Students Go Fishing for Answers in the Mediterranean

Yes another wonderful day on the islands of Santorini. The team had the great privilege of taking a sail-boat tour around the caldera (remains of a volcano) on a ship named the Pegysus. The trip was arranged by the ship’s owner, Mr. Lefteris Ghizis, after we interviewed him earlier in the week. Mr. Ghizis is an economist and retired after many years of service as the vice mayor of budgeting at the municipality of Fira. During the interview, he gave the team insight on the wine industry, the economy as a whole and his vision for the future of tourism in Santorini.

The cruise was a great chance for the group to see the island from another perspective. We had been doing much field work on Thira, Santorini’s main island, however we were still missing information from the more-remote areas. Throughout the day we got to take field notes and pictures of Thirasia, a smaller adjacent island. Additionally, this trip gave all the students and faculty a feel for the tourism industry and an impression of Santorini from a tourist’s perspective.

We boarded the Pegysus at 9:30 a.m. from the port of Athinios. As the boat skipped toward our first stop, Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni, the cool breeze whisked the heat away. From afar, these volcanoes simply look like a mass of black rocks, but as we approached by boat, we saw otherwise. As we hiked to the top, we listened to our tour guide explain that after the volcano erupted thousands of years ago, it continued depositing lava from beneath the water. As a result, the island was formed, and the heat continues to push rock upward. Over time, this experience has created massive heaps of cube-like rock formations, pumice deposits and craters. We hiked to the peak of these craters. We took note of what very little flora and fauna exists on the volcano, such as tiny grass hoppers and small weeds.

After our descent, we boarded the boat around noon. Upon our arrival back to the small port, the Pegysus was surrounded by nine other tour boats! We had to wait for the other tours to finish and the tourists to board before we could take off. From a planning perspective, it was easy to see that these boats were exceeding the capacity of such a small port and causing much delay to tourists.

We rounded the northern part of the volcanoes toward our next destination, the hot springs. We dropped anchor at the hot springs where Frank Wray, associate professor of biology, was the first to dive right off the side of the ship. I was next with Mark Kinne following right behind me with the most amazing cannon ball I have ever seen. We all swam to the hot springs but found the cooler water to be much more refreshing and enjoyable on such a hot day.

After climbing back up the side of the boat to continue our work, the ship carried on toward the northwestern islands of Thirasia. As we docked the boat at Thirasia’s single quaint port, we split into two groups and met in the town of Riva. One group rode donkeys while the second group nearly passed out walking up the trail. It’s a tough decision: dirty, dangerous donkey, or long, steep stairs with an occasional donkey patty. Personally, I didn’t mind the walk, but I’m not sure a tourist would feel the same. Yet the limitation of basic infrastructure is what has preserved Riva’s culture and history from uncontrolled tourism development. We had lunch at a small family-owned restaurant that had a breath-taking view overlooking the entire island.

After lunch, the team set off exploring Riva to conduct field work and take note of problematic areas. A group of three students, a professor and I took a look at the northwestern plain region to discuss the possibility of proposing wind energy for the island.

Around 5:30 p.m., we ended the day tired and very content with our enjoyable and educational day on the sea.

For more background on UC’s work in Santorini, go to

• UC Team Builds a Model for Environmental Tourism in Greece
• Students Put the Brake on Accelerating Tourism in the Greek Islands
• Adventures Abroad: Students at Loose Ends Riding Island Donkeys in the Mediterranean