Saturday 17 May

Cycladic pots in the Prehistoric Museum

After a bad night we were up a bit late for breakfast but it was calmer today and the waiters were friendly. Then we sat outside in the sun and wind, and I wrote postcards. We bought stamps at the mini-market across the road. Then we took the crowded shuttle bus into Fira.

First we visited the Prehistoric Museum and saw fossils from the Neolithic period, and many beautiful ceramics from the excavations at Akrotiri dating from the Cycladic period around 1700 BC. Very interesting.

In the old port of Fira where small boats depart

We walked up to the cablecar station and took a cabin down to the old port. The alternative transport was on donkeys. We had lunch in a seaside taverna. My calamari was rather chewy.

We ascended again and looked at the jewellery shops without luck. I bought a few more postcards. We took a taxi back to the hotel and read. It was quite cool and overcast.

At 7 pm we caught another taxi to the nearby village of Pyrgos and had dinner at Kallisti. The fish, dorade, was very nice but attracted the cats. We also had a delicious chocolate souffle. It was quite a cool evening.