We were on the terrace of our stateroom while the Navigator was nudging its way to the dock, and we noticed a little white dog running up and down eagerly awaiting the arrival of the great ship. We were trying to figure out why he was so excited, when a ball with a thin rope was fired from the ship, which in turn was attached to the huge ropes that keep the boat in place. The little dog chased after the ball with glee and wrastled and tugged at it while the men pulled the huge ropes in to secure the ship. I'm sure the little guy thought he was fully responsible for the successful docking.

 

All 3000 of our shipmates were eager to explore the gayest island in the Mediterranean, so we all disembarked to find a total of two taxis waiting. It didn't take me long to figure out we were going to require alternative means of transportation. We rented a little Jeep that me, Freddie, and our new found friends Erik and Jeff squeezed into and braved the Greek traffic signs to find our way to one of the famous beaches on the island, Elia.

 

We spent the afternoon lounging on the beach, having a swim and then had a fantastic lunch at the beach restaurant. This is what you do on a Greek Island: Lay on Beach. Swim in Sea. Eat, Drink. Repeat.  It's not a bad way to spend your days, of course, but we were eager to find out a bit more about the island.

 

Back in the Jeep, we followed a few signs down a treacherous dirt road to a place called "Ikaros Village" which sounded alluring. It turned out to be a shed and a boat launch. Back on the main road, we paused to tell two of our porky shipmates on a moped how fabulous Ikaros Village was, and it was definitely worth the trip down the steep dirt road from hell. We never saw them again.

 

Mykonos comes alive at night when the fashionable descend on the bars and restaurants tucked into the maze of tiny streets in its only real town. Expensive drinks and overly loud music are plentiful, and the nipped and tucked clamor for the best tables to see the scene. It's safe to say that this place has moved on from the time when Shirley Valentine was filmed here, having a quiet glass of wine on the edge of the sea. Still, there is much to be said of a bacchanal holiday in the sun, surrounded by the most beautiful waters in Europe, and feasting on marvelous Greek cuisine.

 

The Navigator set sail at 2am that night for the short trip to Santorini, arriving just a few hours later. The word picturesque hardly describes Santorini with its white town and blue domes perched on the lip of a long extinct volcano. The town hovers above a thousand foot cliff that drops into the uber-blue waters that surround it. There is no deep harbor here, so our ship had to anchor off-shore while a milieu of ferry boats lined up to bring as ashore. The tiny port offers two ways to scale the 1000 foot cliff up to the town. A cable car will whisk you up to the top for 4 euros, or for 2 euros you can hire a donkey that will begrudgingly walk you up a zig-zag path with over 550 extended steps. The line for the cable car was too long, and we felt sorry for the donkeys, so we decided to walk it. 20 minutes later we reached the summit huffing and puffing to find a perfect outdoor terrace to escape the heat and marvel at the spectacular views. Again, there is not much to Santorini. A few churches, some restaurants, some shops and a couple of hotels. But they are all washed in white and huddled together along tiny streets looking across the bright blue of the sea to the surrounding islets, and the massive Navigator waiting for us off shore.