The Islands of Crete and Santorini (Thursday)

None of us were really sure what was in store for us in Crete - we were told our excursion was entitled "A Taste of Crete," but weren't really sure what that entailed. Well, we feel we really got our money's worth, and more!
Crete is the Mediterranean's 4th and Greece's largest island. We pulled into the Venetian harbor of Heraklion at 7:00 a.m., and departed at 7:30 in a little gold mercedes minibus (cool!) for a drive to the wine-producing area of Peza. The drive was breathtaking, as we drove through courtyards and vineyards as old as Minoan times. We stopped at a modern winery and observed wine-making methods and sampled some of the delicious Cretan wines, and did a little shopping. The winery also produces varieties of olive oil and olive soaps, and we purchased some of the latter for gifts.
The next "lagniappe" of the tour was a stop at ruins of the oldest farmhouse and winery in Crete (and possibly all of Europe), which dates back to the Minoan period, around 16th century B.C. While the ruins were interesting, what captured our fascination were the vast kinds of vegetation that flourished in the wild along the stone path to the farmhouse...we got some great pictures of grape vines, olives, pears, capers, and even wild artichokes! We continued on to the charming village of Archanes, where we stopped at a taverna to sample some local Cretan snacks, and were treated to live greek music and dancing. So, although not the most significant ports in terms of biblical or historical importance, this morning's tour ranked up there as one of our favorites.
ADDENDUM: Kris reminded me to add this...Dimitra, our guide, added some additional interest to the morning by providing us with some commentary about traditional village life in Crete. It was interesting to hear that many villagers have never left Crete, or for some, their villages for that matter, and local life is fiercely independent and family-centered. There is a church in every village, and a square around the church, which serves as the cultural center for everything in the village. When there's a wedding in the village, the entire village is invited...if the other family is from another village, everyone in THAT village is invited. If you're a tourist passing through in the summer months and you stumble upon the celebration, they'll invite you, too!
Later that afternoon, we pulled into the unbelievably beautiful volcanic island of Santorini. We were strongly encouraged to be on the top deck to view the island as we approached it, and we were not disappointed. The island appears, from a distance, to be one giant crescent rock, with three distinct snowcaps on top of it...as it turns out, the "snowcaps" are the three main cities on the island, made up of beautiful white-washed buildings with occasional blue domes and trim. We pulled a ways out from the dock, and took tender boats into shore...from there, we loaded cable cars and rode to the top of the mountain, and got to roam the streets of the town for approximately an hour and a half. Kris and I noticed there was a catholic cathedral there, along with a monastery of cloistered nuns attached, so we went inside and prayed, and took photographs of the modest, yet beautiful, interior. We continued strolling the meandering streets, pausing only briefly to peek-in at various places, but our main objective was to find breathtaking views (and subsequent photo-ops), and a place to get coffee. Sure enough, we accomplished both, and we truly enjoyed the little cafe we found for coffee. We found the perfect little cafe balcony that overlooked the mediterranean, and we just sat and relaxed with our espresso and water for about half-an-hour, immersing ourselves in the moment...the sun was setting, so we observed another beautiful sunset in paradise...fantastic!
We had dinner back aboard the ship, and our chorale actually participated in the ship's "finale" talent show afterward, and we sang "Good News, Chariot's Comin'" by Moses Hogan...we brought the house down; I don't think any of the French, Australian, New Zealand, or English passengers that heard us had ever heard a real honest-to-goodness American spiritual before, but they seemed to LOVE IT. Tomorrow (Friday) ends our cruise, and it's one more day in Athens before flying home.