Santorini

Now, for our exciting conclusion!

My little quad

No, I didn't have a falling out with Jan. Unfortunately for him he could only get a week holiday. His plane left that afternoon, my ferry that morning, so I left him in Athens to fend for himself. So yesterday I arrived in Santorini, a small volcanic island in the southern Aegean belonging to the group of islands called the Cyclades. It's a very pretty island, and it's often the kind of island people think of when they think about the Greek islands. And as I said it isn't very big, and there's places everywhere where you can hire a scooter or quad, so hire a quad I did. Quite a funky little thing it is too, and it's much smaller and easier on petrol than a car, so perfect for getting around the island in.

Red beach. Apparently this is what passes for a good
beach on Santorini.

My first stop yesterday afternoon was the south of the island, toward a place called Akrotiri and some beaches that I was told were supposed to be excellent. Ancient Akrotiri was of particular interest for me, however, for the Minoan period (17th century BC, so before the Myceneaens) settlement that has been partly uncovered. I had heard it was unfortunately closed due to a roof collapse 5 years ago (that's how long it's taken them to fix the bloody thing), but I thought I might be able to get a bit of a glimpse of it from outside. Unfortunately this was not the case. However, I was this close to having a fantastic opportunity for a personal tour. At the gate, speaking to one of the staff in German, was a lady. When she had finished I talked to her and discovered she was an archaeologist. I mentioned my interest in archaeology, and had there been a local archaeologist on site she thinks we could have both gotten in. Instead she suggested a few other sites on the island to visit, including some nearby Hellenistic graves. These were supposed to be along a little dirt road off the main one to Vlyxada. I said goodbye and completed my disappointment of the area by first off finding the "red beach" which was pretty crummy and subsequently failing completely to find the graves she had been talking about. Not for lack of trying though, but after the seventh little dirt road leading off the road to Vlyxada I gave up. On the way back to my hostel I passed through a quaint little village called Megalochori, which is exactly how you imagine quaint little villages in the Greek isles.

Megalochori

Today's first stop was ancient Thira, on the East coast of the island. This nearly made up for missing out on Akrotiri, but it was only of Archaic origin (so 8th century BC), and nearly all the buildings were Roman. Still, it probably had about the most complete foundations of any ancient town I've visited, and the setting was spectacular. The ancient Greeks sure knew how to pick a location!
After Thira I headed for the Prehistoric museum in Fira. (The island's alternate name is Thira, it's prehistoric capital was called (akro)tiri, it's ancient capital Thira, it's current capital Fira, and there is also a town called Ia. I think the people on Santorini are in need of some imagination...) Here I finally was able to sate my appetite for the Minoan period, as this museum houses most of the relics discovered in Akrotiri. Anybody else, after spending an hour in this museum, would probably be glad never to see another ceramic pot for the rest of their lives. I, however, was very impressed by the amount of information and the state of preservation of the items and frescoes.

Akrotiri

Finally today I headed north toward Ia, making a detour on the way to Koloubos beach. I was very keen to go swimming on Santorini, because it's quite famous for its beaches. The Red Beach yesterday, as I mentioned, was disappointing so I didn't swim there. Koloubos beach was considerably better. It was nice and big without being the Sahara, the sand was black because of its volcanic origin, and it had a dramatic cliff surrounding it. The cove that this cliff created looked like the perfect place for a dip... until I saw the two lovers already swimming there, looking at me. Oh well, no swimming for me.
So finally I went to Ia. This place, even more than Megamantown, is exactly how you would imagine a little town nestled in the mountains of a Greek island.

Koloubos beach

And now I have to go return my little quad. Tomorrow I'm off to Crete!