Santorini Island– a fascinating history of fire and destruction

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And here comes no. 7 in my list of favourite places in the world.
When Adriano and I were living in Italy, we visited Greece one summer holiday. Being as poor as the proverbial church mouse, we hitched and camped our way around the islands off the southern coast of the mainland. Tired legs from tons of walking and funny tummies from too much ouzo didn’t prevent us from having a stunning time exploring these islands, which are steeped in history. None more so than Santorini Island – the classic Greek island of the white and blue buildings you see in travel agent posters.

We were dropped off the ferry boat at the base of a very steep path up to the village and had the choice of riding on tiny donkeys or walking. I felt too sorry for the donkeys to load myself and my pack onto one so we walked. Not for the faint-hearted. However, I did get on a donkey later in the trip when unburdened by my pack. Excuse the photo – I had to scan it from a hard copy.

 Anyway, once at the top, we looked for accommodation because we couldn’t camp and found the youth hostel which fit our budget had separate buildings for males and females so we had to meet in the mornings and separate at night, which felt decidedly odd.

 We hired a scooter and explored the island to go find the massive water-filled crater. 3,600 years ago a massive volcanic eruption ripped apart what was originally one single island and created a giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi) and is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high, steep cliffs on three sides. The capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff. Let’s hope there’s not another eruption any time soon.  The legend of Atlantis could have been born here. It is also thought that the enormous tidal wave which would have hit the island of Crete 110 km to the south might have helped towards the collapse of the Minoan civilisation.

 No matter the sleeping arrangements, no one can deny that Santorini has a certain kind of beauty that deserves it a place on my top 10 list.