Oia - 21 March 2008

The weather is very changeable, the morning was totally gloomy and overcast after a very windy night but then the sun broke through so we decided to extend the hire on the car and set off once again for Oia. By the time we arrived the sun was shining brightly on the houses making the village sparkle in the sunlight. We had an enjoyable time exploring much more of the village than we did yesterday, as well as exploring the two harbours at the foot of the cliffs.

Returning to Fira, Christine descended the 580 steps to the fishing village below and we both rode the cable car back up to the top. The cable car was a gift to the island community from a wealthy Greek shipping magnate.

A significant proportion of the morning was taken up with the hunt for a photo location. Many of the books about Santorini, and in fact, many of the books about the Greek Islands in general, feature two particular churches. We had located one in Oia but the other had eluded us. The books were not helpful in that they did not identify the location of their cover shot, however we came across a postcard that included not only the elusive church but the three islands in the caldera. Using our map and the relative positions of the islands in the postcard we were able to work out the position of the church fairly accurately: it was in Firostefani. It transpired we had walked along the cliff path beneath it on our first day but had not realised that it was just above us at the time.

As the sky had steadily got clearer through the day, we had high hopes of magnificent sunset shots from Oia so, late in the afternoon, we set off to the northern end of the island once again. As we drove along we could see what looked like a roll of cotton wool out to sea and this rolling sea fog rapidly engulfed us, and the island ahead. So much for sunsets, there was no point in proceeding and by the time we had returned to Fira it, too, was shrouded in the sea fog.

Many more photos here