Nature And Outdoors in Thera

Fira is the only town in Greece that sits on the edge of an active volcano and looks straight into its throat. The two black islets in the middle of the bay, visible from any terrace, are Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni — young cones grown since the eruption that destroyed the island. From the old port below the town they are half an hour away by water, which makes Fira the most practical starting point: take the cable car or the steps down, and you are on the quay.

The landing on Nea Kameni is matter-of-fact and all the more convincing for it: the path climbs black scree for about twenty minutes, volcanic cinder underfoot, sulphurous steam drifting from cracks in places, and at the top a crater streaked with rust. The boat then shifts to Palea Kameni, where warm springs rise along the shore: the water is cloudy and iron-red, noticeably warmer than the sea, and you enter it straight off the side.

The other sailings are built around swimming. Catamarans run along the caldera wall to the Red and White beaches, where the rock is stained by its own oxides, and anchor in coves you cannot climb down to from land. Evening departures combine the volcano with the sunset off Oia. Fira also serves for walking: the cliff-edge path to Imerovigli and on to Oia starts here — about ten kilometres with the drop always below you.