|
Santorini goes down as one of our favorite places. Reached from Naxos via a pleasant, 3 hour ferry ride, it is one of the most touristed of all the Greek islands. It is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and the food delicious.
The glorious view from our private terrace, where we would enjoy each day's breakfast, as well as evening drinks and late-night star gazing. We truly did hate to leave.
At the excellent Museum of Ancient Thira, Kelly and Andrea ponder the wonders of a lost civilization.
After our time in Akrotiri, we stopped by a winery for a tour and tasting. It was a lot of fun, and the wine was tasty. And Lou and Andrea left with 6 bottles.
A view of the village of Fira, on the island of Santorini.
While buses, cars and motorbikes rule the island's transport, donkeys are still favored by many of the locals--particularly useful for making the treacherous descents from villages to the seas below.
|
|
2 Go Maps / 2 Go Actual Itinerary / 2 Go Photos / 2 Go Home Page
PLEASE E-MAIL US. . . WE WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM YOU!
©1999-2001 Kelly and Rich Willis. All rights reserved. |
Santorini
used to be a large island roughly circular in shape. But then, millions of
years ago, one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in the earth's history
took place, blowing the inside of the island to smithereens, allowing the Aegean
Sea to rush in, and leaving only the half-moon shaped portion of the island with
its distinctive, and sheer, walls which drop to the sea. The resulting
caldera now provides for dramatic views, and the remnants of the volcano (which
still oozes sulphuric gases and hot steam--seen to the right) sits roughly in the
middle of the caldera.
We
stayed in the quiet village of Oia, at one of the far ends of the half-moon
shaped island. Much quieter and prettier than its larger neighbor, Fira,
it was a wonderful place to spend 6 days. Oia also holds the distinction
of being the place from which most of those wonderful postcard perfect photos of
Santorini are taken--typically, looking down at the blue domes of churches with
the Aegean Sea-filled caldera in the background. This is a view we enjoyed
every day, as we saw it as we walked the steps down to our small apartment.
Santorini is home to the significant archaeological site of
Akrotiri, an ancient and highly advanced civilization--one which some believe to
be the lost, underwater, city of Atlantis. Akrotiri was clearly destroyed
after the volcanic eruption of around 1450 BC (one of the several large
eruptions on the island over time). The discovery of beautiful frescoes,
pottery and architecture demonstrate that Akrotiri was a prosperous
colony. This helps to support Plato's theory that this was, indeed, the
lost city of Atlantis.
