At 700 feet above sea level, and temperatures around a glorious 80 degrees, with a hat on my head and sunscreen on my skin, I set out for my day’s journey. Armed with a water bottle in one hand, and a camera in the other, I had a snack and sunglasses in my pocket, and extra film ready to be used at a moment’s notice. I knew that the shoes on my feet would let me walk on the variety of terrain that I would be encountering. My goal was to get to my destination by sunset!
Well, ok, this wasn’t some epic hike to the top of a mountain, or across some sandy, hot desert. But it was to be a walk of beautiful scenery, some adventure, and a mission to witness one of the most breathtaking sunsets in the world. During my day, I would be wandering through several small towns, amongst the local whitewashed homes. The blue domes and pastel colors of the churches and other buildings would add color to my excursion.
I would have opportunities to walk on the rooftops of local churches, where I would see the church bells, domes and steeples up close. The vast blue seas below, and the wide blue skies above, would fill my background. I would even be able to shop in local stores along the way, eat local food, and watch local artists create paintings and other forms of art of the very towns that I was walking through.
Santorini, one of the many picturesque islands in Greece is where I was; where I took this spectacular day-walk from the town of Fira in the middle of the island, through small towns built on hillsides, to the town of Oia on the north end. It can be a three-hour walk, but I took all day, because I wanted to take my time and really experience the splendor of the island.
My Santorini journey has made it to the top of my list as far as one of my favorite places that I have ever traveled. (Along with Venice and The Cinque Terre in Italy. See previous blogs.) From the very first steps of my walk, I was in awe of the scenic architecture, churches, homes, seas and skies surrounding me. It looked very much like the pictures of Santorini that I had seen in brochures and postcards, but it was much better in person!
I shall now take you on a photojourney of my day in Santorini. It was a good thing that I took all that extra film with me, as photo opps were definitely available at a moment’s notice!
The churches of Santorini, from the very beginning of my day-walk to the very end, were the biggest subject of my photos. I became completely entranced with the architecture and sheer elegance of these structures. With their blue domes and other pastel colors; with their various shapes and sizes; with their church bells and steeples; with their spirituality. I wanted to take pictures of every single one of them. And I practically did. Many of the pictures I took were of the fronts of these churches.
Some of the more artistic pictures I took were of the church bells and steeples up close. Notice the blue dome and cross in the background of these photos.
The famous Santorini blue domes are the subjects of these photos.
Notice the shadows in these more creative pictures that I took.
Or how about a close up of the colorful door and windows of this church.
And one of my favorite photos…four church domes and steeples in one photo!
Please read my next blogs for more about my journey, including more photos, to my destination by sunset.
Sweet Travels!
All photos taken by Debby.