We did not meet Maria, but the people she sent to help were great, a baggage handler to help with getting your bags down all those steps (Note: he walks amazingly fast considering he’s carrying luggage) and a very nice young woman who explained everything and who was our contact during our stay, Gyota (sorry, not sure of the spelling). She helped us with booking a sunset dinner cruise and a tour of the island/ride to the airport our last day. Note: Pack lightly and don’t wear high heels! You will be going down many steps on a cobble stone surface. Can’t believe the # of women we saw arriving in heels. Maria’s place has the most spectacular view. You will enjoy sitting on the little patios looking at the beautiful views and people watching. Sometimes we sat on the lower one as it was more private. The upper one is like having an infinity deck. (Note: We had to set up the umbrella ourselves and it had a rather bad odor to it as I think cats may have been peeing on it and mildew. An umbrella that is already sat up, not laying on the ground would have been better.) The room has a small kitchen with everything you will need. You have to go outside to the bathroom, but it’s completely private as is the short walk to it. On the upper deck there will be a steady stream of people coming by to pose and take photos and amuse you with their posing antics. We were surprised we never saw anyone fall off the walls and roofs they climb onto to pose. You can sit with your backs to them enjoying the fabulous caldera views. To the left you can see Fira and beyond, and to the right the old castle where many people show up to watch the sunset. We hiked to Fira one day. It’s about five miles and you will be climbing up steep hills and down, but it’s right along the rim and great views. Where good walking shoes. Plan on 3-4 hours and leave early so as to beat the heat as much as possible. Take the bus back. We also did a dinner cruise and that was the best sunset view we had during our 4 day stay. The barbecue dinner was really good. Highly recommend a stay at the Blue Volcano!