There’s no better way to explore the Greek islands than riding a motorbike, but don’t forget to wear a helmet. Hopping from one island to the next gets super easy: while cars and other vehicles have to reserve in advance the spot on the ferry, there’s always room enough in the hold for bikes that get secured to the walls by thick ropes. My beloved black BMW R100/7 carried without big problems – it lost (!) a muffler but I had a new one hand made (!) in Athens – two adventurous travelers and all the equipment for scuba and photography, plus a beach umbrella and straw mats for the relax days.

Canon A1, Canon Sure Shot WP-1 underwater camera. Ektachrome 100. It’s practically impossible to store your film in a cool place when you travel on a motorbike under the Summer Mediterranean sun, and this could be the reason why some of the slides developed tiny bubbles – between film base and protective layer? – visible in the Santorini image top line right. I also carried polarizing filters that I used to reduce water surface reflection and saturate the sky. I realize now that I sometimes overdid it.

All photos ©Michele Molinari