Day 22 - I Don't Want this Day to Ever End!

April 10 - The Magic Paradise of Santorini

Since we had a car, we wanted to utilize every minute of the day.

We really enjoyed having wheels!

 Again, I saw the sun rise, this time with Rich. It was fun to watch the village come alive with shop keepers, workers painting and cleaning, getting ready for all the tourists that are expected in the next few months. We were glad to be there at a time that was still early for the hectic rush.

There were several of these huts on the hillside

Nuns in the town of Thira

Note some of the walls which formed some barriers a  LONG time ago

No - that is not snow in the background.

The 3 of us posing in the most beautiful land EVER!

We went to the town of Thira for Vladamir to do some errands and I mailed our first package home. We then set off for the ancient town of Thira and Akrotiri. What amazing history we discovered. Akrotiri is a Minoan Bronze Age settlement. The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption about 1500 BC and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine frescoes and many objects and artworks. The settlement has been suggested as a possible inspiration for Plato's story of Atlantis. The site has been excavated since 1967.  Advanced drainage systems and three- story buildings were found on the site.  No human skeletal remains have been found. This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with little or no loss of life.

Interesting facts about the water system in Akrotiri

Excavation of Akrotiri

The visitor's center is built over the top of the city

Note how far down the drilling has gone....3 story buildings!

Some of the pots still had grains of barley and seeds stored inside

These were probably tables of some sort

Probably a type of storeroom

See the pots that were found under all the ash

This was in the kitchen...maybe a type of sink

These were beds - they must have been quite small people

Vlademir and Rich are having a fun time!

MANY MANY clay pots found here

Next we drove as far as we could to the Light House. We walked the rest of the way.

View from the top of the lighthouse

We climbed a long ways to reach a cute little cave inside the mountain

I couldn't resist - had to go inside and imagine living there.  This little window looked out at the sea!

The captain coming home from his adventures!  ha!

 Then we drove across the island and through fields and fields of grape vineyards and up to a monastery and the absolute best scenery down to the city, through some clouds, and looking around in every direction. We saw walls of the ancient past, green hills of vineyards, and so much more.

From the monastery on top

I went inside and they were having a service.  I felt such peace and perfect reverence for the people that were there and for all that had come before.  There were beautiful paintings and  frescoes inside!

I lit a candle and put it in the sand here before actually going inside

 

 We went to the red sand beach which is right next to the black sand beach.

The red sand beach is just so amazing!

We ate our bread and cheese by the sea and felt re-vitalized smelling the fresh sea air.

While eating lunch, we aw the cutest little girl playing by a large basket.

She was playing hide and seek with her brother!

We took Vladamir back to town to the bus depot, so he could meet his next couch surfers. We then went on to return the car and get on our plane to Athens.

A beautiful ending to a most beautiful day over the caldera on the Island of Santorini!