Walking and Hitching> Travels

So as I wrote earlier, Santorini is ridiculously beautiful. The buildings and landscape are unforgettable. Later on when I post some pictures you'll get a feeling for it. Today I explored the Island. I started by taking a bus to ancient Akortiri, a Minoan settlement that was frozen in time Pompeii style by the volcano of eruption of 1650 BC. Unfortunately it was closed so I can't really say much about it. The fence was a bit too high for me to jump, so no breaking and entering today.

Additionally, the bus that dropped me off at the site, which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't be back for 4 hours. So I decided to go for a walk to along the water. I ended up finding this very secluded beach of red sand with towering red cliffs above. I also found lots of really varied volcanic rocks along the way. Oh, also a dog was following me the whole time.

I believe his name was Raoul. I then decided it was time to find my way back to the road. This required me to climb a very large hill covered in terracing and very prickly plants. I was a bit lost until I found a sheep herder who shouted at me and pointed in a direction.


I would then walk in that direction and if I steered off course a bit he would yell at me again from across the valley. I am not sure if he was giving me directions or just heckling me, but I found my way to a little village where I climbed to the top of what must have been a long abandoned monastery. From there I hitchhiked to another small village called Pyrgos. The whole morning was pretty overcast and raining but I was rewarded with a pretty sweet rainbow over Thira, the town I was staying in.
I then was able to catch a bus back to Thira and from there began what would be a 12 KM hike to Oia, a picturesque town at the Northern end of Santorini. The hike took me along the rim of the Caldera, passing through a few villages clinging to the cliffs along the way.


The whole time I was able to look down into the bay formed by the eruption. There is an Island in the middle of the bay that emerged from the water in 1956 that is actually a volcanic cone that smokes at times.


Anyway, great views.

I finished my hike at sunset in Oia and after a while managed to hitchhike back to Thira with two old Greek guys who didn't speak any English. Warm weather again today and after a rainy morning the afternoon was pretty damned sunny. It would be great to stay out here longer, but I am going to head back to Athens tomorrow. It'll be a 9 hour boat ride but I have the New Years Double Issue of the Economist to keep me company. It's a good one.