A lot of people who’ve been there, and many who have not, will recognise this shot.  It’s one of the worlds’s iconic images :  the majesty that is Santorini.

There can be few more exciting sights in the world than this island, approached from the sea, across the Caldera.

She is a survivor, Santorini.  The striations in the rock colour testify to the volcanic activity that almost blew her out of the sea.  Edging towards her, you cannot but help be filled with awe.

But then the awe gives way to mild terror as you dock and realise that all the way to the top is to be accomplished on the back of a donkey!  A humble beast of burden, it may well be, but never think that a donkey might not have a mind of its own.  And, naturally, that mind conflicts strongly with your own.  The memory of sitting helplessly on its back, gazing down at certain death, as it lowered its head over the low stone wall to graze the sparse grass- well, let’s just say it’s not one of my better ones.

A whack on the rump (it’s, not mine) had us lurching upwards again, and it was without a trace of sorrow that I parted company with the beast at the cliff top.  I’m sure I detected a smirk on its face, but then, you’d have to find pleasure somewhere if you toiled up and down these slopes all day.

Michael is not at all a fan of cable cars and dangling in the air, but even he agreed that it would be preferable to “descent by donkey”.  Me, I absolutely love them, and never more so than on that day.   In the meantime, there was exploring to be done.

You know that I don’t have much expertise in this, so I should tell you that these photos are all Michael’s and completely unedited.