Sunday 6 May

This morning we disembarked on the Island of Crete at the port of Heraklion and were taken to the archeological site of the Minoan Palace of Knossos, an ancient city dating back more than 3 thousand years. The palace was purported to be the residence of the wise King Minos.

Following this tour we were given a short time to wander the city of Heraklion and saw the Church dedicated to the apostle Titus who was considered to be the organiser of the first Cretan Church (Titus 1 verse 5). Titus accompanied Paul on his journeys in Asia and Europe. Paul preached the gospel in Crete on his second missionary journey in about 62 - 63 AD but his stay in Crete was short.

Once again it was wonderful to be in a place where Paul had preached and brought the light of Christ to a people in deep need of salvation.

Back to the ship and after sailing all afternoon, we anchored in the waters off Santorini, an island which is part of the caldera of an ancient volcano. Steep cliffs face those arriving by sea and to reach the capital, Fira, the intrepid traveller must climb 600 steps or ride a donkey up these same steps with the possibility of being thrown off! However, there is the pleasant alternative of a 2 minute ride in a cable car! Our group wisely chose the cable car to ascend the cliff but later a hardy few decided to descend via the steps having noted that by that time the donkeys had left for the day and the pathway was needfully being hosed down. The vista from Fira was a bit hazy but still the whitewashed buildings and blue domes made for amazing photos.

Bob and Jan had been to Fira on a previous occasion and so went on a separate excursion to Oia at another part of the island. (The photos are therefore mostly from Oia but are typical of Santorini.)