Naxos – Uncommon Forgetfulness

Well, we had just barely left Athens on our way to Naxos Island, when I discovered the feeling that my phone was not in my back pocket. That usually was not so alarming, since when traveling I often take it out and put it in my backpack, so I wouldn’t forget it in what ever form of transportation we were using. I got no further then reaching for my backpack’s zipper, when a dreadful calm came over me. I knew exactly where it was – and it was not with me.

I looked at my wife, with a short pause and a sigh, then told her that I had left my phone back at the hotel. She retorted immediately if I were sure, I responded that I was and that it was actually worse than I had originally thought. Not only had I forgotten my phone, but I had forgotten to take all our money and valuables out of the hotel room’s safe. Exasperated, I immediately informed our private shuttle driver what had happened and that we had to turn around. He assured us not to worry and that all we be alright.

We quickly called the hotel reception what had happened and they responded that they had been trying to get in touch with us. We then let the driver, who speaks very good English and of course Greek, to help explain the situation. We figured out all of the logistics, so that while he continued to take us to the airport, one of the driver’s colleagues drove to the hotel and picked up all of our stuff (after giving him the security code to the safe). With the hotel staff overseeing everything, they sealed our stuff in a bag and the driver was off to the airport. In less than an hour, we were back in possession of my phone and the rest of our travel documents and money. Wow, that was the first time that has ever happened.

In the meantime, while we were waiting and much to our delight, our flight had been delayed by an hour and twenty minutes. So, we felt comfortable that we had plenty of time to wait for the driver, then check in and check all our baggage for Naxos. As soon as the driver returned and we had all of our stuff, we obtained our tickets and started to check in our luggage at the self-service counter, waiting on line like everyone else. However, just as we were next in line, I noticed that the flight was no longer delayed, it was on time; how can that happen?!

This left us about thirty minutes to finish baggage self-check in and board the aircraft. Undaunted we pushed on. Two of us were successful self checking our baggage, but as soon as the boarding time for the aircraft arrived, the software locked the rest of us out. What a nightmare. The attendant for Aegean Airlines quickly realized the issue and got us over to another counter so our bags got checked in immediately, with all the proper RUSH stickers applied to them, and we were on our way through security.

Needless to say, we made our flight and were soon enjoying the hospitality of our hosts at the Naxos Island Hotel. Since our flight was on time, we arrived before the appropriate check in time, but no worries, our rooms were ready and we were hustled to our rooms, bags and all by our hosts. After a quick refresh, we went to lunch. It was time to really be on vacation, but we were all still wondering, what else could go wrong? Unfortunately, things would uncharacteristically continue to happen to us.

Naxos – The Island

The largest of the Cyclodaes, Naxos is a large oblong island with a central mountainous region with peaks high enough to create their own weather. The island is known for its beaches, most of which are sandy, but the type of sand created from eroded rock and not from reefs, it is therefore fairly coarse to walk on and can become very hot in the sun, so bring your sandals.

Cycling Naxos

For the adventurous, or those just wishing to get out and explore, Naxos offers some fairly good cycling. There are a few places where you can rent bicycles. However, if you are looking for something more advanced, you should reserve your equipment before you leave.

We rented our road bikes from Naxos Bikes and were not disappointed. Though a bit dated, all of the bikes performed as stated. The owners were eager to supply enough tubes, pumps and other equipment (helmets) as needed. The only thing we had to bring were our own clothes, shoes and Garmins. They delivered and picked up right at our hotel for a modest fee, so we didn’t have to worry about getting into town prior to our ride.

We really enjoyed touring Naxos, though I would suggest planning your route before you leave your hotel, as not all roads are suitable for road bikes (if you make a wrong turn, you will see what I mean).

Naxos – The City

The modern part of Naxos is pretty little port city built into a small hill that of course has a church and castle built on top of it. The hill has very interesting narrow winding streets that one can peruse and occasionally shop at the stores that dot the way.

The Venetian Castle of Naxos is not much to look at, and from what we could tell, not open to the public, since all the entrances appear locked, signed and boarded up.

The Catholic Cathedral at the top is open to the public, but when we arrived it was during lunch and we were not going to stay until later in the afternoon for them to reopen. It was just a passing thought, since our real intent was to find a place to each lunch ourselves.

The Temple of Apollo

The interesting form that we first came in contact with at our hotel has an actual presence on the island. The Temple of Apollo are the remains of a structure to the god Apollo built by Lygdamis the tyrant in the sixth century BCE on a peninsula just off the harbor of Naxos City. In fact he never actually completed it. Before he could do so, he was conquered by the Spartan army in 524 BCE and never saw power again.

Due to its age and no doubt having been plundered over the millennia, all that stands after repeated excavations and reconstructions, is the gate itself. It stands with its lintel and two sides upright on a small outcropping of rock just to the north of the city against the stark blue Aegean sky.

Our Day Tour

Naxos being such a large island, requires you to at least spend a day exploring areas other than its beaches. We used Naxos Luxury Transport as our Tour Guides to explore a few sites we wanted to see, as well as some others that were suggested by our guide. The entire tour was six hours, most of which was in a van, but included many stops, including Sangry or Sangri (also known as the Temple of Demeter), Manolis Pottery, Chalkio and the Citron distillery, the Flerio Melanes Kouros Statue, the town of Apeiranthos and the Eggares Olive Oil Museum.

It was right around this time that my wife Patti became very sick with bronchitis. To the point at which, she had lost almost her entire voice before we reached the Olive Oil museum in Eggares. What ever dark cloud or spell we were under, it appeared  to have followed us into the Naxos hills. I started to wonder, what else could befall us?

The Temple Of Sangri

Perhaps a forty-five minute drive from Naxos is the Temple of Sangri. It is also called the Temple of Demeter or the Temple of Kore, there are also signs that the cult of Apollo may have used the site.

It is an archaic temple that was built on Naxos in the six century BCE. For a Greek temple it is square, rather than the usual rectangular shape. Models that reconstruct its initial design call for a smart, efficient building using internal columns of varying lengths, so that a full marble, translucent roof and ceiling could be accommodated. This provided soft, even internal lighting during the daytime, so that little if any additional lighting was needed.

The Pottery Of Limpertas Manolis

As any typical tour would inject, we visited the local pottery establishment of Limpertas Manolis. His apparent claim to fame was in creating eccentric, yet useful oil decanters and other novel vessels to store things. He also makes the odd spoon holder, vase, cups and saucers.

Clearly an artist, since his small place was strewn with all kinds of broken and forgotten pieces. Let alone his clear penchant for throwing the odd clay ball at the wall, for which was clearly evident by the definitive and unnatural accumulation growing from the vertical surface from where he sat.

Distillery Vallindras

In Chalkio, or Chalki, as some prefer; you can find the distillery M. G. Vallindras. This is an old firm which makes an aperitif widely known throughout Greece, known as Kitron, it comes in three varieties (and colors), depending on the sugar and alcohol content.

It is a very interesting distillery to visit and learn how this special Greek aperitif is made using Star Anise and other plants. Well worth a stop, if only to pick up a few bottles of their timeless spirits. Most will find the green and yellow varieties more to their liking, they are not as harsh or dry as the clear variety. The taste is more austere than a Molinari Extra or a Ramazzotti, but pleasant after a dinner nonetheless.

The Flerio Melanes Kouros

Probable one of the more obscure places to visit archeologically on Naxos is the unfinished Kouros. Located not far from the intersection of the Naxou-Monis and Naxou-Chalkiou roads, you should find a small place to park, it’s rather rural so it should be no problem.

If you are in the right place, there will be some signs indicating the way.

Once found, the Flerio Melanes Kouros is a small walk away up a paved walkway. It appears to reside in a small stone fenced yard, but cannot leave since one of its legs are broken.

If you have the time there are a few other things to see in the area. The Faragi Kouros is not far from here and is close to other stones that apparently were chosen for other works, but never started.

Apeiranthos

A small town in the hills of Naxos, obtainable only by car, is worth a trip, if only to see its marbled streets and pedestrian ways. If you are on a tour, its a good place to stop for lunch and wander the streets until you are ready to eat. There are many interesting shops to explore and some novel architecture to experience. An hour or two would suffice in order to do both.

Eggares Olive Oil Museum

A small private museum showing the discipline of olive oil making can be found not more that a half hour drive from Naxos harbor. The Eggares Olive Oil Museum has a small collection of old oil presses, as well as other tools and the complete history of their firm.

The museum continues to sell olive oil and olives that it produces in the gift shop. Unfortunately we did not purchase any, since most of the products are not bottled and perhaps not suitable for a return flight. So, instead of taking a chance, we opted out of bringing a sample home.

Restaurants

The beach where our hotel was situated was well endowed with restaurants. What follows is only a sample of what is available, but all have very good menus and delicious food.

Taverna Authentic Greek Cuisine Restaurant

Though we had reservations at another restaurant, we had all decided that we were hungry and had to eat a little early.

So, we headed back down to the harbor from our sojourn up the hill of Naxos and its castle. There we found the Taverna Authentic Greek Cuisine Restaurant, which as can be imagined, serves numerous authentic Greek dishes.

Taverna “O Giannoulis”

Soon after we arrived, we ate lunch at the Taverna O Giannoulis and enjoyed a very nice meal with water, wine and all the supplements. They have a great Greek menu, the service is very quick and the seating outside is perfect (though we went in June, so heat was never an issue).

Amorginos Tavern

While on our Naxos day tour, we stopped in the town of Apeiranthos, the one where all the streets and pedestrian ways are made of marble. One of two places recommended by our guide, we chose it for its menu and selection of foods.

There is plenty of outside seating, though we sat just indoors, in order to avoid the midday sun. The service was pretty good, though the food was served randomly, apparently whenever it was ready. Which is good if you ordered something hot, but if you expect your food to come out all at once for your group, you may want to go elsewhere. The food was excellent, as was the local wine and the prices were very reasonable.

The Relax Cafe

No ride is complete without a coffee stop, and perhaps a bite to eat. After our second morning ride, we decided that we would stop in town, Naxos, and visit the Relax Cafe on the water; not only to enjoy the view, the wind and surf, but also some good coffee and what turned out to be amazing vegetable and cheese omelets (the secret it appears, is not just throwing the freshly cut veggies into the scrambled eggs, but to barbecue or fry them a bit first, infusing them with the burnt taste, yu-ummm).

Highly recommended place for breakfast, unless of course you are timid about calories, as avid cyclist, we aren’t. Enjoy!

Del Mar Cafe

Situated almost in the middle of our strand is the Del Mar Cafe. An Italian restaurant that caters to all needs, especially those nagging Italian taste buds that some of us have. Angela and Marco moved from Italy eight years ago and are excellent hosts, they will ensure your meal is prepared to your expectations. We went here several times for lunch and dinner and used their beach services as well; their wines are also very good, we were never disappointed.

Wines

The following wines we enjoyed while dining in Naxos. Most are inexpensive wines, all are from Greece or the neighboring islands and are completely drinkable and satisfying.