Natural History and Car Park Sunsets

 

We have seen a lot of ancient Greece to date, but we moved onto geological and modern history today, Santorini very much at the heart of the seismic activity they have around here. 57 Euros per person for a 13 hour Island tour, I think that goes down as good value in our books. That is not to say it was all good quality but you pay peanuts ... so a day where it felt we were slipping further into that rather sanitised holidaymaker mode ended with 2 bedraggled backpackers on a skanky non air conditioned bus crossing the Island having seen just about everything that needs to be seen in these parts, and crying out for our Airbnb room and shower.

Been here for 24 hours and barely seen the place apart from the inside of our room.  The listing shows there are amenities, and we had 10 mins to sample a couple of crumbs for breakfast before needing to meet our bus at 8.30, and breakfast only starting at 8.00.  Maybe tomorrow we'll have chance to actually take a proper look before we head on our way again.

That limited time in Santorini had led me to booking a tour before we came out here. Using Get Your Guide who act as brokers for small local agents in all countries, we found an all day tour that took us across the Island and out to the Volcano (my must), a swim in hot springs (a joint hope), a visit to another Island Thirasia (the blogs requirement) and sunset in Oia (an Instagram requirement apparently) Seemed a good (and cheap) way to tick a lot of boxes.

So a drive down to the port of Athenas today in a full size bus, so even further up in our seats to take in the sheer drops.  2 old wooden boats were bobbing in the port. Groups were divided by languages with English left until last.  We went with the smallest English group although that meant Spanish and Italian which are not my second languages, French would have been better. I didn't make the smart arse which is the welsh one joke.

The trip across to the volcano of Palia Kameni was very short, as sadly was our time on the volcano. The downside of this organised tour lark is you are on the clock from the moment you arrive. 30 minutes up. The upside is you get the facts and figures much more quickly and that was helpful. It is an active volcano called a caldre which is in the middle of what is now the bay of Santorini and Thirasia and another small rock. At one point the whole site was an Island called Strongili. The a massive blast from the centre which had world implications as I understand it around 3,600 years ago took out the old Island, allowing water to flood in, and from the top you can now see the rings of the old Island now divided into 3, Santorini, Thirasia and Aspronisi ... an incomplete circle. And the volcano, cauldron, caldre, now lurks in the centre of the bay waiting for its next awakening. The whole of the Cyclades will need to be evacuated when that happens, and they say we are talking in generations time, not millennia. A few puffs of sulphuric gas from its current active crater show it is sleeping deeply now, but very much alive.

It was then a short trip on the boat to moor just off Palia Kameni so we could swim in the hot springs that also show it a sleeping giant.  Sleeping soundly I would say based on the springs. Jumping off the boat was the highlight, swimming across to the brown murk that only felt marginally warmer than when I'd used the toilet facilities of the open ocean in my swim across. Lots of people with their arm floaties, lots of kicking, I got a bit of practice in open water / triathalon swimming and gave/received a few sharp kicks to the bonce.

Back on the boat we were channelled over to Thirasia for lunch.  Deserted almost apart from a few inhabitants on the cliff tops and numerous bars and restaurants on the quayside. Chrissi and I thought we'd visit the locals as they might need a bit of company and we needed to escape from the hordes offloading the boats.  Needless to say only a handful of others bothered with the climb up to the clifftop, a decent pull, and great rewards of peace, views, and the best gyros I have had out here.

Back down to the masses and onto the boat which made a sluggish trip back to port, you could see everyone visibly wilting in the heat, and the views of the coast and town of Fira aswell as the old port were perhaps not savoured from the boat as much as they could have been.

Off the boat and absolute mayhem in the port as we needed to establish which bus would take us to the sunset in Oia. Determined to get full value for our handful of euros we eventually found a rust bucket that would take us and a number of other weary passengers across the Island. Oia, another of those pretty, affluent and fashion conscious villages that have boomed with tourists, playboys and the rich over the years.  Surprised they let us in to be honest, we looked absolute states. Found a lovely bar and had the best fruit milkshake and then smoothie ever .. although I have to say there have been a number of belters across Greece, they know how to mix the ice cream in well with the milkshakes and perhaps even a smidgen in the smoothies.  Pretty pricey, but worth every euro.

Walked around the congested streets of Oia, the high fashion, perfume, jewelry all squashed together, and me in my combats, hat and sweaty T shirt. Loved every second of that, watching people jostling and holding for to get the best views of the sunset. We found a car park, its the same sun, and to be honest, what's so special about this one? Have seen sunsets in Fiji, Oz, South Africa, the Gower and all across the world, probably in 10s of different countries.. on their day any can be special, the 'marketisation' of the Greek one is a bit lost on me.  There is a grungier part of Oia, we found it and ate a greek pizza and had 2 Fantas for 20 Euros. Felt like a bargain, super tasty pizza too, olives, feta, red onions, what can go wrong?

Glad to be back on our bus and crossing the Island one last time, equally glad to get a bottle of Fanta from where we got dropped off, and I can say in terms of value for money and returning to being backpackers, boxes very much ticked!