Santorini, Greece

Santorini – Greece’s most popular island…

What Boundaries? Live Your Dream! book excerpt:

Even as I write this, I’m struck by how profound my disappointment was on leaving this island. I was dejected beyond reason. Not because the visit was anything less than spectacular. The island is magical. Shades of blues and stark whites mingle in ways that make one yearn for oils and a brush. Overlooks from churches gaze into the deepest sapphire waters to bring a palette of colors the mind isn’t able to forget.

I was upset because I couldn’t get a picture. Not “a” picture, but “the” picture. We’ve all seen it. It’s on all the brochures of the Greek Islands. Google Santorini and you’ll see it. The Caldera overlook – a brilliant blue dome of the church against a white so whole and absolute it defines the color – all set against the backdrop of the volcanic hills and the rival cobalt of the sea.

Our tour didn’t go there.

While we did walk through a quiet village and eavesdrop on a smiling woman picking flowers at her gate, saw cave houses and a weathered man peeling potatoes on his side street porch; we didn’t visit the spot where I could take the picture I wanted for my screensaver forever. Even though we learned grapevines are placed close to the ground in a circle to protect the fragile fruit from the ceaseless winds and saw mountains of pistachios loaded onto the back of a small donkey; we weren’t anywhere near the famous overlook.

Even the possibility of a harrowing ride down the windy mountain on a shaky cable car wasn’t enough to shake me out of my funk.

“I hope we don’t crash,” I muttered. “This machine is centuries old. I don’t want to be known as the person who brought down the famous Santorini cable car system just because I couldn’t turn down a second piece of baklava at lunch.”

Cheryl wisely ignored my complaining, enjoying the view of the crystal blue sea under us. As we sailed away from the Greek Islands, we watched them grow smaller behind us. “We’ll be back,” Cheryl said quietly. “Things feel unfinished here.”

One thing we’ve learned on this trip is to never question those feelings.

PS…THIS is the picture I wanted though the ones we captured and the fantastic memories from this beautiful Greek island were unforgettable!

Has there ever been a place on your travels when you were disappointed in not getting “the” picture you thought would seal it forever in your mind? Did you go back to get it?