Day 7: Santorini

Trip Start Jul 05, 2008
1
6
14
Trip End Jul 19, 2008


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Where I stayed
Crystal Serenity
(Kamari hotels)

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Those of us who awoke early enough to witness the ship's arrival into the caldera that makes up Santorin's port witnessed a thing of beauty -perched 1000 feet up on the rim of a crater, lies Fira, the main town of this volcanic island. From the sea, it looks like a jagged white line, a row of teeth from some prehistoric monster.   About 1500BC, the volcano erupted; the sea rushed into what had been the core and created the great caldera which is 1295 feet deep.
I got to see the entrance into the caldera and the sunrise from the Promenade Deck, as I was taking my morning walk around it. Keith went to the gym and walked on the treadmill.  At breakfast, we got to see more of the island as we got deeper into the caldera in preparation for the day. We had decided to take one of the tours. We were picked up by tender, taken to a bus and driven to our first stop, Oia.
As beautiful as Fira is, Oia out shines it Santorini
Santorini
 . The white houses are built right on the cliff walls, one on top of another. The views are spectacular. A lot of this village was destroyed when an eruption of the volcano in 1956 caused a 7.8 earthquake. They rebuilt, but evidence of the earthquake is still there to see. We walked among the marble pedestrian walkway (yes, marble) and down steep stairways to look at the homes and views.  After that, we were bused to Fira and the archaeological museum.
In 1967, a tunnel was dug through 150 feet of pumice and revealed an ancient Minoan settlement, buried by a volcanic eruption at about 1450 BC. One third of the settlement has been uncovered and the museums houses some of the things found - wall frescoes and intact pottery are just some of the items found. The site is currently closed due to the collapse of the roof of the visitor's center at the site.
There were 4 other big cruise ships in port at the same time. We probably would have explored some of Fira a bit more, had not the crowds been so large. The only way to get up or down from the ship and to/from the rim is by cable car, donkey or walking the donkey path. Since we had taken a tour that bussed us from a tender point to Oia, then to Fira, we only had to worry about getting back down. The line for the cable car can get pretty long at the end of the day, so we grabbed a snack (baklava for Keith and ice cream for me) and waited in line at the cable car. 45 minutes later, we were at the bottom and getting on board a tender. The cruise ships anchor in the caldera and people are shuttled to and from the ship. Keith had a late lunch (I had a couple of oatmeal raisin cookies) and then we went for a swim in the deserted pool. Sitting in a lounge chair, we had a spectacular view of Fira and the cliff walls.
Hopefully, I can post some pictures.
 
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Comments

franni
franni on Jul 11, 2008 at 04:36PM

Nourishment ?
Ice Cream & Cookies???
I'm going to have to get out my Google Earth... LOL

wolflady
wolflady on Jul 12, 2008 at 05:21AM

Cookies? Ice Cream?
...Sounds like a great meal. But, you can have all of the raisins! I still don't like them.

Really enjoying your site. I can almost see the places you are describing.

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