Santorini (Thera)
The Panorama left her mooring at Naxos Harbor at approximately 3:00 a.m., heading toward the southernmost destination of our exploration of the Cycladic Islands. Just before 7:00 a.m., in gorgeous morning light, we were on approach to the entrance of the Santorini Caldera, which is actually a circular archipelago of islands. The caldera is 76 square kilometers, and our entrance this morning gave only a hint at the magnitude of the volcanic eruption, which had been classified as the largest volcanic event in recorded history. This cataclysmic eruption buried the sophisticated Minoan city of Akrotiri and for many, many generations only a story remained of this ancient yet extremely advanced civilization.
The Panorama tied up at mooring buoys underneath the main town of Fira, one of several towns perched on the rim of the caldera. Fira, located 300 meters above the main port, is accessed by a long series of switchbacks along a narrow roadway. A local tender ferried our group to shore where two busses awaited our arrival. Once on board, we began our day’s trip exploring the island of Santorini. Our first stop would be the town of Oia, perched on the northernmost tip of the island. After a scenic drive through the town of Fira and along the rim of the caldera we arrived near the entrance to one of the most well-known places in the country of Greece. Almost any group of photos taken of Greece will contain images from this small village on the rim of the Santorini Caldera. Our Greek guides gave a brief orientation walk through Oia, and then we were free to explore the many alleys of Oia, finding just the right combination of blue-roofed churches, brightly painted cave houses, cafes, and the two famous windmills to help build our own individual vision of Santorini.
A morning Greek coffee, a little shopping, another view from the rim of the caldera into the waters of the Aegean…it was a morning of great photographic images, and just enough time to explore this well-known Cycladic island village.
Just before lunch we gathered back at our busses for a lovely ride, heading toward the southern end of the island to a small village called Pyrgos and the Kallisti Restaurant where we enjoyed a traditional mezedes lunch. Many, many small dishes were served to each table, giving us all a chance to try some of the Greek specialties of Santorini along with the famous wines grown in the volcanic soils of this island. After lunch, we returned by bus to the principle town of Santorini, Fira, where we would spend the remainder of the afternoon, either exploring the labyrinth of small streets and alleyways and/or visiting the archeology museum. This museum houses everything that has been excavated from Akrotiri. Olive oil lamps, many tools, various containers, extraordinary wall murals and myriad house decorations—all were brought from the Akrotiri site and placed in this museum to help preserve and tell the story of this advanced Minoan civilization that disappeared during the most legendary volcanic explosion in Mediterranean history.
Our last trip of the afternoon required getting from the top of the rim, some 300 meters high, back to the small port where we would board a local tender one more time to return to the Panorama. Several intrepid members of our group rode donkeys down the old switchback path, while the majority of the group road the cable car down to the port; everyone making their way to the waiting tender.
It had been a very warm day, and on the minds of us all was a cooling swim in the waters of the caldera. Regulations require that the Panorama move a short distance to one of the burned islands in the center of the caldera, where the anchor was dropped and the swim platform was opened for a refreshing dip!
During the early evening we began our journey toward our next day’s destination. Meanwhile, a traditional Greek barbecue dinner was prepared, starting with a Greek meze of grilled octopus and ouzo in the main lounge. It had been another day of Greek hospitality, mixing renowned traditions of food and drink with a visit to one of the most celebrated of the Cycladic islands.
