here are normally two trips a day, one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon. Stout shoes and socks are essential to permit comfortable walking on the volcano. It is also a good idea to have a snack and a bottle of water with you. The boat leaves from the picturesque little harbour of Mesa Yialos, which lies about 300 meters beneath Fira.

	he first stop is the north harbour of the volcano. As the boat enters it the water begins to take on a green opaque look produced by the sulphur. From there we can take a walk to the crater of the volcano, which takes about an hour, there and back.
The crater resembles a gigantic basin of pozzolana, on whose lip we stand. Around us sulphurous smoke is emitted at a number of points. Elsewhere the ground and the stones are hot to the touch.

f one is lucky, it is possible that on lifting a stone the bright yellow crystals of sulphur will be seen adhering to its bottom. Returning to the shore we will have time for a swim into the lukewarm waters which is a blessing after the heat of the volcano.

eaving behind the volcano, the boat now heads for the nearby island Thirasia. During the voyage we shall be able to observe the two seperate islands which make up the volcano. The first one is New Kameni which we have just been visiting, and behind it, long and narrow, Old Kameni, which had been fully formed by 1508. Thirasia is the second largest island of the complex which forms the caldera. It is 5.7 Km long and 2.7 Km wide at its widest point. There are, however, only 245 inhabitants.

Isolated from the main mass of the island , Thirasia has not followed the rapid course of its development. The boat will stop at the harbour of the island for a swim and a snack on the beach or near the white chapel of Zoodochos Piyi. As the boat returns to Mesa Yialos harbour we have the opurtunitty to get a general picture of the landscape of caldera from the sea.

Photos and text taken from "Santorini - Today and yesterday" (Toubis Editions)

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