Santorini to Chios

We have slipped right in to the cruising lifestyle. Santorini is as beautiful as ever. Arriving by sea gave a view of just how huge the caldera is. We caught the cable car up to Thira and had a stroll around the town. We then caught the local bus to Oia. We had forgotten the stunning views on the way up there  and enjoyed them again. Oia is very trendy with some beautiful but expensive products so we walked the caldera ridge till  we found a quieter area for lunch.  Delicious cold beer and local food.
On Rhodes we joined a walking tour and the guide was fantastic. Very knowledgeable about the history of the Knights of St John and the batlements of the old town. Also gave us the historical context of the successive occupations of the old town. Interestingly the Palace of the Grand M9aster which everyone goes to see is not original. It was struck by lightening in the 1800's. The lightening somehow channeled down to the basement , ignited the gunpowder and blew out most of the front of the building. The resulting fire did the rest of the damage. Rhodes was given to the Italians after WW1 and became their show place. Mussolini rebuilt the Palace opening it in 1940. It is decorated with remnants ot Roman ruins scavenged around the Med and beautiful Chinese vases presented by Emporer Hirohito on the occassion of his visit.
On Crete we took the tour to the Minoan Palace of Knossos which I have wanted to visit since I studied Anthropology many years ago. Crete is interesting for many reasons and we have marked it as somewhere to revisit if possible.
Yesterday afternoon we visited another Island that we would like to revisit. The tiny island of Chios. The Cristal is the only cruise ship to fit into the harbour and the captain informed us it is only because he is Greek and knows it well. It is beautiful withvery distinctive  multi story architecture.
Time fo go and catch the ship for Mykinos, our laststop.
Ciao, Gai