Today we had an early start, aiming to get ashore before other visitors would arrive so that we could have the charming town of Oia (“ee-ya”) to ourselves for awhile. It really worked. We walked through the village in peace all the way to the ruins of the old Venetian fortress, and had opportunities for great pictures. There was plenty of time for walking and shopping in the very inviting shops and galleries of the town.
Our next stop was at the village of Pyrgos in a traditional tavern, where we tried out local dishes like yellow fava, white eggplant and other delicacies, of course accompanied by the famous Nykteri wine of Nektarios.
After lunch we went to the Museum of Prehistoric Thira in the capital town and saw wall paintings, pottery, kitchenware, and casts of furniture, all discovered in the ash-covered ruins of Akrotiri. Now we were ready to visit the site. As we walked along the main road of the prehistoric town directly next to buildings standing two and three floors high, everybody became fascinated with the anti-seismic knowledge that those people had back in the 17th century B.C. We wondered what secrets might be hidden in the rest of the buildings awaiting to be excavated.
Time had come to get back to the Sea Cloud. Driving back to Athinions port we all agreed that Santorini is best appreciated by sea. The view of the caldera is the best way to be introduced to the beauties of the island, and the late afternoon light on the village of Oia above as we exited the caldera was a spectacular finish to a spectacular day.
