THERA, FIRA AND VOLCANIC DUST AND ASHES

I achieved a life long ambition when I visited Santorini with friends last week and saw for myself the black volcanic sand on the beaches and the picturesque domes and steeples built into the volcanic rock of the island. My tablet, camera and phone were all full of pictures which I will have a struggle to download successfully.

We had tickets for the high speed ferry which left Heraklion at about 9.00 a.m and reached Fira Old Harbour a couple of hours later. A transfer bus took us to our hotel, which through some fluke of good luck had been upgraded and we were delighted to be staying at a super place, with rooms around a lovely swimming pool serving good breakfasts and having the most helpful of staff. We couldn't recommend it enough. It was just far enough out of town along a flat, well paved road to give us a pleasant walk each morning looking over the Caldera.

Fira was a pleasant, but very busy place. Most of the up-market hotels and jewellery shops were there and obviously catered for cruise tourists who were there for a very short time and had no real concept of how much a euro was worth. Forsaking the gold shops offering items “For you, I make a special price” (!!!) and other clothes shops selling jewel encrusted flip flops at eye popping cost, we pressed on to find the bus station and work out how to get to the various spots we needed around the island.

Consequently, we found ourselves queuing for the 10.00 bus the following morning so that we could be at the Akrotiri Archeological site for 11.00 where Eugenia our lovely guide was waiting for us. It was a brilliant morning; the site covered a few acres – well roofed with firm walkways just above all the escavations. Real two storey houses, identifiable public buildings, streets, workshops, houses with furniture all preserved by tons and tons and tons and tons of volcanic ash. We walked through the town, it had indoor plumbing, it had a bank, of sorts – all amazingly cosmopolitan and sophisticated for 1700 BC. Remains of trees had been carbon dated to pin down the date of the immense earthquake and volcanic eruption which disrupted and had a detrimental effect on many of the civilisations and communities around the Mediterranean. No portable, valuable items were found or human remains. It appears that the inhabitants had managed to pack their valuables and get away from the town. There were several layers of buildings on top of each other indicating that there had been minor earthquakes and rebuilding prior to the big catastrophe which caused so much destruction.

We met up with some friends after our tour for lunch by the sea and had a marvellous meal of sea food spaghetti with conversation and discussion about the highs and lows of living in Santorini. Our hosts had bought a cave house at Red Beach and had worked and fitted out the interior with modern technology and coatings to a very high standard. I am ashamed to admit that this is the day that I forgot my camera and am also a bit worried that photos might be infringing some kind of publishing/copyright laws particularly of the artifacts in the museum.  

The next day we visited the Museum in Fira which was a jewel. It had enough wonderful and beautifully conceived ceramics, frescos (showing all the lovely colours of the various earth colours from round and about) – no jewellery in evidence. Well preserved furniture, beds, chairs, cooking utensils and metal working tools were displayed and labelled perfectly. The museum was just the right size with enough to see without being overwhelming. I would like to revisit some day!

A few of us jumped on a bus after this and made our way to Kamari – taking a trip down memory lane since my friends had first visited there 30 years earlier and were agog to see that it had changed so radically and they had problems recognising anything. We had a splendid walk along the water side looking at all the plush hotels being fitted up ready for the new season and picking up pumice stones from the beach of black sand. A cursory check later confirmed that we could not easily afford to stay in any the hotels for more than a day or two!  We thought that the 26 euros was money well spent the next day on a boat trip to see the Volcano, swim in hot pools and have a sea food lunch in a fishing village on the far side of the Caldera lake.

A trip to Oia is compulsory! We discovered that the bus service was brilliant and very good value to get about the island. The bus drivers seemed to cope with the narrow roads, obstructions and manoeuvring very skillfully and we were all amused when a young American tourist had parked her hired beach buggy on a corner which had jammed up the entire town. Hooting, shouting and general chaos reined! Most people go to Oia at sunset to take photographs of the sun setting, but we decided that we had masses of photos of Greek sunsets, so we went there on our last morning in Santorini (having packed our cases and paid our hotel bill) to eat Lolita's ice creams. I haven't eaten ice cream for a few months since gastric problems and ate two cartons in one morning! It was fabulous. Incidentally, Demitri who works there is looking for a wife – or so the notice on the wall says – so we paid for our indulgent fare and hoped that he would find one soon!

A rocky ferry trip home – in stormy seas and inhaling strong fumes of diesel - was a bit gruesome, or it might have been the ice cream, but we managed to get back on dry land and feel immediately OK for the drive back home.

Back in the village, there is more dust to clear up and Easter to prepare for. The villagers are all on a very strict fast during their Holy Week. No milk, no fat, no meat, - possibly vegetables and sea food are all that is allowed. They will certainly be ready to enjoy their Easter feast on Sunday.

Kallo Pascha!