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Published: October 6th 2008
The last update left you with us boarding a Blue Star Ferry on our way to Naxos, Greece. When people think of the Greek Islands, they typically think of the five most popular islands: Crete, Corfu, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini and tend to overlook Naxos.
Naxos is a hidden gem in the Greek Islands. It happens to be the largest Island in the Cyclades group of islands. Our original plan was to spend a few weeks in the Greek Islands and use Naxos as our base. Greek island hoping is extremely popular with tourist and independent travelers throughout the summer months. We choose Naxos because of budget prices and convenience to other islands. We planned to visit Mykonos and Santorini during our stay in the Greek Islands.
While we were in Athens, Lynne had called the Pension Irene and talked to Stavros about room availability. He said he had room so we firmed up the reservation. Stavros said he would meet us at the port when our ferry arrive which was very reassuring. We had learned about Pension Irene through the guidebook and originally were skeptical because the guidebooks have been so wrong about many things in the past.
On the ferry ride, Lynne and I had a picnic lunch we had packed from Athens. We also had an opportunity to play a really cool dice game called “Blisters”. “Blisters” is a dice game created by two guys who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) a number of years ago. The game consists of two red, two blue, and two green dice. You roll the dice to match numbers and colors. When you cannot score during a turn, this is called blisters. Blisters are painful and common while thru-hiking the AT. The game comes in a small nylon pouch and is very portable. Lynne and I had a blast playing this game during our cruise to Naxos. I have had the game for several years, but never played it until now. This is a simple game I can recommend to anyone. It is a perfect travel game. You can find more information about “blisters” by googling it.
Our ferry ride to Naxos takes us five hours. The ferry stops at Paros before dropping us in our island paradise. As the ferry pulls into the Naxos port, we immediately notice an ancient structure perched upon a nearby hill. We
later discover it is the unfinished Temple of Apollo.
As we disembark, we would our way through the sea of people hawking rooms to arriving tourists. We walk to the end of the pier and find Stavros waiting for us. He shuffles us over to another van for the ride to the pension. He tells us that we can ride with his neighbor and get there quicker because he was waiting on someone else.
Upon arrival at Pension Irene, we are greeted by Irene. Stavros had told us that Irene would take care of us. He said “she takes good care of everyone”. From the moment we first met Irene, we both fell in love with her. She personifies the typical Greek motherly figure that takes care of the whole family. Now that we were staying at her place, we were now family. More about these two great folks later, but let’s get on with the adventure.
On our first day on Naxos, Lynne had a difficult time warming up to the island. Our first exposure was the port, waterfront, and St Georges Beach. She thought the island would be a little less touristy. I told her to
be patient and once we got out and explored the island, she would change her mind. She certainly had her reservations about that thought, but I knew better. We had read so much about Naxos being much quieter than most of the more popular options.
We did a quick assessment of the island and outlying beaches and determined that we would need some way of getting around. We looked at several scooter shops to weigh our options. We looked at a variety of scooters and ATVs. We decided that an ATV would probably be our safer option. We had Stavros contact Niko’s Bikes to see what kind of rate we could get. Niko had his son pick me up and brought me to the shop. Niko was very straight up and offered me the best price in town and I didn’t even have to negotiate with him. He gave me some safety advice about the ATV and local roads and I drove off with the ATV.
On the first night we checked into the pension, we had a ground floor room next to the pool. Stavros said that when one of the upstairs rooms came open he would
move us. The following morning, Irene said she would move us today. We went out exploring and when we returned, she showed us to our new room. She had even moved all of our stuff. Lynne gave her a big hug and Irene blushed a little. She had moved us to room 24, this was their best room because it was a corner room that had 2 balconies.
Let me take a few moments to rant and rave about Stavros and Irene and the Pension Irene. Very seldom will you find me ranting about a place and when I do, you can bet that this place has completely WOWed me. From the moment we arrived to the moment Stavros dropped us off at the port, this was a truly magical experience. The cost of the accommodation in this paradise was less expensive than most of the hostels we had stayed in and 100 percent of any hotel so far on our journey. The studios have a small kitchen with stovetops which allow you to cook meals and enjoy them on the balcony. This certainly helps with the budget. The rooms were extremely clean and comfortable. The pool is a
Hey
Lynne on the ATVnice bonus at Irene II. One day while lounging at the pool, Irene came out with some juice and cookies for us. Lynne and I smiled from ear to ear because she was so sweet for looking after us. We were beginning to feel like part of the family. Although Irene only speaks a few words of English and we speak no Greek, we never had any problems communicating at all. During our 3 week stay at Irene’s, she made us meals on three different occasions. Never pass up the opportunity to sample some of Irene’s fine cooking. Stavros made his multiple trips to the port each day to greet guests and made sure that everything was in working order. When the free WiFi would go down, he would fix it. When the solar water heater sprung a leak, he was there to fix it. Stavros was always running and I kidded him about it. Every time we saw him he was on the run. Did I mention that they had FREE WiFI at Irene II. This was a huge bonus. Another bonus was sampling the delicacies from Irene’s garden. Her home grown tomatoes are out of this world. I’ll
fill you in on a little secret here. Irene loves her plants and garden. If you stop by the nursery and pick her up something for her garden, she will show how much she appreciates your thoughtfulness. We have stayed at some great establishments in the last four months, but Irene’s tops the list because of bargain prices and top notch hospitality.
After being on the island for just a couple of short days and chatting with other travelers who just came from other islands, we changed our game plan significantly. We decided to stay in Naxos for three weeks and not visit the other islands. We have absolutely no regrets about this decision.
People living on Naxos have a very laid back approach to life. I don’t think these folks comprehend what the meaning of stress really is. It is customary for the locals to take a mid-day siesta. Shops will close during the heat of the day and reopen in the late afternoon. This takes tourist a little getting used to, but I really admire their outlook on life. Family life means the world to these folks. One day Niko (the guy I rented the ATV
from) drove 45 minutes into the mountains to help his family pick their grapes and make wine for the year. He said they made over 600 liters of wine which would last them for the next year. I missed this opportunity to pick grapes and make wine with the locals. If you are on Naxos early next September, ask around with the locals, you may be fortunate enough to be able to help one of them out and gain a rich experience from your travels. During the three weeks we were in Naxos, we didn’t have any negative experiences with the locals or any place we visited. I did have on disappointment though. The guidebook on the Greek Island recommended the local Tex-Mex restaurant. The review said the quality and the cost were great and even stated that many menu items were under 5 Euro. We were both disappointed in this place, particularly after receiving such a great review. I will write the publisher and have them have their field rep conduct another assessment of this place. This is not the first time guidebooks have been way off target. Just remember folks, guidebooks are sometimes written by people who see
things differently than you might. Other contributors may even be receiving goods or services in return for a favorable write up. Just things to consider because we have met people who have planned their travels 100 percent on what guidebooks have to say.
Now, let’s get on with some of the thrills we had while on Naxos. During the first 99 days of our journey, we were 100 percent incident free. This track record impressed both of us because we figured we would have some type of incident or drama early on. Our first crisis began on day while taking the ATV on a tour up mountain roads to one of the small villages. Whenever we set out on the road, we strapped my day pack to the front rack on the ATV. The daypack contained all of our essentials for the day. If we were going to the beach, it contained our beach gear. If we were going exploring, it contained our raingear and fleece. We also packed beverages and lunch in the day pack. I had one zipper pouch I kept the digital camera in. Well, on the day in question, we were driving up a mountain
road when I heard a crash, crunch, crash, crash, crash. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw something sliding down the road away from us. I put on the brakes and backed up. There was no other traffic in sight. As I got closer to the object, I soon realized what it was. There in the middle of the road was our digital camera. A few feet away lay the battery and on the shoulder of the road, we finally found the SD card. I said “Shit—I just ran over the freaking camera”. I kept repeating this over and over in hopes to wake up to find it was all a dream, but I was really wide awake. I had to laugh about it because I remember my brother Robert running over his high end cell phone one time we were riding go carts in Destin. Now that was funny and I guess I had to laugh about this as well. Earlier in the day, I stopped by the port and took a picture. When I put the camera back in the pack, it appears that I didn’t zip the pouch all the way up and the camera slipped
out. This was an expensive lesson for being a careless dumbass.
So, what exactly keep us in Naxos for three whole weeks? After all, our previous record was 12 days in the Bavarian Alps. Guess it was a combination of things that kept us in this magical place. We had explored small Greek villages where most of the tourists overlook. We discovered ancient sights that required patients and a little bit of trekking, we found golden and white sand beaches that allowed us to completely unwind, we witnessed traditional island life by observing people just living their daily lives, we enjoyed the great food and beautiful sunsets, we experienced so much more than any guidebook, travel poster or travel blog could ever describe.
Naxos is rich with history and is one of the greenest of the Greek Islands. The Island has many small family farms and vineyards. Many of these are built right into the landscape. In the mountainous areas these farms and vineyards are terraced and add to the beauty of the island.
We spent many days on the beaches. The further you get away from town, the fewer tourists you will find. Locals have a
free sprit when it comes to sunbathing and many visitors do not feel comfortable in this type of setting. As for the both of us, we felt right at home. Sorry, folks but only one photo of the beaches. This was when a thunderstorm rolled in and chased everyone off the beach.
We departed Naxos on Tuesday, 30 September and headed back to Athens for a couple of days. I could write much more about Naxos, but need to keep this a little short to get it posted.
Our time in Athens was limited so we planned the next leg of our trip. We scrubbed our plans to go to China for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we will hit China on our next World Tour.
On Thursday evening, 2 October, we departed Athens for an overnight flight to Bangkok, Thailand. We bit farewell to our European travels and welcome a more economical region to help us with our budget.
We arrived in Thailand on Friday, 3 October. Stay tuned for our update from Bangkok. If you will notice, we are current on the blog—Yeehaw.
Be sure to check out the second page of photos. Click
on any image to enlarge it.
As always, we enjoy receiving comments--feel free to leave us comments and we will respond to them when we can.
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Katrina
non-member comment
HEY!