I finally figured out how to get to Santorini: ferry early morning to Naxos then high speed ferry. So I scheduled my friendly taxi driver at 5 am, got up, dressed, grabbed my backpack and left my humble cave. Soon after my start down the stone stairs, I full on fell forward, with no way to stop due to being loaded down. Hard on my knee, twisted my ankle and scraped my elbow. Great start. A woman walked by about 40 seconds later and asked if I needed help with my bags.... I just hung my said and said no thanks.
The ferry departed at 7 am and it was pretty easy. I booked business class which was a minimal increase, and was able to pass out the two hours in the lounge and one of couches. We arrived in Naxos where I had about a 2 hour layover. So, first I got my ticket printed out at the office, then found a place for a bite to eat: hot chocolate and a croissant. Minimalism. While waiting, I decided to hike up to the ruins of a Temple of Apollo. Not much to see
except an impressive door with great views to sea and of the city. I walked around a bit for a few photos, then mostly sat down and read my book. Just a few other people made their way up at this time, but it was clear that it was a social area, probably at sunset or at night. Our ferry was about 40 minutes late, so I continued to read my book and wait with the few others at the port. Then we made our way onto the high speed ferry - I had been a bit anxious because it was a different line and high speed so I kept trying to reassure myself i was in the right spot. And oh yeah, the ferry big and obvious. The main room was very opposite of Blue Star, but it was also nice and simple. Like, you know your are just on this a short time. It had some Greek artefacts displayed in windows at the front, so you had plenty to observe the whole time.
in a luxurious van, which i had all to myself! We drove up the narrow switchbacks on the only road, where i noted all the different volcanic / ash deposits in the road cuts - I was already smiling! Once we got to the top, we turned left and head to the town of Fira. I was a bit disappointed in the landscape - very shrubby, dusty, dirty, barren, with plenty of litter or crumbled buildings for scenery. However, in town, the views were much better, and the view to sea was perfect! I was dropped off on the main road and a woman came to direct me to my room. I was a bit disappointed in the location of the room (no view, in the middle of random buildings), but the room itself was ideal and i was given a nice bottle of wine and some snacks. After freshening up, I decided not to waste one of my few days here and made my way to the local museum.
Looking up local places to visit, this popped out at me and since it was closed the following day, it seemed to be good
timing. So, I made a short walk, paid my 3 euros to enter and.... oh my god. Loved it! It was another very well done museum with friendly staff! I was one of very few people there, and the staff me with a smile and made themselves available for questions, but also stepped back so i could enjoy in my own time. It started with a bit of the geologic history (yay) and locations of some of the volcanic deposits and time frames. So, I oriented myself, but it was still Then they moved onto some of the artifacts recovered of thousands of years, much of it pottery. A lot of the treasures were recovered from Akrotiri, the main city buried in the main eruption 3,500 years ago, which I will get into later. There were frescoes recovered from houses and buildings in Akrotiri and recreated here, especially the ones from the House of the Ladies. Further on, there were more ceramics, some with many impressive art such as birds and dolphins or more aesthetic designs. Toward the end, there was a very large painting of Blue Monkeys which indicates possible connections with Asia.
