Greece Trip #29: Sunset Walk Along Volcano's Rim, Accordionist, Greek God Jogger

We ended our stay on the Greek island of Santorini with a sunset walk along the rim of the dormant volcano after a quiet dinner in the nearby town.  In today's blog, you'll see nice views of the caldera (center) of the volcano from the rim of it (where all the towns are located). and meet a young Greek accordion player. 

(Photo: Tom and Rob at the Fanari restaurant, with the nice view in the background.Cr: RG) 

DINNER WITH A VIEW - When you travel with a large group of people, sometimes it's better to be alone, so we skipped a "sunset cruise" and had a much better time at a restaurant with a view. The Fanari Restaurant in the town of Fira, Santorini had a beautiful view of the volcanic caldera (flooded by the Aegean Sea). It was so nice to have a quiet dinner and watch the fuzzy sunset over the Caldera and the food was very good. We highly recommend the Fanari restaurant if you visit. 

(Photo: The beautiful view of the Santorini Caldera from the Fanari restaurant. Cr: RG) 

(Photo: Rob meets a young accordion player on the street. Credit: TW)

STREET ACCORDIONS - It was surprising to see 2 different young boys playing accordions on the street for money. Apparently the economy is still challenging in Greece, so youngsters take their talents to the street to raise money for their families. We admired both boys' talents and determination to help their families (of course giving them some cash). I just didn't expect to see an accordionist on the streets in Greece. 

A FUN SIGN PHOTO  - Our friend Thaddeus is like family to us, and we were surprised to see a restaurant in Santorini with his surname. So, we took a goofy photo in front of the sign and sent it to him via social media. It was a nice reminder of home.

SUNSET WALK  - The walk from the town of Fira to our hotel was about 40 minutes, all along the rim of the volcano that looked down into the ocean-filled caldera. Despite the heat at sunset (around 8pm) when the heat index was still around 90F/32.2C, we made the walk to watch the sun set.   As you can see in our photo, the sunsets from Santorini were not clear- but fuzzy from all of the salt and aerosols in the air from the over-ocean winds. 

(Photo: Tom and Rob doing the Volcano Rim walk from Fira to the hotel. Cr: RG)

A LIVING GREEK GOD JOGGING - As we walked to the hotel from the town of Fira, a muscular, shirtless, black-haired, brown-eyed Greek man jogged toward us. He could have been a Greek god. Suddenly we didn't mind the oppressive heat index!  Then, he turned around, ran past us again, and then ran off on part of a hillside that jutted out and away from the sidewalk. As he came back toward us, I snapped a photo of his silhouette with the setting sun and orange sky. 

NEXT: Ferry Fiasco and a Group Snub