Greek Islands 2021: Naxos

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Our next stop was Naxos. We wanted to spend a week in one destination and we didn't know if we should spend it in Naxos or Paros. After reading a lot of blogs and guides, I decided that Naxos was the right choice for us. And it was!

We left Santorini in the rain. Sailing past Ios, we could hardly see it. Actually, it was sort of like the last time we were there. You could say we spent our honeymoon there. As young backpackers, we left for a 2 year trip through Europe, Asia and Australia, straight after we got married. Our first stop (after Athens) was Ios and it wasn't very successful. We were there off season and everything was closed. It was cold and very windy and that old memory is why we didn't want to return there this time.

Arriving in Naxos you sail straight into the main town with the famous Portara on the left to greet you. I could tell we were going to like it. We were staying in an old family home, right on the port, with three big windows looking out to sea. It was noisy -- we knew it would be but we decided to take a chance because it is also fun to be in the middle of everything.

As there was no live music, it was probably a lot quieter than usual but there was still recorded music -- mostly international pop type music -- and people were eating and talking at the restaurants until late at night. Even with all the windows open, to take full advantage of that wonderful night air -- it didn't bother us. After full days, we were tired at night. It would have been perfect except for the bed. There were six of them -- all rock hard.

This is the gamble we are prepared to take. With Airbnb and 3-star hotels, we know they might be old, the bed hard and lots of noise. But as they say, location, location, location.

Naxos is a real Greek island -- they all are obviously, but Naxos is a big island, the biggest in the Cyclades, and they grow most of their own food and have a permanent population not dependent on tourism. Most of the tourists at the port seemed to be Greek. Food is king on Naxos. The Greek people like their food but not like in Naxos. It just seemed to be more plentiful, cheaper, bigger portions -- just a lot more of it. And the people were also considerably rounder than other places. And we probably were too by the time we left!

The port is lined with restaurants and taverns. Most days we ate a late lunch at a beach or village and by the time we'd seen the sunset and walked around the town, we'd find ourselves eating dinner at 10.30 or even 11.30. Sometimes we only wanted a snack but we never succeeded. We practically always got much more than anticipated.

Our biggest fail was at a Souvlaki place at about 11 at night. I just wanted something light. My husband ordered 3 different souvlakis and I ordered a plate of chicken gyros. It was a huge amount of food, it covered the table. Each of the three souvlakis were all served on their own plates together with chips and pita. I wasn't even hungry! Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads surveying the table and we got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. Some of the other people around us were also laughing. One man came by our table just to tell us that he had done the exact same thing the night before.

The restaurants were full all evening with Greek people eating and celebrating. There was a very popular restaurant right under where we were staying but we never saw a spare table there before midnight. We were very impressed at the amounts people could eat.

We didn't research restaurants and we didn't return anywhere because there was so much choice, so we just tried different places. Mostly we ate really well. Our best meal was at a restaurant along the Plaka called Petrino (@petrinobeach). I just had chicken souvlaki but it was a cut above anything else I'd eaten and my husband had baked goat (!) on celery puré which was excellent. Afterwards we sat under the umbrellas on the beach, swimming and reading all afternoon. Perfect day.

Most evenings we spent at the Portara. It is quite an impressive monument and if you stand in the right spot, the sun sets right in the middle of it. The days were starting to get very hot but every day, an hour before sunset a nice wind came up and we'd take a stroll down to the Portara. The huge marble gate and some foundations are the only things that remain of an unfinished temple to Apollo from 530 BC. Successive waves of invaders, demolished and reused parts of the temple, carrying off the marble stones to be used in other projects, e.g. the Venetian castle on top of the hill. Luckily, the gate was too big to be dismantled or to be moved, and so it remains today, still standing on its little islet, the jewel of Naxos.

Nearly every evening we'd walk up to the castle and then through the charming streets of the old town, past all the quirky shops, cafes and restaurants. It's a great town, with its winding, flower filled streets, all facing the port and with a view of Paros, right in front. Every time we'd just be crossing from the parking lot or shop, we'd always end up walking all around again. It's just irresistible.

The beaches on Naxos are absolutely beautiful. We spent long afternoons on the Plaka, a long sprawling sand beach with lots of unorganized areas and also umbrellas and sunbeds. We also visited Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna, more crowded, popular beaches near Naxos town, where the water is a tropical turquoise blue. Leaving the beach at Agios Prokopios, we were surprised to find a pink lake just behind the parking lot.

One day we visited the beach at Aliko, mostly to see the graffiti on an unfinished abandoned hotel. There is also a juniper forest and a lot of sand dunes. After seeing the graffiti you can visit one of the beaches in the area -- but don't be tempted to take a shortcut through the forest to the beach, like we did, the juniper trees have sharp, needle-like leaves.

We hired a car and went looking for the Kouros (Greek for man). These large 8th century statues, have been abandoned because of faults in the stone or an accident on the way down from the mines. Destined for temples on Naxos and other islands, there are three on Naxos. The biggest one is over 10 meters and is located in Apollonas, a small fishing village on the northeast coast.

This side of Naxos is very windy and wild. The road is good but there is not too much to see on the way. We stopped at a 17th century tower and passed some vineyards and signs for hotels. Instead of continuing on the main road at Apollonas, Google took us down some deserted, unpaved, narrow lanes at the back of the village. Emerging on to a beach with restaurants full of people eating lunch was a surprise.

Continuing with Google maps, it took us all around the village, three times. We finally stopped to ask some tourists sitting on a terrace if they knew the way. They did -- it was on a good road, the road we should have taken, with a tiny sign, easy to miss.

Potatoes are Naxos' main crop. They are cooked in every way but most often fried, i.e. chips. Chips are eaten at every meal. I have never eaten so many chips in my life. Naxos is in the Guinness Book of Records for frying 625 kgs of chips, breaking 2017's record of 554 kgs. You may wonder why I mention this now. As we drove out of the village for the final time, we again passed some workers, who smiled and waved and not having any other word in common with us, called out the only English word they knew: "Potato!" And we also waved back and returned the greeting.

We visited the mountain villages of Filoti and Chalkio and afterwards drove the very scenic road from Apeiranthos to Moutsouna, a small fishing village on the coast. You have to come back by the same road too. The water is very clean and inviting and there are wild beaches all along the coast. We had lunch at one of the restaurants on the port, enjoying the breeze under the trees and the pretty view.

The interior of Naxos is full of farms and orchards. One day, we were driving around and Google maps was encouraging us to take a sharp right or left down unpaved mountain roads, which we mostly ignored, when we drove into a very lush area of fruit trees and flowers and after a little walk, accidently found our second Kouros. And that brings me to the end of our week in lovely Naxos. The next post will take us to Paros for three days before we return to Santorini for two days.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Naxos
We love Greece and your blog makes us want to go back. We have not made it to Naxos yet.

[graphix2go]

Naxos
We loved Naxos -- but we have never met a Greek Island we didn't like.