the greek islands - worth the hype

our hotel in santorini charges for internet and for this, we're very grateful, as we've been w/out internet since getting here earlier this week.  it's been wonderful as i've been meaning to give up my crack-like addiction to checking email, social media, etc and cold turkey seems to be the only way i can do it.  my frugality is more powerful than my addiction.  that said, we're grateful for the internet now as we sit at a taverna having coffee, writing postcards and planning the next phases of our trip.

we've been in santorini for nearly a week, staying at the north end of the 12km x 4km island at the picturesque village of oia (pronounced "ee-ya").   it's a lovely place featuring the classic white buildings/churches with blue paint that tumble down the cliffs towards the blue sea below. most pics and postcards of the greek islands are taken here. 

the place has a very chill vibe. it seems to be more about being than doing ... our agenda consists mainly of determining which beach to hit, where to watch the sunset and have dinner.  

to aid in our exploration of the island, we've picked up a pretty rad set of wheels (50cc moped), which helps us get to the different beaches here. there's a red, black and white beach.  

prior to getting our wheels, we thought we could walking to one beach - about 3km away - would be fun and so we did. we didn't realize that the walk home was uphill and, at 4pm in the hot sun, was less fun.  fortunately, a friendly australian couple gave us a lift to town.  on the way, they raved about nearby island they visited called falegrandros.  sounded lovely and so we made plans to go there in 3 days.   

we also took a boat tour to a nearby island with an active volcano, which reaked of sulfur and had smoke pouring out of holes in the ground. fortunately, it didn't erupt but has every 20 or so years this century.  one especially massive eruption sank the middle of the island, resulting in the wonderful views we now enjoy.  

the agenda for the rest of the trip is taking form.  greek island-hopping in september and we just booked an apartment in rome for october.  if anyone wants to visit, we have an extra bed!