Heeeeee Haw

Wanna know my very favorite part of the entire cruise? (And it wasn't the chocoholic buffet at midnight.) DONKEYS!

I have always been a big planner when it comes to vacations, and we have learned that for cruises especially it pays to do your online homework before you go. So in my online ventures prior to the trip I learned that Santorini, our second stop, is a "caldera" meaning it used to be a volcano but the cone sunk into the ocean, leaving behind only this crescent moon of an island where all the buildings reside up on the ridge and you have to scale a few hundred feet to the top before any sightseeing can commence. I also learned that there are 3 ways to the top: cable car, footpath, or donkey! When I read that, I could already picture myself on the cover of the next "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movie, sidesaddle on my donkey in my blue dress and all. I mean, we were going to be in Greece for crying out loud...we gotta do the donkeys!

Now, many in the online forums had much to say about the TERROR the donkey ride had in store for us, but I didn't buy it for one second. Even on the ship in the days prior to Santorini when people found out we were opting for the donkey ride they proceeded to tell us how crazy we were. What a bunch of old pansies, I say. We were laughing our heads off the whole way up at these crazy, drunk donkeys (because don't be fooled in thinking we had a guide taking us up the path...oh no, one slap on the donkey bum from the old Greek man and we were on our own!) and the even crazier tourists who were terrified and would go running anytime a donkey came their way. I am so glad we did the donkeys, despite all the concerns from fellow cruisers.

Pulling into Santorini from afar it resembles snow capped mountains and is a bit surreal considering you are in the Mediterranean in the summer. I couldn't get a good faraway shot with my junky camera to show that, but this closer up pic shows the zigzag donkey path really well. How I LOVED having a balcony on this cruise!

Top left- and we're off!

Top right- the path that was shared by hikers and donkeys alike bordered a very steep cliff face that may have been the source of all the donkey terror.

Bottom left- we didn't get our camera out in time but this man was the epitome of what you would imagine a Greek donkey caretaker to look like! Straight outta the movies, this one was.

Bottom right- all 3 forms of transport in Santorini captured in one photo.

Not only were the donkeys fun, but Santorini was hands down the most beautiful island we visited. The architecture here was also classically Greek, straight out of a travel guide, and much more breathtaking in person. You can see in the top right pic that the buildings are carved straight out of the rock face, as are all the buildings on this island. They don't use a/c here so being carved into the rock acts as a natural cooling system.

Beautiful windmills, cool little street, and our sunset viewing spot that was literally the edge of the cliff. One false move at the dinner table and you would be rolling down Greek countryside for hundreds of feet. They say there's not a bad view in Santorini and here you can see why.

This is how the Greeks do the blues. My outfit was no coincidence, and yes I am super cheesy like that :)

A.maz.ing

We ended up having to get down to our ship and didn't get to stay up top to watch the sunset, but either way you just can't beat the sunset in Santorini!