the last sunrise was the most perfect one. ／ 出発日の朝日。この旅一番でした。
one last look from my hotel balcony. ／ ホテルのバルコニーから最後に。
and a bonus sunrise arriving @ doha to transfer. ／ そしておまけに乗り継ぎのドーハの朝日。笑
. . . . .
in conclusion, what did santorini give me? ／ この度から得たものとは？:
1. l a n g u a g e ／ 言 語
tuning out. i really did it. smiling and nodding, without having to pretend? being clueless to natives possibly saying “this dumb asian chick has no idea what we’re saying”? you know, for once, i couldn’t care less. my personality (and sometimes what i’m hired for) has me being the problem solver. to communicate for two parties of different languages, being a manager for a fashion show, being an assistant for a magazine, always being in the know of EVERYTHING. for once, i didn’t understand. for once, i didn’t have to. for once, i could be stupid and not feel guilty for it.
2. s a f e t y ／ 安 全 性
it was very safe. the hotel owner was originally from athens, and one of the first things he told me is, “i will be straightforward with you. as a woman, you are perfectly safe on thira. in athens, not so much.” the people here were so helpful, if you come up to them lost, they’ll speak out first, “tell me” (their version of “how may i help you?”). obviously, though, one can never be too safe and should probably be knowledgeable of the possible dangers of travel overseas.
3. g r e e c e ／ ギ リ シ ャ
there was so much to take in! i’m sure i cannot say i had the complete experience of greece with my one visit to just santorini, but i couldn’t be happier to have seen all the sights, history, geology, nature, and food. i learned that the world is a vast, miraculous place with so much more to be discovered.
4. s u n a n d p e a c e ／ 太 陽 と 静 け さ
i definitely got this!! lots and lots of sun and vitamin d (and wind and rain, too)!! the tourist spots were all hustle and bustle; one step into nature, and there was peace—almost untouched, unaltered, raw—an ironic juxtaposition to the history of violent volcanic activity. nature in tokyo, is reformed and planned, even hiking trails are cleanly paved and pruned. humans live on earth, earth gave us life. santorini taught me that we cannot control nature.
here i gather all the photos from the ancient thera ruins, along with the explanations. in between are other shots of ruins that aren’t specified, in the order i walked.
it all starts here, at the base of the mountain.
カマリから来て、山の麓で始まります。:
at the top of the mountain, ancient thera begins
山頂について古代ティラの遺跡へ入場:
cemetery of ancient thera ／ 古代ティラの墓地:
i actually took this photo on the way up from perissa on day 3. this cemetery is on the last bend of the hike from perissa, just outside of the ancient thera ruins.
この写真は、ペリッサから登ったトレイル沿いにあった遺跡。古代ティラの外。
the early christian basilica ／ 初期のキリスト教の聖堂:
temenos of artemidoros ／ アルテミドロス（人物）のテメノス（神の領域）:
ptolemaic garrison post ／ トレミー駐屯地:
facing due south, central section of the city ／ 南向き・古代ティラ中心部:
(you can see the monastery of profitis ilias (prophet elias) in the upper right on the ridge of the mountain!)
（プロフィティス・イリアスの修道院が右上の山頂に見えます！）
southern section of the city ／ 古代ティラ南部:
sanctuary of egyptian gods ／ エジプトの神々の聖域:
apollo pythios sanctuary ／ アポロ・ピティオスの聖域:
the theater ／ 劇場:
(ugh i can’t believe this photo is blurry… ／ ピンボケごめんなさい。。)
private house ／ 民家:
house of tyche
女神テュケーの家（個人宅、テュケー（運を意味する）の像があったため名付けられた）:
basilike stoa ／ 王室の柱廊:
from the south, middle, north agora’s in the central section of the city
古代ティラ中心部にある南・中心・北の広場にあった石:
SANTORINI DAY 5 :
A N C I E N T T H E R A , A K R O T I R I , S U N S E T A T F I R A
after all the rain and thunder throughout the night, came the astounding sunrise! what a perfect beginning to my last full day in thira!
夜通し、雨・風・雷が凄かったです。でもその代わりに待ち受けていたのは、見事な朝日！出発前の最終日に最高な始まりでした。
the blue sky, sunshine, white walls, grecian flag, all couldn’t be more picturesque than on this day.
青空、太陽、白い建物、ギリシャ国旗。
. . . . .
– A N C I E N T T H E R A –
i’ve gathered the photos of ancient thera here! it was quite something to think these ruins were inhabited as early as the 8th century BC. most of what remains seems to have been rebuilt and expanded by later inhabitants until the 8th century AD. i’m not a historian so i won’t explain in detail, but i share photos of explanations and the ruins in the link above!
– H I K I N G U P T O T H E
M O N A S T E R Y O F P R O F I T I S I L I A S –
moving on after ancient thera, i started hiking towards the monastery of profitis ilias (prophet elias). this photo is looking back towards ancient thera. the winding road on the left goes down toward kamari. the roundabout leads to the entrance of ancient thera; you can see the snake-like path a third of the way down the mountain inside the ancient thera ruins. beyond the top of the mountain is where the central and southern sections of ancient thera would be, facing due south. to the right of the mountain would be perissa (where i came up from on day three).
the red circle in the below map is where i took the photos below. the numbered circles represent the direction the photo was taken in perspective from the red circle.
下記地図の赤●は立ち位置。その立ち位置から撮った写真の方向を番号で記載しています。
this is a view of perissa and perivolos along the shoreline. (*see 1. in map above)
海岸沿いにペリッサとペリヴォロス。（*地図 １.）
this is a view facing fira, oia, and the caldera. (*see 2. in map above) フィラ、イア、とカルデラ。（*地図 2.）
that’s the airport! (*see 3. in map above)
空港！（*地図 3.）
yay!!! i made it to the top!!! to tell the truth, i lost the path multiple times, and it was more treacherous than i was prepared for (because i lost the path?)…
i couldn’t visit inside, possibly because it was around lunchtime, but here are some photos i got of the outside (and really, please ignore the fact that my big ol’ finger is in one of the most important photos…).
one last look around the monastery before descending towards megalochori, which is the nearest bus stop.
修道院付近をもう一周し、メガロチョリに向かいました。
– H I K I N G T O
M E G A L O C H O R I –
this is faros, the western tip (in the south) of thira. i couldn’t make it here this time since it is apparently more convenient by car. (*see 4. in map above)
こちらは、ファロス。ティラ島の最南端の町。元々こちらで泊まろうと思っていたのですが、車がないと移動が難しいため断念しました。（*地図 4.）
the nature, rocks, ruins along the way to megalochori! after a quick google search, that flag apparently represents the greek orthodox church.
この島で見る自然は常に石と花が隣り合わせになってバランスし合っています。黄色の旗は、ギリシャ正教会のものです。
– A K R O T I R I –
from megalochori, i visited akrotiri (i wanted to see the red and white beaches), but by this time i was absolutely exhausted. i nearly took the bus straight back to fira, when i turned around and saw that the akrotiri excavations archaeological site was right by the bus stop. something in my head told me to stay. unfortunately, i didn’t get any photos (except the one below, inside the excavation facility) or pamphlets, but here are some links: Santorini Archaeological Sites : Akrotiri Excavations
from Santorini.com A Life’s Work: The Excavation of Akrotiri in Santorini
by Tassoula Eptakili for Greece Is
メガロチョリからバスに乗ってアクロティリへ向かいました。ここでは赤と白い砂の海が名物ですが、午前中のハイキングで憔悴。バスでそのままフィラまで戻るか悩みましたが、バス停を背にしたらアクロティリの遺跡博物館の入り口が目の前にありました。せっかくアクロティリに来たのであれば、一つでも何かを見て行こうかと思い、入ってみました。残念ながら写真は撮っておらず、パンフレットもありませんでしたが、上記リンクを見つけました。日本語ですと、こちらが詳細に紹介されていました： アクロティリ遺跡と博物館
by 遺跡ときどき猫
it really is something to see! to me, this is even more significant than ancient thera, as this site dates back as early as the 4th MILLENIUM BC! the civilizations that lived here until the early late bronze age (around 17th century BC), had 2-3 story buildings, amazing paintings, and even a drainage system (i mean, toilets??). the town was abandoned after a series of severe earthquakes preceding a volcanic eruption in the late 17th century BC. covered in volcanic material, the town was preserved until they officially began excavations in 1967 and are currently continuing excavations.
the shelter that protects the excavations is quite interesting, also. protecting from the elements while keeping the ecosystem as stable and comfortable as possible, they made a bioclimatic building utilizing the four elements with minimal energy consumption. (please do visit this website if you are interested in bioclimatic structures!)
intrigued and motivated again, i took the bus to fira. this was the last (and most important??) bit of my trip! SUNSET!!!
アクロティリ遺跡を見て元気復活！フィラへ戻り、今回の旅の目玉、夕陽ハンティング開始！
– S U N S E T A T F I R A –
i took a walk to oia, in hopes of seeing the sunset here. however, with the exertions of the whole day (i walked more than 20km this day), i decided to watch the sunset from fira (which was just as spectacular), while having one last gorgeous dinner. i had some help from a greek native, making sure i ordered the right foods, and absolutely grateful for that! HERE GOES:
seven months after my trip, i still remember all the “feels” as if i were still there. having my breath taken away by the beauty of geological formations and the strong gusts of air sweeping in from the aegean sea; i was able to experience forces of nature i had never before, feeling at one with nature time and time again.
this fourth day, it was a mostly full day of rain. not to mention, a much needed day of rest and soaking it all in and preparing for my last full day. it was pretty cold (low 60’s in fahrenheit, around 15 in celsius) compared to the moderate temperatures throughout the trip.
it cleared up just in time for sunset (with the gray weather continuing, i had been deciding against taking a trip to oia… apparently it was a stunning sunset in oia that day!). although the sunset couldn’t be seen from this side of the island, i could tell that it must have been quite dramatic.
this day started off grayer than the day before! being that the forecast said it wouldn’t be great and i was still tired from the day before, i decided to stay in and catch up on reading and working on art.
then, as the morning proceeded, the clouds burned out and the weather cleared up! not to mention there was a power outage (which means no running water here either…) and i started getting restless.
i decided to take a trip down to perivolos and walk along the beach to perissa. on the map it’s very close to kamari, but with a mountain there (the one i mentioned on day 2 where i saw the clouds rolling over), it requires passage via bus from fira (or so i thought…).
well, the service on the bus to perivolos/perissa was quite unpleasant… the ticket fare collector on this bus was rude to some passengers and that had me cross… not to mention, they skipped the perivolos stop and dropped all of us off at perissa. which may have turned out for the better because it was extremely windy (like i mentioned on the tour day, the wind seems to blow from this side of the island over the mountain).
to avoid sand in my eyes and to blow off some steam, i decided to wander away from the perissa beach towards the mountain. the further i walked the more i was blown away by the size. it’s not necessarily super tall, but something about it has such presence.
i had asked the hotel owner, petros, if this mountain was climbable and he said “haha, i saw people coming down the mountain once. they’re insane!!” challenge accepted! well, only after i saw the mountain and this map! this map means, the mountain has an actual hiking trail! i mean, if i weren’t capable i could always turn back?
as i walked on into the hike, i saw a mother and son (early teens?) coming down and i asked if the hike was difficult. the woman pointed at her feet in leather thong sandals. “if i can do it in these, not at all.” well, there you have it.
the day i flew in, petros picked me up at the airport and during the drive, he told me that we were passing the mountain where you could see a lone light at the top, one of the oldest monasteries on thira. the monastery of profitis ilias (prophet elias), which i visited on another day, is at the highest point of the island. you can see it at the top of this mountain in the center of the photo.
the cool crisp air and the steep, unpaved gravel path added to the impact of this mountain. that VIEW, though!
at the top was the ancient thera ruins. it was closed when i arrived, but this also, i visit another day.
on my way down, i saw a small group of women going down some stairs. honestly, had i not seen them, i think i may have gotten lost on my way down. it was a curious flight of stairs, which led to…
my first taste of the religious history here. it was kind of an appetizer to my next hike i’d make to ancient thera (usually, people would see this hiking up on the way to ancient thera, i kind of came through the backdoor from perissa).
here is the spring that i entered with the group of women ahead of me. thank goodness for them, because one of them used their smartphone flashlight so we could all catch some photos and find our way in. otherwise, it’s pitch dark in there.
back on my way down to kamari. that really is one steep mountain.
泉を出て、カマリに向かって登山を続けました。本当に急な山道でした。
. . . . .
it really was one exhilarating day. the sun clearing up, the power going out, the bad service on the bus—all of it lead me up the mountain to find myself and my connection to nature.
to tell the truth, this is the most i’ve ever experienced nature. i’m a city girl, i love public transportation, the chaos of crowds, having everything at my fingertips. yet, this trip, this particular day, was an awakening—telling me how much nature is majestic and powerful, to appreciate its existence, and at the same time how small people are. we humans are a miracle, but nature is vast and is what allows us to be.
