Unexpectedly amazing day on Wednesday.  Most days are good but this was better than good.

Tuesday evening I found out that the island’s bus service is to be augmented by an 09.45  run to Palloi further along the coast.  Agreed a bit late in the season but nevertheless welcome for those of us still here. I  planned to use it and had a new walk planned ….. but other things got in the way.

So instead I planned a walk back up to Nifios, the Minoan settlement high in the mountains as a relatively easy day after the rigours of the off-piste on Tuesday and a long walk on Monday.   Surprisingly I set out and continued with far more vigour than I thought and the Nifios option seemed a little timid given the speed at which I was moving.  I would finish far too early.

Sooo!  midway to the first target at Evangelistra monastery I decide to continue to the caldera and visit the only crater I haven’t yet been to.   Got there in 1 hour 40.

I was chuffed with my fitness and the crater was great. I’m sure that the geology of it is significant but the visual impact was dramatic to say the least.  I couldn’t stop clicking away with the camera. (there is an option to turn off the ‘click’ but I like the reassuring sound and only turn it off if it might startle the wildlife.)

The photos are not so much to do with geology or geomorphology as the art inherent in  the landscape.

Many years ago I concluded that I didn’t have the technical expertise to paint or draw so I decided that I would give expression to any artistic ability I had with a camera.  Basically, for me, that comes down to seeing the art in the landscape.  The crater I visited on Wednesday was full of it and I just wished I had the talent to express it properly.  But here’s my best attempts.

Combination of the macro and the micro, patterns of colour splashed across the rocks, shapes large and small sculpted by the forces of nature.  No captions, just photos.

That origami bit??  You wouldn’t believe the shapes I had to fold myself into to get the right position for some of the shots, tucked in between fumaroles belching clouds of steam and sulphur gas at unpredictable intervals. A few times I had got origarmed (another new word, OED please note) into position only to find that a cloud of steam and gas engulfed me and the camera.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Incidentally, the walk was great too.  Covered over 20 kms and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.