We rented a car today so we could see more of Santorini.  It’s a little bit nuts driving over here as the street are quite narrow and quite a few scooters and quads on the roads.  There is no motorized traffic in Oia which is one of the best things about it.  We decided to head to the far end of the island to see the lighthouse and then work our way back.  It was a gorgeous view of the island and gives you a great perspective of the size of the island. 

View of Fira and the cruise ships

Other stops included the Red Beach – named because of the red sand and rock.  Not that easy to get to because you have to hike down to the beach quite a ways but it looked very nice. 

Red Beach

 Then,  up the winding road to the Prophet Elias monastery, the highest point on Santorini.  The monastery was closed but the real attraction was the view of the entire island – spectacular!

 We went on working our way back to Oia with the next stop being something called “Art Space”.  It is an old stable/winery that has been converted to an art gallery.  It was very interesting to see how this very old building was restored into a gallery.  While it still makes some wine in a now modern facility, the draw was the art and the building.

 Lunch at Perissa Beach after which Richard took a quick dip.  Must say that the beaches are not all that nice primarily because the “sand” is volcanic rock and not very comfortable sitting or walking on.  Give me Caribbean beaches any day but of course that is not why we came all the way to Greece.

 One more stop before we headed home, this time to the wine museum.  Very interesting to see the history of wine on Santorini and was well presented in an old wine cave with lots of exhibits.  Of course the wine tasting at the end was a favourite.

 We ended the day by driving down to the little port town of Ammoudi where we had lunch a couple of days previously.  We had a great table right by the water and perfectly placed to watch the famous Oia sunset.  This time we were not disappointed and it was a gorgeous scene. 

Sunset at Ammoudi Port

Our restaurant was suitably called Sunset Taverna and the meal, although quite expensive (I guess you have to pay for the best location) the food was extremely good.