Santorini – November 5th

This was one of the high points for our resident geologist, David.  (Note from Anna:  That’s putting it mildly - he was in geology heaven!)

Because of its geography, we took a tender from the ship to the island.  Santorini is another Greek island off the Turkish coast; it was the site of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption about 1500 BC.  Before 

Inside the caldera with the distant white
buildings of the village of Santorini

the eruption, the island was a prosperous outpost of the advanced Minoan civilization centered on the island of Crete, about 60 miles away.  This eruption caused ash falls and Tsunamis that reached Crete and may actually have played a part in the subsequent collapse of the Minoan civilization.  It has been speculated that these events may have given rise to the legend of ‘The Lost Continent of Atlantis’, supposed to have foundered in the ocean.

The eruption produced Santorini itself, a huge caldera that now serves as an anchorage for ships.  The island started out as a roughly circular island with a diameter of about eight miles.  Most of that island was destroyed in the eruption, and a city, Akrotiri, has been found buried 

Akrotiri today

under ash and lava, similar to Pompeii in Italy.  One of the interesting things about this buried city, is that, while only a small part of the city has been uncovered (excavations continue), no human remains or valuables have been found, suggesting that most residents left before the event.  What happened after they left is an intriguing mystery.  Did they evacuate to somewhere they thought would be safe and then perish in the Tsunami?  Were they trying to reach safety in boats that got swamped?   Some of the evidence found in the excavations suggests they assumed they would return.

Our tour of the ruins of Akrotiri was a real eye-opener!  It once housed about 30,000 people and is 

A View of some of the discoveries.

about 4,000 years old.  The civilization was really quite advanced and had three and four-story houses, definite main and side streets – even indoor plumbing and a city sewer system.  But, it existed and was destroyed before writing came into play so, unfortunately, there are no written records.  We both agreed that this was the best tour of the trip.  Our tour guide was extremely competent and informative and the site was fascinating. 

After the tour of the remains of Akrotiri, we were deposited in a village perched spectacularly on the edge of the caldera, overlooking the harbor, with the Queen

A view of the QE II from the village.

Elizabeth and another cruise ship anchored below.  (We now recognize this view of blue sky, white buildings, and beautiful blue water below on many, many tour guides and pamphlets.)




Anna in the restaurant.

We asked our guide for suggestions for lunch spots, and she recommended a couple of restaurants.  We chose one with tables on the second level, looking out over the water.  We had one of the best meals of the cruise, with a menu that included no souvlaki or baklava (“too touristy and clichéd”) – unusual for a Greek tourist restaurant! 

After lunch we wandered around town, bought a couple of souvenirs, and headed for the spectacular cable car that transported us down 

We chose a cable car.

the almost vertical walls of the caldera to the 

A brave soul on a donkey.

dock.  (Another option was to ride down on donkeys or walk.)    At the dock we caught a tender for our short ride back to the ship.