We arrived in the harbor of this interesting island around 8am. The harbor is actually a volcanic caldera. It looks like we are inside a quarry. To get to the main village at the top of the cliffs, you have 4 options: walk up the several hundred steps.... ride a donkey... take the cable car... or if you are on a guided tour as we are... hop on the assigned bus and let the bus driver negotiate the hair pin turns. Since there is no pier big enough for cruise ships, we are anchoring in the harbor and will be disembarking the Queen Elizabeth on to local tenders.... sort of like shuttles.
The other night after we left Sicily, we set the clocks ahead another hour, so we are now 7 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, which means that some of you may just be going to bed on a Saturday night.
Before I discuss Sunday in Santorini, a few comments about last night which was the first formal night on board, which means for men any one of the following: tuxedo, white dinner jacket, dress military uniform, Highland formals (kilt)... and we saw it all. This 1st of 3 formal nights was kicked off with the Captain's Cocktail Party in the Queen's Room on Deck 2. Everyone gets to greet the captain and have their photo taken with him. Then it was off to dinner. This was for the folks at the first dinner seating. The process was repeated for the 2nd dinner seating.
Back to Santorini.... we visited the excavation of ancient Akrotiri, which was buried by a volcano about 3600 years ago. It is believed that most folks got out while the getting was good. The excavation covers only 5% of what is believed to be the rest of the city which is still under the earth. We could see down to the old street below... 2 stories down. This whole site is covered by a roof that has been recently installed. The roof protects the site from the elements and has plant life growing on top. Several rows of windows/ skylights let in natural light.
After just over an hour at this site, our bus took us up to Santorini's highest point for a spectacular view. Then it was on to the main town of Fira in the center of the main island (there are 5 islands... two are inhabited. there our formal tour ended and we had free time to explore.... We walked along the main pedestrian street with shops and cafes until we reached the cable car station. The cable car was one way down and was included in the price of our tour. The other way down was the 500+ cobblestone stairs which zigzagged down the hill to the Old Port where the tenders awaited us. The stairs were shared with the burros, who carry folks up and own. Susan went up on a burro 50 years ago, and walked back down the same stairs we trod this afternoon. Now for some pics.
AKROTIRI
VIEW FROM THE MOUNTAIN
HOME, SWEET HOME IN THE HARBOR
GREEK ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL
THE SHIP LOOKS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
SANTORINI FROM THE SHIP
THE VOLCANO...
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