Day three and we are out and about.
First stop is the little church of Episcopi which is the oldest one on the island, having survived earthquakes, invasions and volcanic eruptions for over 900 years. As you would expect full of icons and votive offerings, just going to show the thin line between Christianity and pagan practices in this part of the world.
Then on to the ghost town of Messagonia which was deserted after the earthquake of 1956 at 10.15 in the morning. According to the guide the village was just as it was left when the villagers moved down to the coast. To be honest it looked much like any other town I'd been to here full of half wrecked buildings.
So onto the first major view of the day the town of Pyrgos which is the highest on Santorini, we trekked up to the very top near the remains of the old Venetian fortifications stepping carefully round a tethered donkey. Fantastic view across the island only to be surpassed by what we were to see later at Oia.
Then the compulsory stop at the Santo winery where we had a tour of the factory followed by a tasting of some rather nice wines including a very fruity honeyed white, a dryer white and the local desert wine VinSanto, very sweet and raisiney.
So we boarded the bus for the last stop of Oia (pronounced Ear geddit)This is an incredibly gorgeous town of twisty lanes and whitewashed houses and churches perched on the side of the caldera which forms the island. From the top you can see Thirassa, the island that with present day Santorini is all that is left from the cataclysmic eruption that devastated the Mediterranean in antiquity, and the two volcanic islands that have since poked their heads above the waters of the lagoon.
We had a fantastic dinner in the Roka Taverna fava for Old Nick and Queene Mab and a cheesy peppery dip for me followed by mixed meats and cheese baked in their own juices in a bakeproof paper parcel for Mab and a tender stew of beef, tomato and red wine seasoned with herbs, cinnamon and anise for Old Nick and I washed down with a very good local white all for 51 Euros which I thought was pretty good value. (A tip by the way don't choose a branded wine from the wine list it will cost more than twice what you will pay for a litre carafe of the local house wine, so you pays less and gets more and it probably tastes better too).
Sated we tried to get to the highest point for the sunset only to find everywhere crowded so we wandered around a bit and found a smashing vantage point where we could see over the whole caldera from of all things a bloody car park! Still the view was just a good as we watched the Sun slip beneath the waves of the Mediterranean.
