The tour boats unload in the bay below Fira. From the top of the rim the tourist has a spectacular view of the caldera formed in the collapse of the volcano on this ancient island that used to be called Thera. This particular island has been proposed by some scholars as the location of the lost city of Atlantis. The explosion and resulting tidel wave is proposed by some to have possibly created the recession of the waters and parting of the sea as Moses took the tribes of Israel out of Egypt. The eruption of this volcano would have destroyed all cities on the island at that time. Since then the volcano cone has partially rebuilt and the population has grown along with a major influx of tourists.  The donkey trail is a picturesque but smelly method to get to the top but you can hike or take an elevator up if your opposed to the ride.