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Day 52 - It was hard to believe that this was our last day of touring. We booked an interisland cruise aboard the "King Thira", the largest 3 masted tourist boat in Santorini. It was a short walk to the pickup point for the tourist bus to take us to the port at Thira for a 10.30 departure. The boat visits the islands in the Caldera, our first stop being the island of Nea Kameni in the centre of the great sea crater (the Caldera). This is a national geological park and is nominated for a place on the world heritage list as it is the youngest volcanic landform in the eastern Mediterranean. Volcanic activity last happened here in 1953. Scientists have collected data on activity here dating back to 1600BC. The visit involved a 30 minute walk to the top of the island (124 metres high) where you could look down over inactive craters, but on the walk to the top there was an area where steam and sulphur fumes were present. There were a couple of places beside the track where scientific equipment was set up constantly monitoring the area for signs of activity. Whilst at the top, the tour guide from the boat gave us a very informative talk on the history of the island. It was then back on board for a short cruise to the back of the island where we had a opportunity to swim in the thermal springs. The boat anchored about 30 metres offshore then we had to jump (or dive) off the boat and swim toward shore and into a narrow inlet. As we swam closer to shore the water got considerably warmer and for those who wanted to venture further into the inlet, the water reached temperatures around 35 celsius. Some of less adventurous just stayed on board. By mid the afternoon we were heading for the island of Thirasia, one of the larger outer islands that formed part of the crater of the Caldera. Here we had the choice of staying by the port or climbing the 150 steps to the village above. We opted to stay by the rocky foreshore, leaving the island around 5pm for a cruise back across the Caldera to the port of Oia. Half of the passengers left here for the sunset experience and we continued on to our original point of departure to be taken back to Kamari Beach, rounding off an enjoyable day with another great Greek seafood dinner by the beach.
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