Santorini, Greece, Thursday March 27th

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Next morning we were sailing along between islands, and could go up on deck and really follow progress. It was very windy, so one sensible person had rigged up a little clothesline and was writing a journal while everything dried. It could be a bit risky if you didn’t have very secure pegs.

We were able to see the ring of islands that were formed when a volcano on the once round and cone shaped island of Santorini erupted in the 17^th Century BC. This is thought to have been the biggest explosion in recorded history – even bigger than Krakatoa. The centre of the island blew up and then collapsed to form a crater. Only the higher parts of the crater walls, known as the caldera, stayed above sea level, creating small islands. There has been a lot more earthquake and volcanic action over the years; parts have sunk and others have risen with a new island, Nea Kameni, emerging only 400 years ago. The volcanoes on the islands of Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni are still active. In 1570 the ancient port of Eleusis disappeared when the south coast collapsed. In 1956 there was an earthquake that destroyed most of the houses in Fira, the capital, and the village of Oia. Many people were killed.

Also fascinating was the way the ferry backed in with precision to the dock, with shouted guidance relayed from the sides to the captain. We heard “Deca, Deca,” many times, shouted form our side. ‘Deca’ means ten but whether that was it, I don’t know.

Meanwhile, other more savvy passengers were ready to leave and jump on the only bus from the port to the town, which left only ten minutes after the ferry docked. We saw it drive away. Hotel touts and car hirers were making us offers. We saw what looked like an official tourist information office so went over, only to find out that it was an inside version of the accommodation and car hire flogging outside. When we said that the quoted accommodation was too dear and that we had been offered 30 euros outside, they agreed to lower their prices.

With trepidation, and an assurance that the roads were quiet and slow driving was OK, we hired a car. It made sense to be able to move around quickly in our own time, since we had only one and a half days and there were many interesting geological sites to see, spread out around the island. The main challenge was converting to driving on the right hand side of the road and remembering to cancel the habit of using the left hand for gears and the right hand for indications. The hair pin bend zig zag road up from the port and then driving through the very narrow streets of Fira was a baptism of fire for Keith.

After a free coffee welcome at our very friendly hotel, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed for the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. The town was thronging with people, walking, riding motor scooters and quad bikes and frequenting the shops and eateries but, with one hour to closing time, we were the only customers in the museum. All the attendants were chatting at the entry. One drew the short straw and had to follow us from room to room. This museum features finds from the site of Ancient Akrotiri. It was destroyed in the volcanic eruption of about 1650 BC. Unlike Pompei, its citizens were prepared to leave and took all their valuables with them. Nevertheless, many items such as ceramics and furniture were left behind, along with anything connected with cemeteries. The wooden furniture was burnt or rotted away, leaving hollows in the rock that have been used to make plaster replicas of the objects. The detail of the carving is clearly apparent in the plaster versions.

The site of Ancient Akrotiri has only been partially excavated, and that part was predominantly the town centre. The number of ceramic items, many with standardised sizes and patterns, are evidence that there would have been commercial potteries. Beautiful frescoes were reminiscent of those at Knossos, but included more movement and artistic composition, and the people were represented at two thirds life size. Unfortunately the actual site is closed due to ‘technical reasons’ which has been the case since a tourist was killed and five others injured when a section of the roof protecting the ruins collapsed in 2005.

A small but interesting section on the geology of the island included a map showing where you could see evidence of different geological periods and events. We wished we had a copy of it as we travelled around the island, where rock types and geological formations change frequently and dramatically.

We had raced through this museum so, with a bit of time in hand, went back to some sections that we had skimmed through. Great consternation for the attendants - two were now required, and Keith only finished right at the last minute. Most archaeological sites and museums in Greece close at 2.30 or 3.00 p.m. – very frustrating for eager ancient history junkies like us.

The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the more rural sections of the island, where grapes were grown in small, terraced paddocks, with the vines trained around in basket or wreath shapes. The difficult volcanic soil, low rainfall and high winds have led to very specialised growing techniques and crops.

The grapes grow on the insides of the ‘baskets’ so that they are protected from the wind. Other crops of high importance in the past have been tomatoes, cucumbers for pickles and a giant bean. All the primary products have been processed on the island as tomato paste, dried beans, pickles and wine, which makes sense, given that export would not be practical for fresh produce. Prior to the fifties, tourism consisted of one of two annual cruises to the island, but after the 1956 earthquake and the subsequent rebuilding, it became an important industry and has now well and truly eclipsed agriculture. There are a couple of ‘Traditional Villages’ that you can visit in the rural areas, which is a bit of a contradiction. They are ‘traditional’ because they are not tourist oriented and continue traditional pursuits, but by being now a tourist attraction and having to cater for tourists, they may become compromised. Perhaps one day no-one will care about the harvest as long as it is seen to be done in the traditional style and people pay for accommodation and meals.

We stopped to climb a small, steep, terraced gully above the road. The walls had been built to hold back the plum stone sized balls of bright red scoria that peal away from the cliff and overhanging ledges at the slightest touch.

Another road led us to a remarkable beach, where there were two distinct sections of stones on the beach. Denser round black rocks ranging from golf ball size to tennis ball size rolled back and forth in the waves down the steep slope. They made a loud sound as they moved with each wave. Three metres further up the beach, the much lighter pumice stones had been deposited, sorted by the action of the waves.

A charming tiny port, looking like a child’s model, lay just around the corner.

We arrived at the village of Oia, at the northern tip of the island, in time to see the advertised spectacular sunset. The buildings are built into and out of the precipitous cliffs and, like all Santorini buildings, feature Cycladic Island architecture. Nearly every building has some part of the roof in an arch shape, with arched porches and balconies. The main colour is white, less often cream, with features picked out in a dazzling blue.

Free standing buildings often have fences or whole walls built from concrete to look as if they are hewn from rocks – an uneven effect like a cave wall. Running along the top of the cliff at Oia, facing the caldera, is a pedestrian walkway with squares, churches tavernas and viewing platforms. Running towards the tip is the old village, a tangle of alley ways and some old buildings that survived the earthquake.

The sunset was disappointing due to the clouds, but it was very interesting to wander around this village, which caters for high end tourists and where rich sea captains are said to have chosen to reside. On our way back, we met my cabin mates from the night before. They had taken the bus to Oia for the sunset, not realising that there was no return bus in the off season. Now they were stranded and at the mercy of taxi drivers, who were asking exorbitant prices. We were able to drive them back through Fira and on to the port, where their ferry was due to leave at 8.30 pm. In our haste to get moving, we left a gift for our grandson, Frey, in the supermarket.

This picture shows the skeleton of a house under construction. This style is almost universal in Greece and is also common in Egypt. It is apparently designed to survive earthquakes.