Day 2 - Kamari & akrotiri

kamari beach

akrotiri archeological site

Beach in Akrotiri

Red Beach

Lighthouse

Akrotiri is mainly known for the archaeological site, but we really enjoyed exploring the whole area. Kamari Beach is popular in the summer but very quiet this time of year (November).

kamari beach

Cartwheel time.

Maren and Ashlyn were ambushed by a high wave, Ashlyn's shoes and pants got drenched.

We got a small car this time.

First stop - Kamari black sand beach. It’s pretty dead this time of year. The waves are big, we’re a bit worried about our upcoming sailing trip.

akrotiri archaeological site

A model of the ruins.

Some original potteries were restored and placed at the site. They also had two-story homes with city sewage systems built in...very advanced for a society 4,000 years ago.

Google maps has steered us in wrong directions many times on this trip. It insisted on taking us up here into a narrow dirt path painted “private / stop”.

Nicknamed the Pompeii of Santorini, Akrotiri was a town buried by volcanic ash and abandoned in 16th century BC. The excavation work is quite impressive, although there was little information available to help visitors better understand the history here.

Beach in Akrotiri

We decided to join in on the fun. This shot took way too many tries. Coordinating four people’s jumps turned out to be much more difficult than we thought.

Megan showing the girls she can still do a cartwheel.

There was a fun beach right by the Akrotiri site. It was perfect for some silhouette shots.

Red Sand Beach

The red sand gets its color from iron in the sand.

That's Ashlyn up there.

This cool structure is at the entrance to the Red Beach.

Red sand beach. A popular stopping point, but the lower part is closed due to falling rocks. This is as close as we could get.

Lighthouse in Akrotiri

The Lighthouse in Akrotiri was a recommendation from our shuttle driver, and it was one of our favorite spots. We got to be at the southern tip of the west-facing crescent-shaped island, with the lighthouse perched on the cliff and very few tourists. Oia, the northern tip of the crescent shape, is the most famous and popular sunset spot, but this is a much nicer place for sunset in November. It was too cloudy for sunset on the day we were here; however, the glow across the clouds was beautiful nonetheless.