Chris vs the volcano

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I climbed a volcano today. I took a sail boat to the centre of the caldera, the active volcano and climbed the 138 m summit. All there is to walk on is volcanic rock. Everyone had flip-flops but me. Almost no vegetation, all just dark basalt. It would have been really super duper hot, but the wind was strong enough to cool us down as we climbed. This was really quite spectacular, the setting was so picturesque, for a geology teacher that is.

Santorini was a complete island in 1500 BC, but the explosion blew most of it apart. The centre islands have since emerged as resurgent domes and eruptions. At the second island they let us off to swim in the hot springs. I stayed on board, but watched as many dived off the side of the boat and swam ashore near the hot springs.

I had to get to the port, this is a 300 m descent from the town of Fira. I could have taken a donkey, but let the cruise ship tourists do this. I followed on foot avoiding the souveniers left by the donkeys. I took the cable car back up.

Today Santorini and the town of Fira was completely over-run with cruise boat tourists. Three big boats arrived. This is a small town, with narrow streets. It was completely packed with hot and sweaty people. But this is what the shop keepers here live for, not me the cheapskate travelling by knapsack for two months, but the cruise ship tourists "doing" Greece carrying American dollars.

It's now the evening, the boats have left and we have a sane town again, well as sane as a Greek town can get.

Yesterday I took the local bus, which is actually an air-conditioned coach, to the towns of Kamari beach with the black sand, and Akrotiri with the red beach. The ancient pre-historic town of Akrotiri is closed. This is the Minoan town buried by the 1500BC eruption. It was closed to tourists last year when someone died when a part of the rook collapsed.

Having a good and hot time here in Santorini. Three days and nights, and I will take the fast boat to Crete tomorrow afternoon.

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