Santorini - too gorgeous for words 1st May

This is the iconic view of Santorini

Taken from the ruins of St Nicholas church on Oia

lucky Japanese bride

View from the harbour - after the cable car

Taken at Sunset

For sheer gorgeousness, you can't beat Santorini. Its harbour, sheer volcanic cliffs and distinctive architecture gave us countless wow moments, from the iconic views of the blue domed churches over the water to the sun setting rays illuminating the cliffside village.
It is the furthest south of the Cycladic (circular)isles of Greece and is fundamentally the outer shell of a ruptured volcano   The volcano is still active and new islands are being formed by underwater activity in the caldera.
Santorini is incredibly popular.  It is not unusual for a dozen cruise ships to be in the harbour at the same time. and the density of the shopping precincts throughout the island are testament to its long tourist season.  (March  to November ) and upmarket clientele .( ie the Armani store and countless high end jewellery stores)
We were fortunate today because the weather was utterly perfect and there were only three cruise ships in port today.  Even so, the streets of Oia were packed.

Fun Facts about Santorini
The island's Greek name is Thira but it was called Santorini by the Roman's who named it for St Irene.
Even though it wasn't of great military or strategic importance, the island's location was perfect for trading between Asia, Europe and Africa.
Santorini's sand is black - from the basalt cliffs - except for where it is red - due to the high concentrations of iron oxide.  The cliffs are often striped with different layers of igneous rocks and look spectacular in the right light.
The island has no natural source of water.  Water for home usage has to be shipped in.  There are very few native plants or animals and drought resistant plants have been introduced:  eucalypts from Australia, and Prickly Pear from Mexico.   Diesel and petrol are also imported.  Solar power is often used to heat water, but despite the brisk wind along high ridges of the island they haven't utilised wind power.
The streets are so narrow on the island's elevated towns such as Oia and Fira that cars are banned.  The east side of the island is much flatter and cars are freely used there.
The island's main crop is grapes.  40 varieties are grown but only 4 are used in commercial quantities.   We noticed how  the grapevines are kept low to the ground, the new growth twisted into a circlet with the grapes sheltered under the leaves to shield them from the sun.  They have no irrigation system for grapes here, so they rely on the sparse rain and humid days for their moisture.  When we stopped off at the main co-op winery for a wine tasting ( and photo ops) we were offered a white and a red wine which had very intense tanninny flavours and a late harvest white, which was quite luscious. 
Many Japanese bridal parties come here for their wedding photos. What a fabulous backdrop that would be!   We saw one photo shoot at the winery.
Donkeys are a favoured means of transport up and down the cliffs.  If tourists do not use the cable car from Fira to the port below, they can use the donkeys (at their own risk ) or use the steps - all 650 of them.  (We played safe and used the cable car.  Those who used the steps found themselves treading in donkey -do, so we definitely made the right decision there).
All houses are built of the same volcanic stone quarried from the island, which has many qualities similar to concrete.  Houses tend to be built along traditional lines:  small block like buildings with many small windows to catch sun but to minimise wind, curved rooves to withstand earthquakes ( the last was in 1956) or flat to trap rainfall.
The island's religion is Greek Orthodox and there are dozens of churches with distinctive blue domes on the island.  Most are privately owned and are only opened once a year on 'their' saints day.  On those days the family that owns the church puts on a feast for anyone who cares to attend (tourists included - IF you know where to go according to our guide.)

We ate ashore today, at a restaurant in Fira, looking down over the water.  I felt very cosmopolitan drinking my Greek beer and eating my feta and tomato salad.
Later, back on boat, we enjoyed the Greek buffet held out on deck, which was timed to take advantage of the spectacular sunset over the island.  There was also some Greek music and dancing afterwards, but as we found our tolerance for Bazouki music fairly low we returned to our cabin.