Santorini

I was walking around Santorini about 8.30 this morning with the church bells ringing and didn't see another soul on my walk.  Clearly the people are not early risers here.  The village is clearly being made ready for the tourist season as there are ladders around and people painting etc.   I have only seen the famous donkeys once and they were just being led in a line somewhere - perhaps their work does not start yet.

I went to the ancient remains of the village Akrotiri  which was  destroyed by a volcano in around 1500 BC.

Unlike the Palace of Knossos on Crete which is out in the open these excavations are under a roof.  The original roof was paid for by Aristotle Onassis  and when later needing renewal was paid for by the EU the Guide said.  These ruins are, I think, in more original condition than the ones at Knossos.  It was just breathtaking to look down on buildngs and roads that people would have walked on centuries ago.   One of the houses had a toilet which the young kids on the tour found hilarious.   This civilization had quite a sophisticated sewerge system it seems.

Today I have been to both the Museums here.  The first one had wonderful wall paintings from this ancient society - and lots of everyday items - what amazed me were the size of the coffee cups which were around twice the size of ours.  It wa also interesting to see the portable stoves and everyday items like pans etc.