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Published: August 1st 2008
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Day 34
When you have heard high praise about certain places all your life it is difficult to describe your first response. You actually feel ashamed to have to resort to cliches and superlatives as though you are the first person to have ever been there. The Greek islands are just like that. Amazing! I asked the owner of the delightful restaurant where we dined this evening about the holidaying Greeks who are everywhere, and he explained that most of them are Athenians . He realised that we are from Australia- assumed Melbourne, as it is the second largest Greek population in the world after Athens. He has cousins from Canada who are here at present. And his charming wife is actually from Germany- has been here for 11 years. They have a three year old daughter.
After exploring the local area last evening we decided today to go inland. After reading our guidebook we decided upon Apeiranthos, a town about 20 kilometers inlad, up and over the highest peak on the island. We passed through various villages in steep valleys with distant views of the sea and the main town of Naxos. Everywhere, atop high peaks are small
Fertile valley on Naxos
As we walked around we could help ourselves to figs and grapes and even mulberries growing everywhere. Across the valley were olive groves and citrus orchards. The vineyards seem to be confined to the coastal flat plains. Still arid and the vines grow without trellises. Must be back breaking to harvest. chapels. It is amazing how hard people have worked in the past building fences of local stones and terracing the steep mountain sides. We were droped off in the town of our choice and realised that the return bus was not for 31/2 hours. So we set about exploring the maze of ancient alleyways and houses all built snuggly together. Apparently the town was built by Cretan refugees escaping Turkish domination. But all on top of a 14th century Venetian settlement with towers and castles still evident. It seems the peoples of the Mediterranean have spent the last few thousand years invading each other. It is a wonder things are as peaceable as they currently are. Minoans, Mycaenans, Persians, Romans, Ottomans, Spartans, Athenians. You really have to wonder what inspired the men under Alexander or Xerxes or Darius or Julius Caesar to go as far as they did. It must have been hell. We are here in the summer.Unimaginable.
We wandered around for a couple of hours, gladly photographing a man and his donkey as well as the local scenery. Then repaired to a lovely taverna under a tree with a fantastic valley panorama . Two sisters operate the
Portara Gateway
The unfinished temple of Apollo (522 BC) on the headland at Naxos town. Amazing to be still standing. business, One cooks and the other was glad to advise us on local produce to have for lunch. Bread, two local cheeses, local wine, salad and zucchini pie! Simply delicious. And in due course the bus came and returned us to the main town, one hour"s winding ride away. Three o'clock. Time for a siesta. Then read and swim. Somehow we managed to keep busy till 8 o'clock when we went to our favourite nearby restaurant for dinner.
Now an evening promenade. What a hard life it is. We spent a long time at dinner discussing what day of the week it might be. I think it's Friday and now August, according to this blog. We have been in Greece less that 7 days but it seems like for ever. Hard to believe we were in Thailand last week!
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