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Published: July 16th 2007
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Temple of Demeter
The Goddess of "Grain" looked over a very fertile valley on Naxos. The journey continued as we left the luxury of Paros for the unknown on Naxos. The ferry terminals and rides are certainly something that can only be described as controlled chaos. If we thought the situation in Athens was just because of the big city, we were wrong as each port has its own sense of pandemonium (a stampeding cattle herd is an apt analogy). The kids continue to be amazing as the little geese follow their mother (or father - whoever happens to be in front) throughout the maze of humanity. We haven’t lost anyone or anything …… yet! You can tell that we are becoming more seasoned travelers (there is always that feeling as one reacclimatizes to the travel way) because we knew which bus we wanted to catch when we disembarked and it was simply a matter of saying “Agios Prokopios” to a couple of “bus driver-like people” and we soon had seats on the next local bus to our town. Thirty-five minutes later, we were walking up the back alley to our new digs. It certainly wasn’t the “Hilton-like” place we had stayed at in Paros as were now 5 cots in one room with barely
History
Our tour guide did an awesome job of giving us an overview (and she's cute too) a sheet covering the bathroom opening (and all the various activities and sounds that take place within - especially with Trevor being on his typical traveling weight loss program). That is what you get when you pay ½ the price but it was certainly adequate and clean and the people were very friendly (Agios Prokopios hotel). We were again within 3 minutes of the beach and decided to rent a car for 2 days so that we could see the island. Driving was now reduced to many single lane areas including the 1 ½ feet of clearance on either side of the vehicle as we drive down many lanes. We are amazed at how accommodating and courteous the drivers are as long as you appear to know what you are doing. Often times, you would head down a lane only to have to back up when you met an on coming driver.
To give you a sense of what it was like to drive around Naxos, the area is quite mountainous and the vehicle we were driving was a Smart car with a back seat. From a logistical point of view, if one wanted to make it up many
Calamari
When they say it is fresh, well, they're not lying. of the hills in the centre part of the island, you needed to turn off the air conditioning in order to have enough power or else the four passengers could walk the hills. It is difficult to describe the arid beauty that makes up these islands but Marla and Trevor could have driven forever as we wound our way along very narrow switchbacks through terraced mountains crossing through multiple tiny villages that hadn’t changed much in centuries. Naxos is the most fertile of the Cyclades Islands and has vast plains of olive groves dotted with numerous little Byzantine churches thoughout. Halki is one of the main central villages in the mountains that houses a number of famous artists and the “oldest” operating distillery in the country producing their famous Citron (pronounced Kitron) lemon tasting liqueur. The compensatory ice cream break in towns like this allowed the adults to drive for another 45 minutes or so. One of the more spectacular finds was a number of massive marble quarries where they have literally cut away the top of a couple of mountains and continue to bring down huge slabs of marble destined, I am sure, for a the greek and italian
Exploring Old Town
In Greece, nothing is ever a dead end so exploring the old town was so much fun. neighbourhoods near you (for you, speciall price). From the mountains to the beaches: The numerous beaches on the north west coast were very beautiful and offered fine white sand and a few rolling waves to add excitement for the kids. The winds were unusually strong for this time of year (Marla’s favourite - sand and wind) and the windsurfers and kite surfers were spectacular to watch (this is obviously a destination place for these guys). We have tried snorkeling a few times although I think the Mediterranean has long since lost its appeal to the seasoned divers due the over fishing of the area that has taken place over the millennia.
Food: We have thoroughly enjoyed the Greek feasts that we have been having. Calamari, a home favourite has been a bit chewy but Matthew would live forever on Gyros from the street stands. The moussaka and greek salads have been to die for. We haven't had as much fish as we thought (it is rather expensive probably due to the aforementioned rarity of fish). We have found buying stuff in grocery stores and making our own breakfasts and lunches good on the pocket book and a nice break
Marble Mountain
A couple of mountain tops were completely gone with all the marble excavated. from the restuarants.
We have become quite accustomed to the slow island pace and have begun our family crib tournament….please take note that Marla is up two games on Trev and he regrets the day he gave her his tips on how he was winning thirty games to zero on one of the last trips. It is so amazing to listen to the kids constantly giggle as they make up new games to play together…whether they are in the car, on a ferry, on the beach or at the pool.
Naxos was a wonderful place to stay but now we are off to Santorini and its much anticipated beauty. We hope all is well with everyone at home and have loved all the messages you have sent. Cheers.
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