Roaring around Naxos Island

                                                       Monastery near Agia, Naxos

Naxos is the largest of Greece's Cyclades (See-KLAH-dehs) islands. With so much to see, we decided to rent a car. That was a snap, as our hotelier, Konstantinos, arranged it for us. All we had to do was sign the papers and pay the rental car agent, who delivered the cute little Smart Car to our hotel.

Konstantinos provided us with a map and, after asking about our interests, gave us ideas of destinations that would satisfy our wishes. Following his clear directions and many of his suggestions, we had a delightful couple of days roaring around Naxos and seeing a number of sites and small villages. Judy expertly navigated the twisty one-and-a-half-lane roads and Annis put all of her map-reading skills to use. 

        There were lots of discoveries to be made

                                                   Church in Sangri

Near the village of Sangri, we located the ruins of the Temple of Demeter, goddess of agriculture, grain, and fertility.

Another stop was Halki, the old capital of Naxos Island, where we wandered the streets.

Filoti wasn't on our list, but just a couple of kilometers from Halki, the town looked interesting so we decided to stop. This is what we enjoy about being on our own instead of a tour.

 

      A Filoti family lives in this tower today.

Apiranthos is a traditional village that was settled by people from Crete. It is also known as "The Marble Village." We left our car and climbed a million marble steps to discover one street with cafes and a church, and a main road with a parking area we could have driven to. The rest of the town was a  tangle of streets and stairs that took us in circles.

                  Monument at Apiranthos

After leaving Apiranthos, we wound up in nearby Kinidaros searching for dinner. On Easter Sunday. At each of the restaurants there seemed to be family gatherings going on in the outside dining areas. Walking up the street, we came upon one authentic-looking, but empty cafe. "Are you serving dinner?" Judy asked the lady on the porch. She answered us in Greek then went inside and got her daughter who spoke English. We tried to explain what we wanted, and before we knew it, they whisked us into the kitchen to see what they could fix.

With the daughter's help, we were able to explain what we needed, no pork for Annis and gluten-free for Judy. Shortly, Mama began cooking our meal of lamb chops, fried eggplant, and oven potatoes. Papa joined in by insisting Annis have a glass of his homemade wine. After having a bad-tasting local wine at the concert the night before, she was reluctant and requested only a tiny amount. Good call on her part, but while we waited for our food, Mama brought her a full second glass.

The whole experience was delightful, though, as the food was delicious and homemade, the service extraordinary, and we made some new friends.

                    

            Easter Sunday dinner made by Antonia

The Kinidaros area is known for its marble quarries, and as we made our way back to Naxos Town, we passed several and wondered whether they were still in operation. 

This one was particularly fascinating because we could see where marble slabs had been sheared off the hillside.

On our second driving day, we headed for Apollonas, a small fishing village on the north end of the island. This called for new directions as we would take a different route that would lead us through more of Naxos Town's major roads instead of the perimeter.

Our first discovery was a cute little blue-trimmed church and the Olive Press Museum seven kilometers away in Eggares.

                      It takes a lot of Woman Power to use this old olive press.

Our more coastal route this day afforded us beautiful views of the Aegean Sea around almost every curve.

                 

                                                   Tower near Agia

                                                    At Apollonas, Naxos

                                                        Apollonas, Naxos

                                    

                   Kouros, a 10-meter unfinished marble statue, fallen in an archaic quarry

Turning inland, we wanted to make sure we stopped at a crossroads almost in the middle of the island where we could look both east and west and see the Aegean.

We loved seeing so much of Naxos island. Getting out and about gave us a real appreciation for the people and for the variety of gorgeous beaches, fertile valleys, and hillsides terraced for grazing and growing. 

Our next post will be from Santorini as we take the SeaJet 2 to our final Greek Isle on Thursday.