Perth.

September 9th.

Our last night in Santorini and the 'brown boy' is waiting for the sunset. We have seen some simply spectacular sunsets but one of the best was while we were having dinner  on the platform on the back of the ship when we were in Patmos, Greece. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera down with me so didn't get to record it. This photo below was taken from the restaurant in the above photo. The ship was anchored at least a kilometre away so the Zoom option worked quite well in the dark.

 The small cliff top town of Chora on the island of Folegandros. These narrow cobbled streets bring out their own special atmosphere at night. Locals don't come out to eat until around 9.30-10pm. Just when the tourists are leaving! Guess they are not silly.

 This man was outside his house loading up his donkeys with his work tools. We saw his wife later bringing one donkey home with the groceries and then we passed the other one a while later tied up to a tree waiting and resting his head on the tree trunk. They are very reliant on their donkeys on some of these island. Its a fascinating and very different life to what we are used to.

 This home was well maintained with its paintwork but as we saw with many of the houses the balconies looked very questionable regarding safety. The timber floor was quite clearly rotting away. Scary.

 First chore for the morning is checking and mending the fishing nets.

 Old town of Chania, Crete.

 Early morning coastal walk in Chania. It was really beautiful just after sunrise.

 Came across these geese preening and sunning themselves. It was a bit of an unusual sight for us seeing geese on the rocky shoreline.

 Stunning old trees on the beachfront. Their gaping and gnarled trunks were amazing. Looked like pretty stressful growing conditions. They certainly looked very old but Im not sure what age they would have been.

 On the way back we came across this row of octopus hung on a post. Obviously caught that morning because they were still dripping water. No doubt used that night in the restaurant across the road.

 Street scenes in Chania Crete. The gorgeous houses below were behind me at the end of the street in the photo above. I could walk up and down these places all day. It is all so quaint.

PERTH AUSTRALIA  12 December 2016

 Christmas and New Year Holidays this year is going to be sailing from Perth - Albany - Adelaide- Melbourne - Sydney and then a week in Tasmania.
 Perth Airport was a very welcome sight with all their Christmas Decorations showing off the the OZ theme of course.

 The Ship was berthed at Fremantle but we took several bus trips into the city. A beautiful city which rests along side the Swan with lots of walking and cycle paths and beaches along side. Many of the streets are lined with terraced houses, ornate historical buildings and lots of side walk cafes. The modern architecture which in many cases is ultra modern blends in with the old.

 This historical Boat Shed on the Swan River serves no purpose now but has been well maintained as a feature. Newly married couples use it as a photo stop. Apparently the door is always kept locked as the building is just a shell and has no back wall.

 The Jacquaranda trees were spectacular throughout the city even if they were just past their best.

 The Ship is well decorated with Christmas trees and decorations in all the common areas. Very beautiful and certainly reminds us that the festive season is here.

This setting is made from Blue jelly, gingerbread and sweet treats. The ginger smells divine.

Santorini Wine Tour

Yesterday we went on a very interesting tour of The Secret Wine Routes of Santorini. Santorini has a very long wine making history made difficult by the harsh conditions in which the grapes grow. Only unique indigenous varieties are used because of the volcanic terrain that the plants are grown. This is responsible for the unique character of the wines.

 Because of the high winds on the island the vines are trained and woven into a circular basket shape. No irrigation is used. The water droplets that form on the leaves from the sea fog drop down onto the pumice ash soil which acts like a sponge for the plants to extract their water from. Also during rainfall ( which is only 400mm a year )in the winter the water drains down into the porous soil and rock and then in the summer the heat draws the water nearer the surface where the plants can draw the water to nourish the vines.

 Then I got distracted by the sight of a Pistachio nut tree. First time I had seen them growing.

 On the way to the second family vineyard we walked through the small town of Megalochori with its imposing bell tower. Very sleepy and beautiful little place.

 Entrance to the Winery Cave.

 After many years of training and producing, the plants are unable to absorb the nutrients any longer and the grapes become too small so the plants are cut off at the base (above). This is usually done when the baskets approach 75 years of age. A New plant eventually sprouts from a dormant eye on the old root stock and then a new basket will be trained with production for harvest in 2-3 years. A lot of the original root stock that we saw was hundreds of years old. It was amazing and so interesting.

 A novel way to store some of your wine collection. A boat shaped timber seat ( of course whitewashed) with a glass plate on top for the seat.

 Leading into the wine cave.

 The ring in the sea to the left of Richards head is where a Greek cruise ship The Sea Diamond sank after running aground on a well marked volcanic reef in 2005. The ring is in place to contain the oil and extract what comes to the surface.

 The winding steep road up to the top of the island.  A little bit hair raising if you dared to look down from the bus window.

 A close up of the oil containment ring.

 Some blokes treasure palace in one of the plots off the vineyard site.

 Very young vines growing in the new winery we visited last. They will not begin training until next year. Phil and Joan Im wondering what you are thinking right now!!!!

Sunset from Santorini.

Goodnight.

Santorini

September 8,9,10.

Santorini just blew us away with its beauty. It was such a stunning sight to sail into with the cliff top towns of white washed buildings all highlighted in the early morning sun. From a distance it first looked like snow on the top of the mountain.

 Donkeys begin their morning trek down the steep hillside to pick up anyone who wants to pay for their services in the trek back up to the town.

 The beautiful town of Oia which is about a 40 minute ride by bus from the town of Fira.

 Everything in Santorini is very photogenic. Blue domed churches, brightly painted doors with the odd pastel painted building here and there to make a contrast to the whitewash.

I always thought the whitewash was to keep the buildings cool from the scorching hot sun but in much earlier times it was used because the lime in the wash gave protection from the plague and other diseases. The houses are actually tunnelled into the layer of pumice stone  to keep them cool and secure. The pumice stone is very soft but if you cut into it evenly as a platform to lay your floor  and build your house on it, it is very strong and keeps the temperature indoors at an even temperature all year round.

Santorini has a very low rainfall. They do have a large de-salination plant which provides household water at great expense and people collect water from their roofs from the condensation during the night to water plants etc while all the drinking water is bought in bottles from the mainland.

 Time for a quick rest after climbing to the highest part of the town to see the views. It was very hot and extremely humid again. Large crowds were a little irritating on the very narrow cobbled streets and you had to watch your footing on the uneven ground. There were five cruise ships in town the second day we were there and went to Oia which meant around more than 10,000 extra people. After they all left it was much quieter again.

 Great photo spot for some Greek wedding photos. We didn't envy the bridegroom dressed in a dark suit. It was scorching!

 The zig zag line in the photo above is the walking track up to the town and just to the left of that ( but just out tot the picture ) is the cable car.

The towns are perched on a high cliff top. You can either walk up from the waterfront where the tenders docked or you could take a donkey. Most people like us chose to take the cable car which was a quick two minute ride to the top.

A violent eruption thousands of years ago left obvious signs in the spectacular landscape.  ( above )