Off to explore more of Fira today.  First thing we run into our convenience store guy on the corner.  We wants to know “how was the water??”  We laugh and tell him it was great.  It was actually not too bad.  He tells us that he makes it from grape skins.  hmmm  I’m thinking Grappa.  It was a clear liquid, like water, but pretty potent.  Also says he could bottle it, put his name on the label and would have to charge us over 7 Euros in taxes alone.  So to avoid that he stashes it in his store and gives it away for free.  No taxes!!!  I think I mentioned something before like “hence CRISIS”.  Just another example of how the economy here functions, I’m not sure if I should say “works” 🙂

 

We head down to the Donkey Station.  We will walk part way down to get the lay of the land/path.

 

 

The donkeys are waiting to start their day.  Looking happy and eager for the day ahead.

 

 

 

 

Just like like the donkey handlers 😉

 

 

We base our dining decisions on a couple of factors.  The price of beer and a Greek Salad or cheese saganaki and if the place has entertainment value…… a view or lots of people to watch.  We see the price of beer go from 1.80 Euros a can in Leros to 9 Euros here in Santorini for a local craft beer called Volkan.

We haven’t tried this one yet.  There are also some other local beers called Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey and Crazy Donkey.  These guys run 7-8 Euros depending on where you go.  I saw some in a mini mart, but didn’t check the price.  We saw the Crazy Donkey in a restaurant for 15 Euros, but it comes in a 750 ml bottle, so that isn’t a great comparable.  They are brilliant marketers too.  All over the island there are Yellow, Red and Crazy Donkey t-shirts.  I’m thinking “not so crazy”  🙂

Today for lunch we based our choice on the price of beer.  The place has a view and the beer is 4 Euros for .5 l.  Not too bad.  We also order Potato Saganaki.  We have never seen this on a menu before, so thought we should give it a try.  Basically a potato casserole with potatoes of course, bacon, mushrooms, red peppers in a cheesy cream sauce, topped with a crust of baked cheese.  Pretty darn good.

 

There is a cruise ship arriving as we have our lunch.  We watch the launches all go out to meet the boat.  There are small ones and some larger ones all hovering around the ship.

 

 

 

We suspect there is some sort of pecking order and they know who goes next.  Similar to a queue of cabs at the airport, not as neat and tidy.  As you can see from these 2 photo the rain is coming in.

 

Time for a museum!!  We make our way to the museum of Santorini.  It is housed in a house built in 1700’s and it survived an earthquake in the 8’s in 1956.  It now belongs to the church and has an interesting photographic history of the island.  Very interesting and by the time we are done the rain is done!.

Okay we came back from dinner tonight and thought we would try the ouzo I bought from our friend last night.  We open it with much difficulty as I ensured I bought a sealed tight bottle.  Well, it turns out it doesn’t taste at all like ouzo.  It tastes quite exactly like the “water” from last night!!  No wonder he was giving me his “water”.  He thought I was a “water” fan!!  From what I can read on the label it is this.  How was I to know??  It was a clear liquid, in what I thought was the ouzo section.  Oh wait, he has no system.  😉 😉