Day 32...I CLIMBED AN ACTIVE VOLCANO!!!

Day 32, July 16th:

Greece Day 3! 

There was one thing I really wanted to do on this trip and that was to climb a volcano.  I missed my chance in Italy to hike Mount Vesuvius (because I thought it was part of Pompeii, but I learned quickly that it wasn’t); therefore, today’s expedition was devoted to accomplishing my goal.  Around 09:30, Babis took us into Fira for a full day excursion that he so graciously booked for us.  We began by taking a cable car from the top of the island down to the port.  This cable car was not like the one in Spain, but more like a bus cable car as there were like 8 mini compartments hooked together that went up and down together.  It was an amazing view and very exhilarating, as we were just dropped straight down along the rocky cliff.  It was super cool. 

Once at the bottom, we boarded a glass bottom boat called the Calypso, which took us all over the entire day.  The first stop was the National Geological Park of Nea Kameni, also known as “the volcano” in my book.  For an additional 2 Euro, we could climb to the top of the volcano and hike around it’s many craters and admire the surrounding views.  It was super cool to see the hot gas vents that release with temperatures that are between 75 and 95 degrees Celsius.  The sulfur that was released from the gas vents also made the surrounding rocks turn various shades of green.  It was really hot and the hike to the top was not for those unprepared.  It was so neat!!!!!! 

We boarded the Calypso again for our ride to the natural hot springs on the other side of the volcano.   When the boat pulled up, you could immediately tell where the hot springs were located.  There was a very fine line separating the dark blue sea water from the murky and muddy water in the back bay creating the hot springs.  The boat stopped just outside of the springs and we could jump off into the water and swim over to the springs.  It was really neat to see how much the magma from the volcano held in the underwater chambers affected the water temperature.  It was like getting into a hot tub!  I can’t believe that nature can build a hot tub for everyone to enjoy! 

After our nice swim, we jumped back on the boat and took a short ride to the island of Thirasia, a village on a nearby island with the same name.  We only stopped at the island for about an hour and a half, so Danielle and I went to grab some lunch at Taverna Kamara, which is situated on a floating dock over the water looking out over the sea.  I finally got to try the very famous Greek dish, Mousaka. Mousaka is a ground beef dish seasoned with saffron and cinnamon, sitting atop a layer of sliced potatoes, layered on top with a handful of various cheeses and Santorini’s local white aubergine eggplant.  It is finished off with some olive oil and baked until the cheese is melted and golden brown in color.  It was absolutely delicious!  I wish they made this more in the US!  I also had a Greek salad, which uniquely does not include lettuce. A Greek salad is composed of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onion, olives and a huge block of feta cheese and topped with olive oil, oregano and a few other spices.  It was delicious as well!  The feta cheese is so different from those I have had in the US, but I think the difference is that this is probably much fresher.  It was my kind of salad!  I even ate all of the onions and green peppers.  Once back on the boat, the boat drove us over a reef where a few smaller boats had sunk and the glass bottom allowed us to view the ocean life present.  It was like we were scuba diving without getting even our feet wet. 

Our last stop of the day was back on the island of Santorini in the village of Ia (also known as Oia).   Just above Fira at the highest point of the island is the quintessentially Santorininian town of Ia with its whitewashed walls sunk into the volcanic rock and its blue domes rising above the sterling beauty of the stunning Ammoudi Bay.  As I mentioned, Ia is the highest point on the island and our boat is coming in at sea level!  How in the world do you get to the top of this 900 foot massive rock structure to actually see Ia?  Well, you could climb all of the 588 zigzagging steps to the top, or you could take a taxi up from the bottom.  Now I never mentioned that is was an ordinary taxi!  You can take a donkey up from the bottom for a solid 5 Euro.  Is that not weird!  You get to the stairs and this guy standing amongst 50+ donkeys starting yelling, “Taxi?  Taxi?”  Well worth the 5 Euro not to climb to the top. 

Once we arrive at the top, we begin exploring the picturesque town.  Ever since we set foot on the island, Danielle and I began thinking about renting ATVs to explore the island (30 euro for 24 hours for both of us).  All of the SASers we stumbled across had rented them and we finally went to rent one before dinner.  As we went to explore the city of Ia on the ATV, we ran into 4 other SASers, that also rented ATVs, and we all were in search of dinner.  We promptly walked to find a restaurant in which we could eat and watch the sunset; however, every restaurant is booked solid until after the sunset.  At dusk, the town began to fill up with crowds of people venturing to see the sunset.  Santorini’s sunsets, especially viewed from Ia, are reputed to be among the world’s most beautiful.  We decided to go get dessert, so we stopped at this amazing bakery called Μελενιο.  I wanted to eat one of everything in the store!  I ended up selecting only two:  Strawberry Cheesecake and the traditional Greek Baklava.  Both were sooooooo delicious!  We ate our dessert while the sun was setting!  People were everywhere and once the sun set fully everyone began cheering and clapping as if they had just witnessed a live performance.  It was really cool. 

We then rushed off to eat dinner at a nearby restaurant over looking the bay.  After eating both of my massive and delicious desserts, I decided that I wasn’t very hungry anymore, so I ended up splitting a steak with Danielle.  It was extremely good, especially since that is not served on the ship!  We then decided to begin our ride home on the ATVs.  It was amazing to see the coastline after dark with the lights in each town shinning brightly.  The stars were also very bright and it was cool to see them from the darkness of Santorini.  We arrived back to the hotel and went to sleep.  It was a very long day, but one that was full of fun and excitement!  I am very glad we got to see so much!  However, today made me really want to revisit the island sometime soon. 

I CLIMBED A VOLCANO!!! I RODE A DONKEY!!! I SWAM IN A NATURAL HOT SPRING!!!  I RODE IN A GLASS BOTTOM BOAT!!!  I RODE IN A CABLE CAR!!!  I ATE TWO DELECTIBLE DESSERTS WHILE WATCHING THE MOST FAMOUS SUNSET IN GREECE!!!  What a day!