Santorini

When we arrived in Santorini, a driver took us to our hotel.  From there, it was a rather fast series of events. We had to drop our luggage in the hotel lobby, find a place to eat, get some lunch, come back to our hotel, dig our swimming things out of our luggage and get on another bus.  It all felt a little rushed, but it was worth it.  When we got off that bus, we boarded the catamaran that took us on our sunset cruise.

The cruise started at 3pm and ended at about 9:30.  There were three stops along the way, each one with some different purpose.  The first swimming stop was a spot with a natural hot spring coming out into the water.  The second swimming stop was near a particularly pretty beach, and the third one was for snorkeling.  Specifically, it was the snorkeling stop where Cas seemed happiest.  They sounded a loud horn to notify swimmers it was time to return to the boat, and during snorkeling, Cas was one of the last ones out of the water. 

The whole thing was just stunning.  Every direction you turned, you saw something that was completely gorgeous.  And the people who worked on the boat were really friendly and fun loving.  Sometimes, you get people in the tourism industry or people running some attraction who are kind of over it all.  I mean, these guys see two boatloads of tourists every day.  They sail out to three beaches, cook food on the grill and stop for the same beautiful sunset every day.  They were not pausing to take it all in like we were, but they were definitely happy to share this beautiful sunset with us.  

The crew was led by a young guy named Kostas.  That was probably the tenth Kostas we've run across.  I think we've met as many guys named Pavlos as we have met guys named Kostas.  The crew got a late lunch/early dinner together for everyone.  There was a charcoal barbecue grill at the back of the boat.  The ticket price also included wine and soft drinks, so nobody went hungry or thirsty.  

We had so much fun on that cruise.  The food was spectacular, the views were breathtaking and the ride was a blast.  I think the tour company puts that event at the end of the trip as sort of a cherry on top.  We were actually supposed to do it today and have free time yesterday, but we did it the other way around.  I think it had something to do with the fact that one of our fellow travelers is leaving a day early.  She has a friend whose wedding is in some other part of Greece, and she is on her way now, I think.  No matter- it was all pretty amazing.  I know Cas has some great photos of the sunset.  This is the best one I have on my phone, and I have no desire to wake him up right now and ask.

Here's that album link again: https://goo.gl/photos/zxmxAmDBqhc4hPHD7