Joseph tells us that every island has some unique characteristic, and in the case of Santorini that is its volcanic origins. The island is a remnant of a large volcanic crater (caldera) wall, formed by successive eruptions over thousands of years. There was a "catastrophic" eruption about 1500 BC which left about two-thirds of the crater wall standing around the ocean-filled caldera. For some reason the locals built towns on the lip of this crater, above a 300 metre sheer drop into the sea. These picturesque places are what gives Santorini its tourist appeal.
To the Greeks Santorini is actually "Thera", but the rest of the world ignores this and uses the name given to it by the Italians. The Greeks are used to this, because "Greece" and "Greek" are not actually Greek (Hellenic) words either. They call their country "Hellas" and themselves "Hellenes"!
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| In Santorini the water is 400 metres deep, so we had to tie up to this huge buoy. |
The edges of the crater rise 300 m above the sea, and in the caldera (crater) the water is 400 metres deep, so few ships have anchor chains long enough to reach the bottom. All the shuttles two and from cruise ships are run by the locals - the cruise ships are not allowed to used their own lighters here. Fortunately the locals run a highly efficient service, including the boat which was waiting when we arrived to help the Galileo tie up to a gigantic mooring buoy they provide.
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| The view down to our ship moored in the Sanotrini caldera. |
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| Another pristine white and blue Greek Orthodox church, this one in Oia, Santorini. |
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| It was extremely hot, 35 C or more. Too much for some, obviously. |
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| We found the famous blue domes, and took the picture, like millions before us! |
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| A Santorini street. |
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| Perched on the precipice. Most of these are cave houses, with rooms dug into the cliffs. |
We were told a little of the interesting history of Thera (Santorini). There was a major earthquake here in 1956 which demolished many buildings, and subsequently many people left the island. An economic recovery started when tourism began to grow following the excavation of the ancient site of Akrotiri, a Minoan-era settlement buried beneath metres of volcanic ash rather like Pompeii. As tourism has bloomed the primitive cave-houses in the cliffs have become million-dollar homes for the wealthy, transforming the island. Our previous guide Ave's family was one of those that left after the earthquake, and he reflected sadly on how wealthy he would be now if they had not given up their land here!
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| Another view of Oia, Santorini. |
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| The mules of Santorini, standing patiently in the searing heat waiting for customers. |
When it was time to return to the boat we looked at the length of the cable car queue, and decided we could handle the walk down instead. That turned out to be more of an endurance test than we expected, with the heat of the sun, the rich aroma of donkey poo, and the 1,000 foot descent. Also as we have found elsewhere the marble pavers get extremely slippery after years of tourists' feet, even when they are dry. At least one woman in our group took a fall on the steps.
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| The path down to the port, from about halfway down. |
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| Here is how we went up this morning. Highly recommended - don't try and walk up! |
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| Lunch with a view (Santorini still). |
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| "Greek Night" on the boat, with a bit of Zorba-the-Greek dancing for all. |
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We spent the night at anchor in the caldera. Looking up at the lights of the town above.
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It was great sitting on the deck that night looking up at the lights of the town on top of the cliffs. It was almost unbearably hot coming down that path today, especially for us southerners who are not used to such temperatures, but the flip side is that at night it is still lovely and warm outdoors.
We spent the night at our mooring in Santorini, and the engines started again early in the morning for our next leg, to Paros.
