Naxos

Only forty five minutes south of Mykonos (on the fast FlyingCat 3) and we arrived in Naxos for the longest break during our time in the Greek Isles (see video).

Our chariot awaits . . . . .

Compared to the cosmopolitan Mykonos, Naxos is extremely low key and comparatively unaffected by the hordes of summer visitors. In fact the largest and most fertile of the Cyclades Islands, Naxos gains much of its income from agriculture rather than solely from tourism.

We stayed in the very comfortable Naxos Resort Hotel just on the edge of Hora (the main town on the island) and just a short walk to everything we needed.

Naxos Resort (the view from our balcony)

Relaxing on our balcony

The castle within the old walled Venetian city on the hill above the town serves as the wonderful outdoor venue for concerts and musical recitals. We watched the sunset then enjoyed an evening’s program of traditional local music and dance accompanied by glasses of local wine and Raki – the locally distilled spirit made from pomace (grapes following the pressing which extracts the juice for wine) and is similar to Italian grappa.

Hora from the jetty featuring the castle on the hill

As an alternative (or could this be a precursor) to our Greek Island bareboat charter (hiring and cruising yourself around these clear turquoise Mediterranean waters on a 40-50 foot sailing yacht), we took a day charter on the 45 foot yacht Sun Odyssey with two other couples from France to several small islands just off the south east coast of Naxos.

A quick dip in near the underwater cave in Rina Bay

The weather turned out to be quite unsettled with storms (incl. a water spout), squalls, still conditions followed by strong northerly winds. Unfortunately all this weather resulted in practically no sailing and no dolphins.

Water spout (very unusual for the Cyclades)

We struck up a friendship with Barbara and Christophe - a couple from Paris during the day on the sailing boat and then meet up with them several times later in the week before we moved on to Santorini and they flew home to France.

Barbara and Christophe on their own self-guided island tour near Apiranthos

Evidence of the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the already desperate state of the Greek economy was highlighted to us in several ways during our time on Naxos. We noticed many quite modern cars left unused (seemingly abandoned) along the edge of the lanes in the towns and villages (flat tyres, covered in dirt and leaves and with debris accumulating on the road underneath). A significant number of partially constructed tourist resorts and commercial properties throughout the island have obviously also been abandoned for at least several years.

Abandoned tourist resort (partially constructed)

A few photos we took during tour of the inland villages and mountains of Naxos might help give you a taste of the landscape and scenery.

Narrow street in neo-classic village of Apiranthos

Roadside Greek Orthodox village church between Apiranthos and Moni

Marble mining near Moni

Apiranthos streetscape

Mountain villa near Moni

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What we saw and experienced in Santorini will follow very shortly. In the meantime please keep sending in your comments and questions.

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