Well this was a rather uneventful day for us, though not for the island of Santorini. We spent a quiet day chiefly at home (down to 
Marika’s office in the afternoon to use the internet, and Grant again played soccer with Stavros and his friends), Maria studying Greek, the kids playing games, and as for myself, writing blog entries. Zoe taught us the card game of “Spit”, which became a popular hit with the whole family and Stavros.
Marika’s office in the afternoon to use the internet, and Grant again played soccer with Stavros and his friends), Maria studying Greek, the kids playing games, and as for myself, writing blog entries. Zoe taught us the card game of “Spit”, which became a popular hit with the whole family and Stavros.As for the previous days we saw little of Marika due to work commitments (she had a departure at 5:30 in the morning) till the evening – when we cooked together and again talked till quite late in the evening.
A couple of incidents of the day may give some further insight into life on the island. Walking down to Marika’s office we were forced to cross a couple of fields of grapes when our short-cut proved to be a 
bit wayward. These fields of grapes are unlike anything, anywhere on Australia. First, the ground itself looks more like the slag heaps of Wollongong’s steel works than a field of soil – from fist-sized rocks down to fine powder, and of various colours. All this due to the volcanic origins – and its very fertile. The grape vines themselves are also very different and produce a famous sweet Santorini red wine (which we’ve been having as an apperatiefe each night). The vines are wound in a circle of about 50cm diameter and lie flat on the ground, not rising up like a low waist/chest sized bush as in oz. This unique structure is to protect the grapes from the strong winds, and also because they receive no other water than the heavy dew that falls each night.
bit wayward. These fields of grapes are unlike anything, anywhere on Australia. First, the ground itself looks more like the slag heaps of Wollongong’s steel works than a field of soil – from fist-sized rocks down to fine powder, and of various colours. All this due to the volcanic origins – and its very fertile. The grape vines themselves are also very different and produce a famous sweet Santorini red wine (which we’ve been having as an apperatiefe each night). The vines are wound in a circle of about 50cm diameter and lie flat on the ground, not rising up like a low waist/chest sized bush as in oz. This unique structure is to protect the grapes from the strong winds, and also because they receive no other water than the heavy dew that falls each night.The other piece of background info is that while Marika’s house is connected to the sewers, it does not have town water supply. Rather, it has a large cistern (water reservouir) who’s access hatch is inside the house (a large sort of box structure in the corner of the kitchen). Water is automatically pumped from the cistern as the taps are used, so to most intents and purposes it is as though it was a normal supply. However, the cistern needs to be refilled about once a month (I bet that blows out with us here) and that happened on the evening of our arrival – quite disconcerting with us in our fatigued brain-dead state and a guy comes into the kitchen with a whopping great hose. With a “limited” water supply a certain frugality in water usage is called for, so we have been following the Japanese custom of bathing. Finally, the water (from 
the tap/cistern) has a noticeable salty taste as I believe it is drawn from an aquafer here on the island. While drinkable it is not palatable, so everyone drinks bottled water.
the tap/cistern) has a noticeable salty taste as I believe it is drawn from an aquafer here on the island. While drinkable it is not palatable, so everyone drinks bottled water.We learnt of the cruise-liner accident when Marika came home and told us about it – then watched on the news the live images as they sought to evacuate people from a badly listing ship, where the deck was so many metres above the waterline. A very surreal feeling to know that it was occuring just a few kilometres away.
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