep steps, some passengers choose to ride a donkey. The donkeys looked very healthy and obviously knew their jobs. Looking at the size of some of the tourists though, some of them would need two donkeys to haul them up.

We watched the sun sink into the Mediterranean Sea, then went back to our room for a shower and change of clothes. We had a very nice dinner, had a bit of a wander around the little town at night, then off to bed.

Santorini strikes us as being the sort of place you come to holiday in the sun by the pool, enjoy the views, relax, sip cocktails at the many bars, and party all night at the many nightclubs. A bit like going to Bali or the Gold Coast for us in New Zealand.

Tomorrow we are off to another nearby island, Naxos.

Love to you all from Grandma and Koro and Buzzy Bee. XXX OOO