My favourite place on the island to photograph was Sarakiniko Beach.  It is located in the north shore of the island, close to Plaka.  We ended up going for three different visits-  at  sunset, sunrise and noon.  

 Waves driven by north winds shape the greyish-white volcanic rock  into amazing shapes, and the area is often compared to a moonscape.

 The local people often refer to the scenic landscape of Sarakiniko as Lunar.   The bone-white beach derives its unusual characteristics from the erosion of the volcanic rock by wind and wave.   Sarakiniko is one of the most photographed landscapes in the Aegean and I could see why.

It sure looked moonlike to me apart from the people!

The white sandstone looks like a lunar landscape. 

I came across this great swimming hole but I didn't wait around to see if the swimmer actually went in.

What a great place to sit and enjoy the scenery.   We got some great  orange and yellow colours at sunset.  It wasn't so easy to find a composition that I liked though.

 I preferred this photo to the one above.

I'm sure this is similar to scenery in  Utah or the southwest.    The water was behind me in this and the next shot.

We came back the following morning at sunrise.  The yellow beam of light to the left was Laurie running down the path with a speed light.   

There were actually a few people around in spite of the early hour.

The morning light on the rocks that I  photographed the night before.  We didn't get the dramatic skies but it was still a nice scene.  

Once the sun came up, there was some nice golden light on the rocks.

The last morning shot before we left the area.  Sarakiniko was named for Saracen pirates who would hide their boats under the white cliffs that remind people of whipped cream. 
On our last day on the island we came back to do some mid-day shooting.

Now we could really tell what a popular swimming and beach spot this was.  I should add that although it was warm outside, the water was not that warm since it was the beginning of the season.  

I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful shades of water.