I continued my journey on the island of Santorini, still experiencing the glorious 80 degree weather, and still armed with a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, an almost-empty water bottle, half-eaten snacks, my camera, and fortunately plenty of film still left (although lots of photos had already been taken). As I walked, not only did the churches of Santorini catch my eye (see my blog, part one), but I also noticed the layout, namely the way that the buildings and streets were arranged, of the hillside towns that I was walking through between Fira and Oia.
This arrangement made it easy and fun to explore. The streets themselves varied from being paved or cobblestone narrow streets and paths, to rocky trails, to roads that were wide enough for cars. Many of those narrower streets were organized in such a way as to make it seem as if I were wandering through a maze, zigzagging around and through and over and under the homes and churches, allowing for many options of which direction I could travel.
Narrow Path and Rocky Trail
Not only did the layout of the towns give me plenty of choices for exploration, but also because the towns were built on hills, there was this layering effect of the homes and churches. As I would walk on one street, not only were there buildings next to me at my level, but there was also a layer just above me, and a layer just below me.
And because of this layering effect, there were actually a couple of times when I was able to walk right from my layer right up on the top of the roofs of some churches of the layer just below me. I’m not really sure if I was supposed to do this or not, but it allowed me to walk right up to the steeples and church bells to see them up close! I loved that! And it made for some fun and artistic photos.
Church Bells and Steeples from the Roof Tops
These walking-on-the-rooftop experiences not only made for great views of the architecture of the churches, but also gave me fabulous landscapes right through the steeples of the churches to other Greek islands, and to the blue skies and blue seas beyond and below.
Greek Islands and Blue Skies and Blue Seas Beyond
Blue Seas and Boats Below
Good thing I had that extra film with me!
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.