After an unfortunate motorcycle incident in Calgary when Al peeled concrete off the road with his shoulder, I am hesitant to let him drive. But he reminds me that he took a quad course for work, so I concede. We head out, not sure where we are going and not really caring. The day is ours!

Just a few minutes into our ride, we are in the village of Pyrgos. Here we stumble upon the Santos Winery with its stepped terraces and incredible view of the caldera. We decide to do our own private wine tasting while we appreciate this tiny piece of heaven. Then it’s back on the quad.

We travel through another village called Messaria and ask for directions to a beach. Oddly enough, for an island that sits on a volcano’s edge, Santorini has beaches. And they are not your average beaches. There is the black sand beach, a red sand beach and a white sand beach. We make our way to Kamari, the black sand beach. The “sand” is zillions of tiny black stones and, baking under the Mediterranean sun, they are hot! Sandals are de rigueur. Closer to the water, where the stones are cooler, walking on them is like getting a natural foot massage. The water is actually very warm, probably heated by the black stones. And of course, it is aqua blue and crystal clear.

The sweltering midday sun is starting to take its toll. We are not used to this heat. So we decide to head back to the El Greco hotel for a swim in one of its three pools. Which one will it be? Decisions. Decisions.

Once refreshed, we are off again to see what we can find. We travel through Pyrgos once more, narrowly escaping the wrath of a stray dog, on the way to what we think is Megalochori. We end up on a winding road and soon realize we are climbing the side of the volcano. If not for the captivating view, I might be a little worried. Al takes the corners cautiously, knowing that at any second a car or bus could come around demanding to share the road with us. Eventually we make our way to the top where we find a military base. We don’t know how we ended up here, but the panoramic view is absolutely beautiful.

Going up means we must come down, and so we gradually make our way back down the volcano’s side. Hunger is setting in and we stop in Pyrgos for a bite. The little restaurant where we claim a table serves us one of the most delicious meals we have enjoyed in Greece to date. There is roasted eggplant with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese cooked with green peppers, lamb shanks with dill and lemon sauce, and a wonderful salad with hot peppers, capers, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers in a deep-fried bowl made of cheese. We refuse to leave a single bite.

It is getting late and we decide to bring the quad back before it gets dark. And so ends another day in Greece, and I have to say, this one tops them all.

The ship’s cruise director announces that we are approaching the stunning island of Santorini. We look out across the water and see only walls of steep cliffs and rock formations. From this distance, it looks like the cliffs are snow-capped. Coming closer, I realize that the “snow” is actually hundreds and hundreds of buildings perched along the edge.

Santorini is what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion that occurred 3,6oo years ago. The eruption created a hole that is now a giant lagoon called a “caldera.” The island of Santorini, hugging the caldera, is the edge of the volcanic mountain. It is hard to believe that an island of such spectacular beauty could be born from such devastation.

As the ship pulls into port, everyone is looking straight up at nothing but steep rock walls and wondering, “How do we get up there?” Well, for those passengers who are only on the island for a few hours (not us, fortunately), there are three ways to climb the cliffs of Santorini: take a small cable car, walk the 588 steps up to the town of Fira, or hop on a donkey. Those of us who are staying in Santorini are dropped off where buses are waiting to take us and our luggage along tight zig zagging roads up the side of the cliff. I try not to think about the fact that there are no guard rails, and even if there were, it wouldn’t do any good. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.

Soon after, we arrive at our hotel, the very beautiful El Greco. With its vivid colours, arched rooftops, cobblestone walkways, and three pools, it simply takes my breath away. The pools are filled to the brim with clear blue water creating a seamless illusion of infinity. It is a living brochure.

Our new friends, Trevor and Jennifer, are also staying here, and we are anxious to start exploring this amazing island. The four of us head into the small town of Fira for a light dinner. Fira is a collection of glitzy shops and upscale restaurants precariously balanced on Santorini’s edge or, by some architectural miracle, built into the side of the cliff. As in most of the Greek cities we have visited, the streets and walkways are very close, forcing us to rub shoulders with hundreds of strangers. The place is abuzz with activity. There is excitement in the air.

We catch the sunset and for a brief moment, we think about those passengers on the Aegean Pearl who had to leave Santorini after just a few hours. Oh, what they have missed! Looking down, the millions of night lights of the shops and restaurants dot the cliff-side. The sea is calm as we watch the sailboats easily carving their way through it. I may never leave.

Patmos - Even though it is a tourist destination, we find Patmos to be quieter and dare I say, more plain than the other islands. We walk around the shops a bit, and then we find a small beach with umbrellas and tables. We settle in under an umbrella and order a beer as we enjoy the view.

Rhodes - Rhodes is the Island of the Sun, and is named after a nymph who caught the affections of the sun god Helios. Rhodes Town is a fortress city with high stone walls, churches, towers and temples everywhere. The narrow streets are made of cobblestones, and must have taken several lifetimes to create because each stone is placed on its edge, not the flat side. For the umpteenth time on this trip, the word “Wow!” comes out of my mouth.

It is in Rhodes where we do battle with rug shop vendors. We are inches away from purchasing a very expensive silk, handwoven carpet for our dining room. I can’t deny that it is one of the most beautiful rugs I’ve ever seen. I know for a fact that it will look stunning under my new table. The store owners are relentless with three of them working on us at once. They are not going to let us get away. I plead for time alone with Al to discuss it and they agree. They bring us water and leave. Once we are alone, sanity creeps back in. Kitchen renos, son in college…we can think of many other, more practical ways to spend $3,000. We stand tall, thank them very much and walk out as they desperately try to talk us back in. Whew. Crisis averted. I’m over it.

Crete - Pronounced “Creetee” by the locals, Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands. As soon as we disembark, we are approached by a cabbie who tells us that we need transportation to see anything in Crete. Even the town is too far to walk. He wants 50 euros a piece for an hour and a half tour. That’s about $130 CAN for both of us. Fortunately, a Chilean couple from our ship asks us to go with them in their cab for only 35 euros a couple. Perfect.

We drive for about 20 minutes through palm-tree forests and mountain ravines with fields of olive and cyprus trees to Knossos. The first seeds of Greek civilization were planted at Knossos in 6000 BC. Knossos is the ancient palace of King Minos. Even though we are looking at ruins, one can see that in its day, this was a place of grandeur. Many of the wall paintings and monster-sized clay pots still exist. This is the first time we see colour used in the walls. We spend about an hour absorbing the ancient history of Knossos before we head back to our cab.

The driver takes us into the town of Iraklio/Heraklion to show us the sites. We stop at the grave of Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba the Greek. The site is a vantage point to see the city and port from on high - definitely a photo opportunity. From here, we visit Agios Minas, a breathtaking cathedral church in the city. During WWII, the Germans attempted to bomb the church, but the bomb, which landed in the centre of the church, didn’t detonate. It is now mounted outside as a reminder of this “miracle.”After a fast sweep of the city’s market, we are back in our cab and headed for our ship in record time.

Tomorrow, Santorini!

We decide to forego the excursion, which is to Ephesus, the ancient city of Anatolia. Those who did the excursion gave it a thumbs up, but I wanted to explore the famed Turkish bazaars. There was much shopping and bartering to be done! In the streets of the Kemeralti Market, there are antiques, knock-off handbags, scores of jewelery stores, and stores offering local handicrafts such as handwoven rugs, mozaic lanterns (I buy two), and handpainted dishes. We are harrassed by the Turkish vendors - all part of the experience, I’ll warrant. One vendor asks us outright, “What can I do to take your money?” One jewelery store owner successfully get us into his shop, where he presents me with all sort of sparkling items. But we resist.

The aroma of exotic foods tempts us and there is more seafood here than we have seen to date, but time is of the essence. Besides we have encountered a problem with our new memory card, and if we don’t find a solution fast, we won’t be able to take any more pictures. We find a photo store, make a CD of pics from our old memory card, and are once again able to click away.

The ship’s horn calls us back to the port, and our brief stay in beautiful Turkey is committed to memory.

The Aegean Pearl is a small cruise ship with only 650 passengers - most of them during this run are either between the ages of 15 and 25, or 70 plus. We fall somewhere in the middle. The ship itself is a bit of disappointment. No more than a mildly upgraded ferry to my mind, it has a small plunge pool, the food is mediocre and dinner is a frantic, noisy, “get ‘em in and out” affair. The tables in the dining room are very close together, and during the presentation of Baked Alaska where all the waiters parade through with trays of flaming ice cream, I was sure of certain disaster. The cabins are small, and the twin beds are bolted to the floor, so they can’t be moved together. (As a matter of fact, we spent every night in Greece on twin beds, which is ironic since we were celebrating 25 years of marriage.) We buy all-inclusive drink cards.

We met many wonderful and interesting people on our trip, who hailed from Chili, Australia, the States and Canada. We became fast friends with Trevor Birmingham and Jennifer Landry from London, Ontario, who we first met in Mykonos, and having this delightful couple to explore the Greek islands with was, in my opinion, a definite highlight. They had all-inclusive drink cards too! And so, we began our friendship burning through those cards as we traversed the Aegean Sea.

First stop tomorrow - Kusadasi, Turkey!