The Santorini Volcano - And the Scenic Pics Go On and On...

And the verbs "picturesque", "scenic", "amazing" go on and on for lovely Santorini. A favourite among the Greeks and a beautiful town fully equipped with a dormant volcano, beautiful multi-coloured beaches, panoramic sunsets, easy-to-navigate roads and sky-high-murder-your-husband-priced boutiques and jewellery stores and all the trapping of a tourist haunt.

Under the scoring heat, we made our way to the caldera via a cable car ride. The alternative would have been donkeys. But the thought of riding an ass 600 over steps to take a ship wasn't terribly amusing. Modern transport was obviously created for good reason, and that's what we are definitely opting for.

The view down to the port emphasized the right decision to cable car down.

Down by the port, the true architectural feat of building an entire city atop cliffs become more apparent.

The ferry to the Caldera took about 20 mins and the subtle temperature increase made the presence of the Volcano more obvious then the sight of staggered black rocks peering out of the crystal clear blue waters.

And true to form for a city that made step aerobics feel like child's play, the sight to behind at the foot of the volcano could make any lazy woman weep... It was to be a 40 minute climb up to the top of the volcano and another 40 mins down!

And hence, started the exercise for the week. And after 10 mins, when we reached Point A, I looked up and saw...

MORE ROCKS AND WINDING ROADS... They were really not mincing on the 40 Mins.. Boo Hoo. *Shiver* I can still recall the pain in my legs and the burning heat of the sun on my shoulders..all the while screaming in my head..."why did I pay 30 Euros to kill myself?!"

Then when we get to the top, you get your answer...

God in his all infinite glory displayed in the parallel juxtaposition in the ferocity of such majestic rock formations and the purposeful beauty in his natural oceanic arrangements

I have to certainly admit I forgot I was actually walking on a volcano until a woman picked up her cell and said.."Where am I? well I'm kind of hiking on a volcano right now... Is there anything important?" And it dons on me... How many times in a lifetime can you possibly say a sentence like that?!

And the reality of that sentence rings soundly when we get to Point C, where smoke and a distinct sulphuric odour indicated the Volcano was still, in fact, very much alive and active.

After the tiring hike up the volcano, tourists are treated to another advantage of having a volcano, literally in your backyard.. hotsprings!

From the ferry straight into the hot springs, the nice dip is perfect after sweating buckets.

And if you felt like a prayer, the little white church by the edge serves a niffy purpose.

Or if you didn't feel like a dip or a prayer, fishing might just do it for you...