A group of islands in the Cyclades, shaped by an volcanic eruption that formed the stunning caldera. Fira, Oia and Imerovigli are just some of the names tour books throw at you. The views offered by this tiny island of Santorini are much more enchanting than their names. Made of 2 major islands – Thera and Therasia with the volcanic islands of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni, Santorini is just a dot on the map far away from the mainland and Athens. What distinguishes this island from the zillion other Greek islands and makes it easily identifiable on any poster is the white washed walls with the blue domed churches. The color of the Aegean Sea down below matches the blue of the churches and many doors and fences. Every village on the main island of Thera is stunningly beautiful. There’s pretty little to do other than taking in view after view after view to your heart’s content.

The most photographed areas of Santorini. Most of the time from the old fort. Most of the pictures have two windmills but one was dismantled when we visited (the one on the left).

Oia is the oldest settlement on the island. It is strikingly beautiful, much more than the crowded village of the Fira. Hotels and restaurants here are much more expensive than Fira or the quieter village of Firostefani.

Bustling with tourists, vehicles and vendors, you can find the most activity on the entire island of Santorini at this village. There are numerous restaurants both with and without views of the Caldera, all offering free wi-fi. The ones with views are usually more than expensive than those without. Buses ply from here to all the other parts of the island.

The points that offer the best views of sunset are taken up long before the actual time. Hoardes of tourists, with huge dSLRs or even cell phones mounted on the selfie sticks arrive and grab a front row spot. At Oia it is usually from the Fort or just around it. At Fira, it is end of the town on the way to Firostefani. It is not just the people on terra firma who wait for the sunset. Cruise ships time their departure from Fira port just around the same time and position themselves in the open Caldera for a unhindered view for its passengers. Low lying clouds prevented us from seeing the sun off all the way into the horizon. The little we saw of it was still magical and definitely worth the wait.

The islands, bang in the middle of the Caldera, are served by tourist boats from the Fira port. With a variety of tours that take us to 2 or 3 of the islands on wooden sail boats powered by a motor, it is a good break from the main island for half a day. Plus, we get to see the same villages from a different point of view. There are about a dozen boats that arrive at Nea Kameni, the island with the volcanic crater, within a few minutes of each other. After hopping across the other boats and paying an entrance fee, there’s a steep climb up to the craters on uneven terrain. The guide shows a few craters and brings the group back down to the waiting boats. The views from here across the Caldera are stunning. The sea looks bluer than ever. Then it is a ride to Paleo Kameni, the island with the hot spring. The boats stop quite a distance away and we have to swim out to the hot spring area. We chose to remain on the boat. After this we are dropped back to Fira port. Some boats continue to Therasia.

The vegetarian version of the Greek delicacy of Moussaka with eggplant, cheese and pastry sheets.

My last memory of this beautiful island that I hope to return to again, sometime in the future. The most photographed, most popular and the most serene of all blue domed churches, close to where we were staying in Firostefani.