A place so great...(posting from the road)

 Chances are if you've seen a photo of "Greece" it was of a whitewashed building with a blue roof clinging to the side of the cliff as magical turquoise water glistens in the background. That is Santorini and it is every bit as stunning as it appears.

The island, originally round, was transformed into its present day crescent shape after a volcano eruption. The result is steep rock walls with small towns of the typical island white homes gripping on to avoid sliding

into the ocean. The homes in fact are not visible...what you are seeing is merely the facade of the home. The island of Santorini is actually full of cave homes. Under those facades, deep in the rock is the actual building...it's a space saver, protects it from the whipping winds that blow off the Aegean and maintains a constant comfortable temp of 21 Celsius.

A place so great it seems everyone simply has to be there. The population of 14,000 locals plays hosts to an additional 115,000 people in the summer months. I was fortunate enough to visit this amazing place in the fall/winter, meaning that I was able to walk down the tiny streets and enjoy some elbow room while standing

at the viewpoints. I endured the whipping winds and the chillier temperatures, my selection of gelato shops, cafes and jewelry shops, while plentiful, was a smaller selection then I would have enjoyed in August.

My guide Granville discussed the magic of the island before we got there...and while I found his presentation charming I was my usual skeptical self. But I stood there, at sunset, and my skepticism drifted away as I realized that magical places do exist. And not to worry...I was able to find enough open jewelry shops to do some damage.