Crete, Santoríni, Greek Islands

The SS City of Rhodes sailed from the Island of Rhodes to Herakleion, located at about the middle of the north side of the Island of Crete. We have talked to people who have visited this island, some in an RV, and they all say how wonderful the island, and how nice the people are.

King Minos’ Palace of Knossós, is one of the major sights on Crete. A palace built here about 2000 BC was destroyed in 1700 BC, then replaced by the Palace of Knossós, which was itself destroyed in 1500 BC by an earthquake and tidal wave. Just think, a 1300 room palace, with a pressure water system, existed thousands of years ago. Parts of the castle have been renovated, most has not. Each of the ancient ruins we have visited is unique, and the amount and method of maintenance is unique. But we haven’t visited one locale we wouldn’t be very happy to revisit. We’re not Pollyannish about our travels, we enjoy our journey, and would re-visit most anywhere.

Our ship arrived at Santoríni at 4:00 PM, and sailed at 7:00. Santoríni is what remains from the volcano explosion and resulting tidal wave that destroyed Knossós. The island is shaped like the edge of your right hand, with the thumb and finger curved. The harbor is 1300 feet deep, so they can’t drop anchor, the dock is too small for the ship, so the ship was tied to shore with long cables, and we rode small boats to shore.

There are three ways to scale the cliff from the dock to Thíra, Santoríni. Walk up the 587 steps zigzaging up the side of the cliff; ride one of the donkeys or horses which carry passengers up those same steps, or ride the cable car. Easy decision, and the cable car took us right into town.

Thíra is a picturesque town with narrow streets, white buildings, beautiful churches, and tourist stores by the hundreds. There are ruins of ancient civilizations on other parts of the island, but we had not enough time to visit there.

When it was time to leave, there were still the same three choices for the return from Santoríni to sea level, and “someone” decided to take the stairs, not on a donkey, but on foot. After hundreds of steps, stepping in millions of donkey donuts, she decided this was not the way to do it. Emmy wouldn’t admit defeat and ride a donkey the rest of the way, but her knees were shaking long before we got to the ship.