The port of Piraeus is something of a giant in its own right. There were a dozen huge ocean-going cruise ships. We got some supplies at a local grocery store and market, met our luggage and boarded the [does anyone know the name of the boat?]. We took the nine hour overnight ride for Santorini.

This was our first experience of the Cyclades. Although we only visited Santorini, Paros and Mykonos, it is hard to over-estimate the impact these islands had on all of us; we are each in our own way still reeling from the encounter with the wind and the wine-dark seas, the sere landscapes and the ancient cities.

One of the memorable features was our visit was the place we called home on Santorini, the Kykladonisia Rooms and Apartments. It took some a concerted effort to find the place once we were on the island, but once we did, we were delighted with the accommodations and the location relative to the heart of Thira. Greg and I stayed in this room . This was Dominique and Antoine's room . The girls had quite a nice and large room with a loft but they preferred to spend their time in the pool.

On Santorini, our favorite activity was going out and walking in the town. We also loved the town of Oia where the colors of the stucco, the architecture and the scenery over the edge of the caldera combined to stun us. We spent hours exploring the little alleys and paths. It was wonderful to have the place to ourselves because we were so early in the season (the risk of coming to Santorini in late May/early June is that there might be clouds, which we experienced the first time we visited Oia).

Although it was not old enough to be in all the guidebooks and I don't have photos of the displays, we highly recommend visiting the New Museum of Fira, which opened in March 2000. It is the second largest pre-historical museum in Greece and has excellent text as well as audio explanations. It exhibits frescoes from Akrotiri and the first gold found in the Cyclades.

Although we don't have any photos of it either, we made an effort to reach the archaeological site of Akrotiri, where an ancient town (1500-1600 BC) was destroyed by volcanic eruption. See sites such as here, and there for more information. You can walk through the streets and houses. No human skeletons or valuable belongings were found, evidence that residents were warned of the imminent eruption and evacuated the city in time. Archeological analyses of Akrotiri demonstrate that the two had cultural links with Crete and trading activities with Egypt.

Next to the ruins at Akrotiri we trekked over the rugged coast to the Red Beach where we got our first taste of swimming in the Mediterranean. This expedition was a lot of fun. There was the whole scene with Dominique needing to borrow a bathing suit and Nikki relinquishing hers, then there was the bit where Christine bottomed out coming in from a swim. The best part though was the signage for the snack bar!

The last evening we were on Santorini it was very windy but we got as dressed up as we could and went for a walk along the edge of the caldera. It was beautiful and the sun set as we were eating in the shelter of a covered terrace.