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Days 21-23: Santorini is so picturesque it leaves you gasping in disbelief every few steps. Around every corner a new visual delight awaits.

On a broken ring of islands formed from a series of volcanic eruptions and seismic events, the inhabitants of Santorini mostly choose to perch their dwellings and their lives atop the rim of the massive and obvious caldera, looking down towards a young island in the centre of the ring which was formed only 300 years ago and to which new lava flows added as recently as the 1950s.

Add to that a colouring dominated by whitewashed walls and a characteristic deep blue, and buildings which share common architectural motifs including a liberal use of arches and domes, Santorini is an aesthete’s paradise and a photographer’s dream.

With terraces of whitewashed dwellings stretching down the hillside until sheer cliffs below mean that they can go no further, a preponderance of island-style Greek orthodox churches with vibrant azure domes and a maze of criss-crossing narrow passageways for visitors to explore, Santorini has got the lot.

Modern town planners looking to reconstruct the perfect picturesque island paradise would have a hard time beating it.

If there is a downside, it is that Santorini’s secret is well and truly out and the whole island economy is directed at servicing the massive inflow and outflow of tourists from Europe and the world over.

We were only in Santorini for three days and two nights but we squeezed a whole lot of wonder and enjoyment out of the experience.

You really have to see it to believe it.