FOR 20 SUMMERS I'VE BEEN EXPLORING EUROPE

WITH MY TRAVEL WRITING AND TEACHING IN MIND,

MAKING LOTS OF MISTAKES AND TAKING CAREFUL NOTES

IN HOPES THAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

RATHER THAN YOUR OWN.

IN THIS SERIES WE'RE EXPLORING THE BEST OF EUROPE.

THIS TIME WE'LL TOUR POPULAR SANTORINI --

AN ISLAND ON THE LIP OF A STILL-ACTIVE VOLCANO.

WE'LL ENJOY BEING A TOURIST

IN ITS QUINTESSENTIAL WHITE-WASHED VILLAGES,

VISIT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG AT ONE OF ITS ANCIENT CITIES,

AND SWIM ON ITS BLACK-SAND BEACH.

THEN WE'LL CRUISE THE AEGEAN TO THE ISLAND OF SAMOS,

WHERE WE'LL TOUR ITS SIGHTS BY MOPED

AND VISIT THE RUINS OF AN ANCIENT TEMPLE

BEFORE RESTING IN A QUIET FISHING VILLAGE.

AND FINALLY WE'LL FEAST AND FROLIC

ON THE REMOTE SHORES OF LIPSI.

GREECE LIES BETWEEN ITALY AND TURKEY

ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

STARTING IN ATHENS,

WE'LL TAKE AN OVERNIGHT FERRY TO THE ISLAND OF SANTORINI.

THEN WE'LL HEAD EAST TO THE LARGER ISLAND OF SAMOS,

AND FINISH WITH A SIDE TRIP TO TINY LIPSI.

IT'S BY SHIP

THAT PEOPLE HAVE ISLAND-HOPPED THE AEGEAN FOR CENTURIES.

THIS OVERNIGHT BOAT FROM ATHENS TO SANTORINI

OFFERS TICKETS IN SEVERAL CLASSES.

DECK CLASS IS CHEAPEST AND CAN MEAN LITERALLY ON THE DECK.

FOR A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS, AN AIRPLANE-TYPE SEAT

CAN MAKE LIFE CONSIDERABLY MORE COMFORTABLE.

AND FOR EVEN MORE COMFORT, TRY FIRST CLASS.

ALONG WITH SOFT CHAIRS AND TABLES,

YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF SOME SLEEP IN A STATEROOM.

OUR CABIN HAS A WINDOW AND A PRIVATE SHOWER.

CHEAPER CABINS OFFER A SHOWER DOWN THE HALL.

BY THE WAY, EVEN PASSENGERS WITHOUT A STATEROOM

CAN GO DOWN TO THE CHEAP CABIN DECK

AND GRAB A FREE HOT SHOWER.

GREEK FERRIES ARE REASONABLY PRICED.

IN FACT, THIS ALL-NIGHT CRUISE

INCLUDING BEDS IN A COMFORTABLE STATEROOM IS COSTING US LESS

THAN WHAT WE PAID FOR OUR HOTEL IN ATHENS LAST NIGHT.

WHILE SPEEDY TRAVELERS

CAN FLY FROM ATHENS TO THE MAJOR GREEK ISLES,

WE'RE IN THE AEGEAN TO RELAX,

FEEL THE BREEZE,

AND HAVE A LITTLE ADVENTURE.

FOR ME, THAT'S BEST DONE ON THE FERRY BOATS.

SUNRISE AND OUR GREEK ISLAND DREAM COME TRUE -- SANTORINI.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THIS WAS ONE ISLAND,

A VOLCANO NAMED THIRA.

FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE CHRIST,

A HUGE ERUPTION BLEW AWAY MOST OF THE ISLAND,

LEAVING A FLOODED CRATER

SURROUNDED BY FIVE SMALL ISLANDS.

TODAY, SANTORINI -- ONE OF THE REMAINING ISLANDS --

IS A LIP OF THE CRATER, LINED WITH TOURISTS.

FOR 3,500 YEARS,

THE VOLCANO HAS DESTROYED A SERIES OF ISLAND SETTLEMENTS,

THE LATEST IN 1956 WHEN IT TOPPLED 2,000 HOUSES.

YET, LOCALS STILL BUILD AND TOURISTS STILL COME.

WHY?

THOSE WHO VISIT WILL UNDERSTAND.

LUCKILY, WE'RE ARRIVING HERE IN MID-SEPTEMBER,

JUST AFTER THE PEAK SUMMER MONTHS.

ALTHOUGH THIS LOOKS PRETTY BUSY,

MOST OF THE STUDENTS HAVE GONE HOME.

AND HUNGRY LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS

ARE EAGER TO TALK US INTO FOLLOWING THEM

TO THEIR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE PENSION.

[ talking indistinctly ]

Rick: YES.

SHOWER IN ROOM. TWO BED.

LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE OUR ROOMS.

WITH MINIBUSES AND MINI-PICKUPS, PENSION OPERATORS

SHUTTLE NEW ARRIVALS TO THEIR ACCOMMODATIONS.

UPSCALE TRAVELERS GENERALLY ARRIVE BY AIR

AND STAY AT ONE OF THE MANY RENTAL VILLAS OR POSH HOTELS.

SANTORINI'S MAIN TOWN, THIRA, IS AN EXOTIC WHITE-WASHED TOWN

OFFERING THE QUINTESSENTIAL GREEK ISLAND EXPERIENCE.

TOURISTS COME YEAR AFTER YEAR TO SOAK UP THE SUN

AND STROLL THE TINY LANES OF THIS TOWN

PERCHED 700 HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE SEA.

SO WHAT IF SANTORINI'S A LITTLE TOURISTY?

THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY BAD.

THERE'S LOTS OF SHOPPING, ENGLISH MENUS, FRUITY DRINKS,

AND PLENTY OF BRITISH AND SCANDINAVIAN FELLOW TRAVELERS.

WE ALL ENJOY THE SPECTACULAR PHYSICAL SETTING

AND UNMATCHED VIEWS IRONICALLY CREATED BY THE VOLCANO.

BUT DON'T LET BEING A TOURIST

GET IN THE WAY OF ENJOYING SOME AUTHENTIC GREEK TREATS.

YOGURT AND HONEY IS A WONDERFUL LOCAL TRADITION.

GREEK YOGURT COMES PLAIN AND SUPER CREAMY.

MIX IN A LITTLE HONEY AND I'M ONE HAPPY HEDONIST.

MMM.

[ moped putting ]

ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF A TOURIST HOT SPOT,

CAN BE THE VERY CONVENIENT TOURS.

EVEN FOR THE MOST INDEPENDENT-MINDED TRAVELERS,

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN AN ORGANIZED BUS TOUR

IS A FINE WAY TO SPEND HALF A DAY.

AT NOON OUR BUS LEAVES FOR THE FIVE-HOUR TOUR

OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF SANTORINI.

Tour guide: Kalimera.

Kalimera IS THE GREEK WORD FOR "GOOD MORNING."

THIS IS YOUR GUIDE SPEAKING, AND MY NAME IS EVIE.

NOW LET ME TELL YOU WHERE WE GO

AND WHAT WE'LL SEE TODAY.

THIS TOUR INCLUDES A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT RUINS OF AKROTIRI,

A LITTLE FREE TIME

ON ONE OF THE ISLAND'S BEST BLACK-SAND BEACHES,

PLENTY OF INFORMATION,

AND A RIDE TO THE SUMMIT OF THE ISLAND FOR A GRAND VIEW.

UP HERE, BEGINNING IN THE 18th CENTURY,

THE MONKS IN THE MONASTERY

PRESERVED AND TAUGHT THE GREEK LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

DURING CENTURIES OF TURKISH OCCUPATION.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN, ON OUR WAY TO AKROTIRI.

WITHOUT WHEELS WE'D STILL BE BACK IN THIRA.

THE TOUR GIVES THE ISLAND

AN AIR-CONDITIONED ONCE-OVER-LIGHTLY

AND GETS US HOME IN TIME FOR DINNER.

AND HERE IT IS, AKROTIRI, THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS TOUR.

AKROTIRI IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE DIG I'VE SEEN

IN THE ENTIRE AEGEAN, INCLUDING ANYTHING ON CRETE.

THIS WAS A LARGE CITY.

WITH ONLY ABOUT 1/30th OF THE CITY UNEARTHED,

MUCH ARCHEOLOGICAL WORK REMAINS.

AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION THRIVED HERE

FROM 2,000 B.C. UNTIL ABOUT 1,500 B.C.,

WHEN THE ISLAND EXPLODED

IN ONE OF THE LARGEST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

IN THE HISTORY OF OUR PLANET.

THE BOOM FROM THE ERUPTION WAS HEARD IN SCANDINAVIA

AND WAS FOLLOWED BY MONTHS OF DARKNESS.

THE CITY REVEALED BENEATH THE THICK LAYERS OF ASH AND PUMICE

SHOWS A PLAN NOT TOO DIFFERENT

FROM PRESENT-DAY VILLAGES ON SANTORINI.

NARROW STREETS WIDEN HERE AND THERE INTO SQUARES.

HOUSES LINE THE STREETS,

SOME THREE, POSSIBLY FOUR STORIES HIGH.

Guide: THERE IS NO DOUBT

THAT THIS WAS A PUBLIC BUILDING.

IN FACT, SOME ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE CONVINCED

THAT THIS WAS THE ADMINISTRATION CENTER OF THE TOWN.

ON THE GROUND FLOOR THERE ARE SOME 20 ROOMS,

NOT ALL OF THEM INVESTIGATED.

A WEALTH OF POTTERY CONTINUES TO BE UNEARTHED.

AND MOST EXCITING, PERHAPS,

HAS BEEN THE DISCOVERY OF BEAUTIFULLY PAINTED WALLS.

THE FRESCOES, NOW REMOVED TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ATHENS,

TELL US MUCH ABOUT THE LIFE OF THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE.

TO DATE, THE ONLY INTACT ROOM TO BE UNCOVERED

CONTAINED THIS FRESCO OF LILIES OR PAPYRUS AND SWALLOWS.

IT'S AN IDYLLIC SPRING SCENE

OF FLIRTING BIRDS AND SPRING BLOSSOMS EXPLAINED BY THE GUIDE

WITH THE HELP OF COLOR PHOTOS OF THE ORIGINALS.

ONE MURAL DETAILS A GREAT SEA BATTLE.

THESE YOUNG BOXERS EVIDENTLY SHAVED THEIR HEADS

AND SPORTED LONG LOCKS OF CURLS.

Guide: IT SEEMS THAT SHAVED HEADS WAS AN INDICATION OF YOUTH.

YOUNG PEOPLE OF BOTH SEXES -- THEY USED TO HAVE THEM --

THAT HAIRCUT.

AND THE FISHING MUST HAVE BEEN PRETTY GOOD.

Guide: HE'S NAKED.

HE'S A FISHERMAN CARRYING HIS FISH.

THEY LOOK TO BE TUNA FISH.

SOME BELIEVE THIS MAY HAVE BEEN

THE LOST CIVILIZATION OF ATLANTIS.

AND MANY FIGURE IT WAS A TIDAL WAVE CREATED BY THIS ERUPTION

THAT SWEPT AWAY THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION

ON THE ISLAND OF CRETE, JUST 75 MILES SOUTH OF HERE.

PROBABLY THE TIDAL WAVE DISRUPTED THEIR MERCHANT FLEET