Aegean Sea, so blue and beautiful

This isn't my first time visiting Santorini Island in Greece, but it has been 10 years since my last visit. Before departure, I received the itinerary and saw the listed attractions: Oia Town, Fira Town, Black Beach, and Red Beach. I couldn't recall them from memory. It was only when I arrived that I remembered I had been here before. A long time ago, I bought a refrigerator magnet at a souvenir shop on a corner, enjoyed a gyro with pita bread at a snack bar next to the parking lot, and stopped to listen to a street performer playing the violin at Red Beach. To my surprise, there was still someone playing the violin at the same spot on Red Beach this time. According to the locals, this street performer has been playing the violin here for 20 years. He used to sell CDs, but now he sells USB drives. The packaging box has a photo of the uncle when he was younger. Time is ruthless. Santorini is beautiful, but it's not exactly a place that nourishes people. I took a boat from Athens to Santorini Island, which took 8 hours. Although it was late May, the island wasn't warm, and the sun was shy. After sunset, the wind picked up, and there was a bit of rain. The local tour guide was experienced, wearing a wool sweater inside and a windproof jacket outside, with the zipper pulled up to the Adam's apple. All the tourists from various countries were disheveled in the wind, shivering. Fortunately, the next day, the island welcomed the standard Mediterranean island weather for taking photos: a gentle breeze, not cold, but with extremely strong ultraviolet rays. During the day, I couldn't open my eyes without sunglasses. Now I know why the houses on the island are painted white. White reflects light and dissipates heat. After all, in another month or two, the temperature here at noon can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Restricted by the dry and rainless climate, many islands in the Mediterranean are barren, with exposed soil and even weeds keeping a friendly distance from each other. The trees along the road are not lush at all, and the sparse leaves are drooping, forming a sharp contrast with the enthusiastic and vibrant foreign tourists under the trees. If you don't photograph the local characteristic houses and only photograph the barren mountains and wilderness, you might feel like you're venturing into Northwest China. However, grapevines and bougainvillea that are watered grow well here. The large temperature difference between day and night and the long sunshine hours make the climate here seem tailor-made for them. Santorini is a transliteration of Santorini. Someone joked that it would be more appropriate to translate it as "kidney leaves you" because the various expenses on the island are too high. It's not easy to travel here once. You have to sell a kidney to make the trip happen. When I came here 10 years ago, I didn't have much money, so I couldn't afford to sit on the cliff, eat dinner, and watch the sunset. This time, I made up for the regret. The meal cost was not low, but it wasn't unaffordable. By the way, I also rode a donkey this time and experienced the Santorini version of the "Ancient Tea Horse Road." Because of the cliffs, the donkey's legs were shaking when going downhill. I felt sorry for it for three seconds, just to show my feelings. In addition, I was a little nervous riding on it. Riding a donkey on the island still needs careful consideration. The exterior walls of the houses on Santorini Island are painted white. Although they are exposed to wind and sun, each house looks radiant, not yellow or mottled, because the homeowners hire workers to repaint them every year. If only people could be like this, refreshing themselves every year, always half-sweet and with ice.