The last leg of our trip. I have to admit, I was really happy to be leaving Athens and headed to see the islands. We got up really early and took a cab (luckily cabs were no longer on strike) to the port to catch our ferry. They have 2 kinds of ferries, the slow boat and the high speed boats, we opted for the slow boat because they were more reliable and would be a bit less bumpy of a ride. The ride wasn't totally smooth, you could barely walk in a straight line which wasn't good going up or down stairs since people were camped out everywhere. I think I managed to step on a European teenager.
The ride was 5 hours long, but I think it was worth it. I enjoyed seeing some of the interesting land masses and the view of the water. On deck it was so windy you could barely stand and not get blown over, plus the water was spraying up all over the place. I felt bad for the people sitting out there.
We arrived in Naxos and for the first time in Greece my breath was truly taken away. This is what I imagined Greece would look like, white buildings built into the side of a hill. Plus right on the edge you could see the ancient ruin of Apollo's gate, so beautiful.
We were picked up by our hotel which ended up being a bit farther outside of town than we thought. But honestly, it was so lovely and the people that own the place were so kind and generous I would stay there again in a heartbeat. It was really a series of 9 villas and one main gathering area where we ate breakfast. Each had their own pool, and kitchens. They gave us an orientation of the island and offered to make us lunch and dinner that night.
Main area:
Our villa:
Around the area:
Our first day we spent hanging around the pool, napping, reading and soaking up the atmosphere. As I mentioned we were provided lunch and dinner from the woman what owns the place who is an excellent cook. We had braised beef with tomato sauce and orzo pasta which sounds so simple, but I've never had something so flavorful! The next morning breakfast did not disappoint! We were welcomed with homemade pastries, quiches, nut bread, homemade jams all of which were delightful.
We decided we should rent a car to go visit some of the small villages, and explore beaches. We took off and went to find an old Byzantine church. The road to get there was crazy, dirt and full of boulders not to mention super narrow!
There were tons of snails tucked between all the bricks.
On our way to the village of Halki we stopped at a pottery store. They had creepy animals and some adorable ceramic baby shoes :)
Halki was a very quaint village. They had great pottery and textile stores plus it was just beautiful, with a main square that had huge clusters of grapes hanging from a trellis.
After Halki we drove around a bit more. What I found amazing were the small white churches that topped each hill peak. We also saw the marble quarry, one of the main export items Naxos is known for and a cemetery demonstrating the use of marble.
After our drive in the morning, we headed to the beach to relax and find lunch. No pictures, I was honestly kind of done with the beach at this point :) We went back to the villa to relax and get changed before dinner.
That night we went into town to find dinner. Our hosts recommended we go to a small place in town. This was our first venture into town and I LOVED it! This was our view from the place we parked, just stunning!
We learned that the village was built with a labyrinth of streets to deter the pirates. Pirates would come, locals knew their way to the fortress and could escape while the pirates got lost in the maze. It really was quite a maze with something interesting to see around every corner.
Dinner was one of the better meals of the trip. I had amazing fennel pork with potatoes and Dan had a seafood risotto.
The next morning we headed back out to explore more villages. We passed some old windmills, saw Dimitra's Temple which is a mini Parthenon made of marble.
Naxos is one of the more mountainous islands, giving us amazing views from the top.
We ended up in the village of Apiranthos where we actually saw a man riding a donkey! The village was very cute. We rushed a bit through the town, but it was worth the brief visit.
We happened upon some kids playing soccer in front of the church, the interior of which was quite elaborate.
We headed back to our place and hung out by the pool for a while. That night we headed over to see Apollo's gate and take in another sunset.
The next day was our last in Naxos. We decided we'd have a leisurely morning packing and enjoying breakfast, check out of our villa and then head over to town to see things during the day.
We enjoyed some local ice cream and people watching and Dan and I found our souvenir for the trip. It was a ceramic pomegranate, which was created by a Thessaloniki artist. Pomegranates are a symbol of good luck in Greece, many homes decorate with it and it is used in a few rituals like the ground breaking for a new home. We wanted the big apple too, but didn't think we'd be able to get it home!
We flew out on a teeny tiny propeller plane to get back to Athens, spent the night right by the airport and left bright and early the next day. It was such a wonderful trip, very relaxing and so beautiful.
