Santorini has an interesting geological history. It is an island formed by volcanic action in 1450 BC. The ship sailed into the caldera, a bowl shaped harbor, which is the center crater of the volcano. When the volcano erupted & created the caldera, water rushed in & caused a tsunami that killed all the inhabitants. The caldera is 32 square miles and about 300-400 meters deep.
There are black pebble beaches & cliffs but also saw red/orange cliffs (iron deposits), yellow (sulfur) cliffs and "melting" looking areas. The last earthquake was in 1956. Most of the churches have domed roofs & the houses have barrel shaped roofs which are suppose to withstand earthquakes. The houses look like they are clinging to the cliffside & ready to fall!
One interesting fact we learned was that poor people usually dug into the sides of the cliffs to build their homes since building materials were scare & expensive. They would have 2 rooms on the outside for the kitchen & bathroom. Theses structures are very expensive today because of their fantastic views of the ocean.
Our first stop was Profitis Ilias, a mountain top overlooking the island. Clouds (our guide called it humidity) rolled in right as we got to the top but we could see the views. The road going up is very narrow with a number of hairpin curves. It was "fun" when we met other vehicles! Saw a number of vineyards. Because of the high winds we receive, they have a very differently way of growing grapes. They don't use trellises. After the harvest, they twist the vines into a basket shape & the vines grow along the ground.
We next went to Oia, probably the most photographed village in Europe. Known for churches with blue dome roofs & specular sunsets, it is supposedly haunted & home to vampires. All we saw were tourists & school children. It was a pretty little town with narrow alleyways filled with shops & cafes.
Our last stop was a Fira. From here we would take the cable car down to catch the tender back to the ship. While we took an excursion, the normal way to get up the cliffs to Fira is to take a donkey, wall or take the cable car which can have a 2 hour wait (& one reason we took the excursion).
We had lunch at a cafe overlooking the caldera. There was a "yacht" with 4 good size boats, 3 jet skis & a helicopter. Initially we thought it might be a Coast Guard vessel. Did some research when we got back on the ship & it is a yacht you can rent.....for the small sum of 275,000€ a week. It can carry 10 passengers & has a crew of 21.
We saved a bunch of money today. Santorini was on my bucket list. Up until the last minute I wasn't sure if the Turkish "revenge" was going to keep me on board. Thankfully Imodium D did its magic & I can check this one off the list!
We had a lazy day at sea on Tuesday with calm blue seas. Only exciting part was seeing Sicily last night.
