2010 was my 6oth year, and Cindy suggested I choose between two of my greatest interests: either go to the UK and explore King Arthur/Shakespeare, or go to Greece and soak up the land of myth. It was a hard choice, but I went with Hellas. But instead of the mainland, I decided we'd explore the islands. I liked the idea of the adventure, and I'd discovered we could kayak on one of them . . .  

The Greek Isles

​Santorini

Santorini is the Italian name for this caldera. Its Greek name is Thera.

Thera was originally a much larger island, with a volcano in its midst. The Thera volcano erupted around 1,600 BCE.

The eruption blasted most of the island into bits and submerged the volcano. It was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history.

Thera's eruption destroyed several islands, and devastated the Minoan civilization on Crete.

Some believe it's the origin of the story of Atlantis. Today, all that remains is the rim of the volcano, with a cone in the middle. It's called a caldera.

Nowadays, the inner side of the caldera is a bundle of resorts, stretching from the town of Fira up to Oia on the northern tip.

Our hotel room was carved out of the rock in the side of the caldera.

We loved it.

Old Thera is a maze of narrow lanes with staircases leading up and down throughout, connecting shops, plazas, and dwellings.

The easiest means of transportation is on foot -- or by donkey.

Every day, fleets of donkeys make their way down the stairways to the docks to meet the cruise ships.

It's an adventure roaming the mazy walkways of the city.

Santorini is a shopping mecca.

One of the myriad small shops hidden among Thera's winding walkways.

Inside the shop.

Firostefani, one of the villages clinging to the caldera's cliff face.

Sunsets on Santorini are gorgeous.

Especially when looking out from one's balcony, glass of wine in hand. Note the volcano's cone is the small island to the left.

Gazing out at the caldera, with Fira in the background.

We hiked the edge of the caldera, meandering the stone paths and stairways that connected the small villages.

These paths cling to the side of the caldera, linking the towns of Fira (where we stayed), Firostefani, and Imerovigli.

Lovely resort hotels like this one line the caldera.

Past Imerovigli, a stone path follows the top of the caldera north toward Oia. A lonely crypt honors the dead on the path to Oia.

There's Oia in the distance. We didn't quite make it to the town; it was getting dark!

Gazing out at the lip of an ancient volcano.

The caldera trail is well maintained and was a pleasure to hike. We found a nice cafe along the way to stop for lunch and to rest our feet.

​Naxos

An air traffic controller strike in Athens led to us taking ferries to Milos. Serendipity! We got to ply the beautiful Aegean and glimpse lovely Greek isles. This is Folegandros.

A stunning ecclesia -- church -- on Ios.

Ios harbor.

Our hotel manager in Fira helped us out a lot, and found us a hotel on Naxos. We had a lovely room with this great balcony.

We were almost sorry we were only there for one day.

Naxos is smaller and much less touristy than Santorini. The main town is compact and partially built into the surrounding hillside.

The capital city was once a Venetian stronghold. This windswept path leads to a small island with the ruins of a temple of Apollo.

Poseidon was kicking things up when we walked over to see the temple.

This is the Portara (Door), the only artifact left standing from the original temple.

According to myth, Zeus was raised in a cave on a mountain -- Zas -- on Naxos.

Dionysus, Greek god of wine and partying, was the island's protector.

Excavation of the temple of Apollo.

The Panagia Drosiani, medieval church and (now) art gallery.

The Venetians conquered much of the Greek islands, and built Kastros -- castles -- to protect their holdings. The Naxos Kastro is still lived in today.

Narrow stone streets and paths wind through the city.

The city's agora -- marketplace -- is built inside tunnels carved into the stone of the hillside.

We had the best meal of all in Greece while on Naxos. What a lucky circumstance!

We may go back. Naxos could stand more than one day of exploration.

​Milos and Santorini