Day 21 - Santoniri

Welcome to Santorini, Greece. Home of possibly the largest volcanic eruption on planet earth. In 1600 AD this volcanic island erupted so violently that the local towns were buried in 900 feet of ash and a generated a 500 foot tall tsunami. When the eruption finally finished the center of the volcano self imploded, water rushed in and left us with this gorgeous hilltop city.

The original shape of Santorini before the explosion and what it is today	It really does look like snow atop the hillside	It’s a sheer drop with very steep road getting to the port
Cobblestone streets are everywhere	As are churches. 13000 people live here. 600 churches are here too	The island is about relaxing on your deck without a care in the world
As you can imagine this is a great place for fancy photo shoots		This view would not get old
	Not a wheelchair friendly town	Since it’s a volcanic island there’s not much vegetation growing
They receive less than 3 inches of rain a year	Back to the beauty of the island
What remains of the center of the volcano is to the left of the awning
Resourceful. Tunneling into the mountain for homes	The island use to mine gypsum which made the Panama canal walls waterproof	Mining has been halted but you can still see how they moved product down the hill and onto awaiting ships

It’s an hour hike up the winding trail to the top or take the chairlift	You can imagine how big this volcano use to be

Yeah I could come back here and just relax. Apparently April and May are the best times, rooms are reasonably priced then too. This is a great city to visit at the trip is about to come to a conclusion.

Tomorrow: Valletta, Malta