Greek Islands

From a town near Ephesus, it's a simple ferry ride to the easternmost Greek Islands. In a week and a half we made it to four islands, Samos, Patmos, Mykonos (no pictures of this one, it was an intermediate stop), and Santorini. We were looking for beaches and hiking, and the islands were accommodating for both.

This is a picture of the beach we frequented on Samos, as taken from the ferry. The water was clear and cold, and the beach a bit rocky, but it was still enjoyable. And since we were there before peak tourist season, it was practically empty.

Patmos is a small island: you can day-hike to practically any destination. Aside from its beaches, it's home to the monastery of Saint John the Theologian, who wrote the Book of Revelation there, while secluded in a cave. We visited the cave and the monastery. Both were quite nice. This is a chapel at the monastery. It's got the classic Greek Orthodox look, except usually the churches are whitewashed with a blue roof.

This is Gabe swimming at one of the beaches on Patmos. Gabe really likes swimming and would often try to get me to venture into the frigid water. This time he didn't succeed, which is why there is a picture.

This is one of the places where we lunched on the way to the beach. A rather idyllic setting, to say the least.

Our last stop was Santorini. It was a worthwhile stop in spite of its touristiness because of the splendid scenery. The group of islands are a caldera, formed by a volcanic eruption. Here's a satellite image of Santorini that I ganked from Wikipedia.

The caldera has very dramatic cliffs on the inside. People construct buildings (mostly hotels) right up to the very edge. Hopefully the picture below provides a little perspective on just how tall the cliffs are.
The highlight of Santorini was a hike along the inside of the caldera. The path featured beautiful views and flowers. Thankfully, it wasn't hot yet. This picture was taken looking westward along the northern rim.
This picture is from virtually the same spot as the above picture, only looking south. You can pretty well make out the circle of the caldera.
This picture highlights the pretty daisies along the path. You can also see a Greek Orthodox church peeping out over the trees on the left. We're looking to the outside of the caldera this time.
And finally we have a picture of all the buildings that allegedly have the best sunset spot in Europe. We witnessed the sunset, and while it was quite nice, I think it goes too far to say it's the best spot in Europe. The cheese farm in Normandy gives it a serious run for its money.