Day 11 - Santorini and the surprise village Akrotiri!
Anchored in Santorini this morning, tendered into port. Met up with our tour guide and bussed out to the archeological site of Akrotiri, a village that was buried under 90+ feet of volcanic ash after a massive eruption in 1516 B.C. Dig site was fascinating. Drove back to Fira, the capital, for some sight seeing and shopping. Took the cable car back down to the pier and tendered back to the ship. Next stop is Thessaloniki on the Greek mainland.
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View of a cruise ship (there were three in port today) in the Santorini caldera. Black mass on the left is what is left of the center of the volcano... |
Portrait photo of beautiful Angela. |
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| Photo from one of our photo stops. Weather forecast called for rain but it held off most of the day... | Another view of the caldera... |
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Inside the Akrotiri dig site. Entire site is covered with a roof with windows providing natural light. Raised or paved walkways throughout. with signage/explanations in Greek and English. What a wonderful surprise! |
More from inside the Akrotiri dig site. |
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| Some urns as discovered in place... |
Original wood mantels were destroyed but left air pockets that the researchers refilled with lime. Hardened lime preserved the doorways and window openings and kept the surrounding walls from collapsing. |
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| Outside the Greek Orthodox church in Fira, the capital of Santorini... |
On the way down from Fira to the pier on the cable car. Our ship is visible in the caldera. We were told that the caldera is too deep to anchor in, so the ship was basically using thrusters all day to stay in its spot... |