Santorini .... and the Volcano .....

.... otherwise known as .... the day we visited hell.

The second day of the cruise was spent at sea. Here's a picture of the fountain area next to the pool:

The kids loved this area, naturally. This was the only "kid-friendly" public place that the ship had (or at least the only one that we saw). The fact that this ship did not cater to kids was a huge plus for me. There were far less children on this cruise than any of the others I have been on.

It was very nice.

Don't get me wrong.

I like kids .... in the proper setting.

But if I don't have any of mine around me, I certainly don't want to spend a lot of time with other people's children.

Celebrity cruise line caters to adults ..... and it was wonderful.

They even offer free childcare during all of the excursions .... which most parents seemed to take advantage of. The excursions on this cruise were not designed for children. I mean .... what 6 year old wants to climb up to the Acropolis? Or Hell a volcano?

Speaking of the volcano excursion .... here we are approaching Santorini on Day 3:

This was a small tourist boat we saw as we were pulling into port (just like the boat we would soon be on for our excursion):

After we anchored we boarded smaller boats to get to the island. These are views of our ship from our boat:

These are pictures of the volcanic island as we approached:

I thought that the island resembled the moon.

Should have been my first clue as to what lay ahead.

We began our 2 1/2 mile walk straight up .... in good spirits:

This picture is from our first of three rest stops. Again .... once our tour guide said that we were 1/3 of the way up .... we should have seen what lay ahead. By the time we reached the 1/3 point ..... and then were told that we were only 1/3 of the way up .... I knew that I would die.

But up we continued. In spite of the heat .... which felt like it was at least 120 degrees:

We passed one young man as he was yakking up alongside the trail.

And no, I did not take a picture.

Next we passed an older man who seemed to be having serious health issues.

Again, I refrained from snapping pics.

Here's a view from the top:
Big.

Freakin'.

Deal.

This excursion was a total waste of our money, our time .... and my health.

It was horrible.

Two "older" men had to be brought down by guides (EMS-like people) who worked there for just such scenarios.

Nice.

After D1 and I got back down to the boat we grabbed some water and some shade and waited for the rest of our group .... which included the men who needed extra help.

Even the Peeps were pooped:

After we left Hell, we sailed over to a nearby island that had a "hot spring".

I use the word "hot" very loosely.

It would seem that Greeks think that water that is just cool, rather than freezing, is "hot".

Who knows .... maybe at one time it was a tad bit warm. It was full of sulphur, which tends to make one's skin .... and white swimsuit .... orange.

Fortunately D1 and I did not wear white.

Unfortunately .... we did have skin.

Orange skin.

And .... may I point out .... I think that sulphur is a sure-fire sign that Hell is nearby.

Don't know if that's scientific.

I'm just sayin' .....

This is as close as our boat could get. We had to jump into the freezing water (which felt great after visiting Hell) and swim over to the hot springs:

There were several goats on the rocks around the springs (another sign of Hell?). Also a couple of chickens and a rooster.

Don't ask me why .... I'm just the messenger.

After we swam .... and looked a little like Oompa Loompas .... we headed back to Santorini:

When you dock in Santorini you have 3 choices of getting up to the village.

A cable car:

A donkey ride:

Or your legs:

I'll give you 3 guesses as to the mode of transportation we chose .... and the first two don't count. :)

Some of the sites:

This was the view from a rooftop restaurant where D1 and I had dinner. The food was good, the chairs felt great .... and they seemed to like Oompa Loompas:

Here's the view of our ship as we came back down the island in the cable car (sorry to those of you who voted on the donkeys):
It was a very full day.

It was a very hot day.

Except for the hot springs.

But it was also a good day.

Santorini was lovely.

I'd like to go back and spend more time there .... in the town.

Not on the volcano.

That's all for now.

Happy Friday, Peeps.

:)