Naxos

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Monday 31 July and no trace of the subdued mood of Monday morning. Rather another visit to the Croissanterie - an apricot pastry for Maz and for me, the usual ham and cheese croissant. No wonder the hole on my belt is becoming stretched into an oval shape.

We packed up our things early and loaded up our bags into Michel’s little Fiat. After breakfast we met up with Vangelis, Michele and Yiannis at the Port. The K’s (minus Yiannis, who is 16 and has other things to interest him) will be catching up with us in Naxos en route to Santorini.

We boarded the high speed ferry which, by the time we got upstairs to the rear deck, was so far from land it was not possible to distinguish our friends. We found some comfortable seats only to be dislodged by another passenger whose ticket gave him claim to our seats. It was then that I noticed the stairs and we headed upstairs to the first class section which was almost empty. We offered to pay the cost of upgrade to the steward but he declined the extra fare and allowed us to join the upper crust at N/C. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
After a brief stop at Mikenos we continued on for another 45 minutes arriving at Naxos at around midday. We caught a taxi to the Hotel Coronis which is perfectly located on the waterfront, we booked from Tinos through a travel agent recommended by Michele. We checked in and were given the keys to 314, with an unbelievable aspect to the harbour and centre of town from windows and two balconies. Even the bathroom (at about 2 sq mtrs) is luxurious with a shower offering hot water and a curtain to protect the toilet paper and everything else from shower spray. These things cannot be taken for as granted in Greece.

Tuesday 1 August
We breakfasted in the hotel. I tried again unsuccessfully to connect to the hotel’s wireless network and then retreated to the terminal in the lobby to check the emails and update the blog. Maz we around the corner to a little clothing shop she has taken a fancy to. I met up with her to complete the purchase of a pretty rap dress in an oriental print and a skirt, also in a Japanese print. I bought a loose fitting white short sleeve shirt.

We packed, checked out of the hotel and shared a taxi with two others to the Port, a journey of about 3 minutes. But walking the distance with our luggage was not an attractive option.

Michele, Vangelis, Alexios and Catarina arrived on the high speed ferry from Tinos about mid-day and we waited together in the cattle yards for another hour or so until the Blue Star ferry, Paros, arrived at 1.15 and departed about 15 minutes later. It’s amazing to watch the unloading of cars, trucks and passengers and reloading for the new destination. What is done in 4 hours in Melbourne is achieved in 15 minutes, many, many times a day by the three or four ferry operators with vessels up to a similar length as our Tasmanian ferries, but without cabins.

It took about two and a half hours to reach Thira, commonly known as Santorini Island, at the southern end of the Cyclades, which is a very popular and quite dramatic island with steep rocky cliffs and villages perched on the top and dense clusters of colourful buildings. Along the way we past Paros, Iraklia (a small island on which Vangelis and Michele were married), and Ios.

From the port at Athenios, we took a coach up the steep, narrow, and winding road to Fira where we changed to another which took us to our destination at Ia (“ear”). Again the transport was modern, comfortable, clean, and efficiently organised.

It took us some little time to locate our studio built into the side of the cliff, partly a cave, with a beautiful view out over the neighouring islands. The village is fascinating with a complex jumble of narrow twisting alleys, less than 2 metres wide and stairs of all shapes and sizes leading up and down to studios, villas, and other lanes. It was a surprise to meet a packed mule along one of these pedestrian pathways.

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Photos

Room with a view
From the balcony we had a great view over the harbour and centre of Naxos township

Approaching Santorini -
The view of Ia village