Fira and Oia

Today I was super excited to go visit the archeological site of ancient Akrotiri, sometimes called the "Minoan Pompeii".  Then I learned over breakfast that there is a strike going on in Greece, meaning that all government-run operations were shut down, including Akrotiri.  Supposedly, this strike will last through tomorrow, too.  So, no chance to go before we leave Santorini.  Not happy.

Instead, we rented a little car and ventured out to explore the island.  We drove first to Fira town with a plan to book a trip to the volcano.  Fira is the port town, where all the cruises dock, so it was packed with tourists and souvenir shops.  Driving into and around Fira was crazy, partly because we didn’t really have any directions about where to go or park, but mostly because the streets were narrow and windy and packing with huge buses, tiny motorcycles, and oblivious pedestrians, and the car didn’t exactly drive smoothly.  BUT, we got in and out without any problems and reserved a trip for tomorrow, including the volcano and view of the island at sunset.  Should be romantic J

Our little yellow Chevrolet

View of the volcano from Fira

Looking over Fira town

Then we drove up and around the top of the island toward Oia.  Very pretty town with white houses stacked in clusters all along the cliff walls, looking out over the rest of the caldera.  We wandered around and saw lots of dogs (sleepy), cats (annoyed), blue-domed churches, tourists, and souvenir shops.  Had a tasty dinner and watched hordes of people flock to the farthest tip of the town to view the sunset over the water.  Guess what’s common in Greece?  Peach juice and Morello cherry juice.  Awesome.

Lots of pics of Oia!  Tomorrow, I will be double-checking about Akrotiri, just in case the strike miraculously ends.  Either way, I will be hiking the volcano.

Looking west over Oia

View of the colorful buildings

Sort-of sunset

Oia at night

Looking southeast over Oia, tiny lights on the right in the distance are probably Imerovigli

UPDATE: I asked someone else about the strike, wondering about the chances it would be done by tomorrow.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  Then, when I explained, he said these strikes happen all the time in Athens, but never impact commerce in Santorini.... I hope this is true so we can go tomorrow, but also, if it is true, why did our travel rep tell us otherwise?  I am sure they know.

Is it possibly some sort of strategy to keep me away from ancient ruins?!  If it is...I will look like this grumpy cat we saw in Oia:

I watched a woman smush her face up close to this clearly-unhappy cat to get a photo.  It swatted her in the face.  She still posed with it for a pic.  This is the aftermath.  (I like him!)