No Zorba, a small mobile phone is not a microphone

As Kitty comments we are in Santorini (Saint Irene). Santorini was a beautiful circular island until about 1500 b.c. when it exploded (or more accurately imploded) – possibly the biggest explosion in history. You see, Santorini is not an ‘island’ it is a volcano – set in the sea. The explosion created tidal waves (sorry , Tsunamis) 250m. high It is believed that this tsunami wiped out the Minoan civilisation on Crete and that the sinking of half the island created Plato’s tales of Atlantis. The result is a spectacular huge caldera in the sea, with Santorini creating part of the caldera rim. On One side Santorini has a huge semi-circular inlet (part of the caldera) with cliffs 200-300m. high. On the other side it is flatter and has beaches – but no sand. It has red and black ‘sand’ made of tiny volcanic rock and pumice. When you walk into the sea you may find (after getting through a few yards of rough stones) that the floor of the sea is solid rock – or more correctly solid lava. And it is quite slippery. Quite a different experience. The black ‘sand’, even at this time of year, gets hot – unbearably hot within 2-3 steps. Consequently they lay down planks to walk on and provide lounges to lie on (for 5-8 Euros a pop). Anyway the volcano is quite safe – it is 50 years since the last earthquake, which decimated the island ! So they rebuilt it on the edge of cliffs – ready for the next earthquake.
So which of the islands is best to date. None really. It all depends on what you want. On any island you can find your little quiet ‘desert island’ (except maybe at high season) or you can find a place to party. Antiparos would be a great place for peace and quiet, Naxos is best for hiking, inland scenery, biking, and doing lots of things, Santorini has that wow factor and is good for 2 or 3 days (but avoid weekends when the main town is a traffic jam) – it also has its quieter but still spectacular spots such as at Oia in the North which has great sunsets (we hope to verify tonight) and create views of the Caldera. With a bike or ATV (all terrain vehicle – like a cross between a mini-beach-buggy and a ride-on mower) you can easily get around Santorini. Just don’t expect Surfers Paradise, Disneyland, Sea World etc.
The people here vary (as they do anyway) – some places will set out to rip you off or annoy you, others will do so without realising (our ‘4 or 5 star hotel’ only provides small teacups as a bowl for your cornflakes and it takes 12 turns of the handle to fill the cup !), and others are extremely helpful (like the old man at the pier who insisted on giving me his warm coat for a couple of days when Kitty told him I had brought NO warm clothes and Santorini was very cold – he has no idea who I am but trusts me to return it).
Ah well, tomorrow a boat trip around the caldera then back to Athens And the title ?
Well in Athens every male seems to think that his mobile phone is a microphone (or a megaphone). They really project into it when they talk – as deep and loud a voice as they can muster. Everyone nearby can hear every word resonate through the streets – we all must understand just how important that little man with his little phone is !!
PS - Where to meet in Rome ! There is a main ticket booth at Roma Station which has an Information Booth in the lobby in front of it. I propose that we meet at the Information Booth at 3:50 pm on Thursday (and if that fails for any reason – at the main ticket box at 4:00 pm). If anyone is running late then please ring Kittys and Judy’s phones.