In the morning we went to Oia for sunrise.  Laurie pointed out to us that because this iconic spot was so busy at sunset, he much preferred the spot at sunrise.  We did notice how quiet the village was- we saw hardly any people out which was not too surprising since it was 5.45 AM.  As you can see the lights of the city were still on.   The town is noted for its white and blue domed houses.  The houses are painted in white lime water so that the rainwater which falls over it runs down and can be collected.  Another reason for painting the houses white is for the aesthetic purposes.  One other explanation is that during the Ottoman rule of Greece which lasted for four hundred years, Greeks were not allowed to fly their white flag.  So in defiance, the houses in Oil were painted in white with domes.  

The sky was on fire this morning.  

A close up example of the white buildings with the blue dome.  The rising sun gave the white buildings  a pink colour cast.  

These cliff homes built into the niches carved into the caldera slopes helps to provide insulation benefits to the buildings by keeping them warm in winter and cool in the summer months.

This photo was made just as the sun lit up the bell towers and the tops of the buildings in the distance.  

In the late morning we visited the town of Megalochori.  The town is located in the southern part of the island- see the map.  This village is a very quiet traditional village sitting on a hill facing to the east of Santorini.  We ended up walking all around the small town.

Once again, there were many white buildings and churches in the village.  

Another white church with blue dome which were so abundant and colourful in Santorini.

There were many old traditional houses in the village and we wandered around the maze of winding cobbled streets.  

The Megalochori bell tower.  

In the  afternoon, we headed to Ammoudi Bay which is located in the most northern part of the island (see map).  

The bay is well known for the 200 plus  steps leading up to the town of Oil on the cliffs above.  You could either walk up the stairs, take donkeys or in our case  just admire the view.  

As you can see the bay is surrounded by striking red cliffs and white-washed buildings so typical to Santorini.  The waters were crystal clear.  The bay was the main port of Oil during the 19th and 20th century where all of the trade and commerce took place.

We walked along the trail to get a different viewpoint.

For sunset we drove back to Firosterfani.    Although this village is considered a separate settlement, it really is an extension of Fira.  

 We were not the only ones watching the sunset.

We stayed around until blue hour.  As you can tell the days were very long with getting up in time for an early sunrise and staying until past sunset.