What could be more spectacular than dinner on the pool deck as you sail out from Santorini? Head Chef Mats Loo, Hotel Manager Bob Houston and their crew made a big effort tonight. As the sun was setting over the ridge and the town of Thira, we all gathered around the pool to enjoy a deck-dinner with of course a strong influence of the local flavor. What a dinner!
The island itself, Thira, known to most people as Santorini, is one of the most important tourist sites in this part of the world. It houses one of the very special and interesting places in the eastern Mediterranean Sea - the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri. Dating from about 1600 BC, it could be the well known Atlantis, which scientists have sought for hundreds of years, although other places also have a claim to this perhaps mythical site.
As we arrived in the early morning, one of the first things we saw was the caldera, a collapsed and flooded volcano - we were sailing in it! The island is a very obvious sign that we are traveling through areas with significant geologic activity. In the middle of the caldera you see cliffs and the water is still hot. Local fishermen use this to clean the barnacles from their boats and do not need to paint the boat. What a great way to use nature!
The huge eruption here at Santorini took place the year 1628 BC. For sure it must have created a huge wave front through the eastern Mediterranean and low-lying areas along the outlet to the river Nile, all must have been flooded. Was this how the story about Noah started? Still we know about the eruption and we know the size, the disaster must have been great. There must have been some warning, tremors, smoke? Since no remains of people have been found at the ancient settlement Akrotiri, they all had the chance to escape before the explosion.
In 1967 excavation started at the area that is now known as Akrotiri. During our visit we were able to walk through and encounter some extraordinary findings. This is only one of the many pre-historic places we are to visit during this odyssey. Today was also a good chance for anyone who wanted to taste the real local flavor. At the village Thira you find an incredible number of local restaurants and some of us of course had a nice Tatziki for lunch.
