Akrotiri and the Red Beach

There are many things to do on Santorini. One day we explored the southwest area of the island. Akrotiri is an excavation site of a Minoan Bronze Age settlement that was buried by the volcanic eruption. Archaeological work is still in progress and a mechanical roof protects the site.









Most of the island's beaches are black (see next post) but there is also a red beach and a white beach. The latter is only accessible by boat but we visited the red beach.






We also visited one of several wineries on the island, Boutari. Santorini wines are notable because of the acidity of the volcanic soil. Grape vines are trained close to the ground to better capture the moisture from the ground. Note the name of the van.




There are other means of transportation around Santorini, including ATVs, motor scooters and donkeys.

Oia

Thanks to the advice of our neighbors Bill and Penny, we stayed in the town of Oia at the top of the island. It is less crowded than Fira, the capital, and more picturesque. It also has the best views of the sunset. Every evening hundreds of people make the trek to the tip of the island to view the sunset. We grabbed a seat at one of the many restaurants offering sunset views. Oia offers great views of the caldera as well.




Brian came to love Greek coffee. Here he enjoys an iced coffee.







Looking back toward Oia from the walking path.


Oia boasts one of the loveliest bookstores in the world (voted in the top twenty by Lonely Planet). This is run by a group of expats from various countries, including America who each come to stay and run the store for about two months a year. They have many English books.








Oia offers many eating and drinking establishments. One afternoon we cooled off in Meteor, a small cocktail bar.








Oia has numerous alleys and doorways to explore. Notice the kitten in the first one.













One night we had a great meal at Ambrossia, probably the most elegant restaurant on the island. We had salmon carpaccio, lamb chops, sea bream and baklava!


A view of Oia at night.

Santorini

One of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean sea, Santorini is defined by a caldera formed by a volcano. The Minoan eruption in about 1500 BC sunk the interior of the island, covering the island in ash and creating a crescent shape. In the early 18th century, another eruption brought the central volcano up above the surface of the sea. Taken from the highest point on the island, these photos give a sense of the layout of the island. On the edges of the photo are the tips of the C, in the middle are the volcano (foreground) with Thirasia behind. On the eastern side of the island, you can see the airport runway. At the "top" of the "C" there are four main settlements: Fira, Firostefani, Imerovegli and Oia (where we stayed). Looking to the center of the C you can see a cruise ship, one of many each day, docked in the port of Fira.





We drove from the airport on the main "highway" toward Oia. This is looking east toward another island. Notice the low road in the background and the view from the low highway up toward the main road.




The view from our hotel room, looking across the sea to the volcano from our balcony.



The hotel is a traditional house, meaning it is built like a cave into the mountain.