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Stunning photos Karen, Naxos looks calm and peaceful after Santorini. And the bougainvillea is blooming, we didn’t see any earlier in May.
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Originally Posted by travelerjan
(Post 17371278)
Karen, what a delight! Since I can't be there, what a joy to see you enjoying my Naxos! I think you may have gotten the Palatia balcony room just vacated by my Philadelphia friends Lee & Tony... and am pleased to see you found those little outdoor love-seats at Bossa cafe at the end of the seafront promenade. That's where a few of us Naxophiles go before dinner, to have an ouzo and watch the town turn to gold in the setting sun. Sigh.
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Originally Posted by progol
(Post 17371334)
KarenWoo,
What a wonderful trip report! The photos are gorgeous, and I love seeing the one of you and Ed. It’s such a joy putting a face to the writer of some of my favorite trip reports here! So many wonderful photos - I love the night view from your Santorini hotel - sparkling! We visited many of the same places in 2011 and I had so wanted to visit Akrotiri. I had scheduled my trip for after the “planned reopening” but it turned out to be another few years before it reopened. I love those vases! It looks like a great site. Thank you for posting - looks like you had an amazing trip! |
Originally Posted by geetika
(Post 17371340)
Stunning photos Karen, Naxos looks calm and peaceful after Santorini. And the bougainvillea is blooming, we didn’t see any earlier in May.
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Ninasdream and Adelaidean, thank you for your kind words. That's a great fun fact about Melbourne. My husband went to school in Melbourne for 3 or 4 years when he was younger, starting at around age 12 or 13, I think. He has always wanted to return to Australia. We hope to do that before we get too old!:)
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Originally Posted by Adelaidean
(Post 17371332)
I’ve so enjoyed reading all the trip reports lately.
Only just tapped into yours today, what a wonderful trip. Fun fact, about Melbourne, Australia, has a large Greek population and “For decades now, Melbourne has been called the 3rd largest “Greek city” in the world, after Athens and Thessaloniki, due to the large number of Greek Australians that live there” Wonderful Naxos -- looks peaceful after Santorini, was it? |
Naxos looks beautiful. Even better that you had some more Greeks there.
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Beautiful pictures. I agree with jlf1; it’s nice to put a face with the name! Now I “know” who you are!! Keep writing and posting.
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Originally Posted by Debbielynn
(Post 17371464)
Beautiful pictures. I agree with jlf1; it’s nice to put a face with the name! Now I “know” who you are!! Keep writing and posting.
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MAY 18, 2022 – OUR NAXOS ISLAND ROADTRIP, AND ONE OF THE BEST SURPRISES ON OUR TRIP
After another filling breakfast on our balcony, we embarked on our road trip around Naxos. I rented a car from Smile Naxos Car Rental, and they were kind enough to deliver the car to our hotel. I like being pampered! Our first stop is the Temple of Demeter, the grain goddess. The temple was built around 530BC and restored in the 1990’s. It’s situated in a field and there is a lovely walk from the road to the temple. Along the way to Chalki, we passed many olive groves with tiny Byzantine churches hidden in the groves. Chalki is a very pretty village filled with narrow lanes and lots of flowers. We bought some gifts, and then stopped at a café and had orange cake and drinks. The owner very proudly told us that her mama made the orange cake. It was delicious! From here, we headed towards Apeiranthos. And here we made our best decision of our trip! We came to a fork in the road; to the left was Apeiranthos, and to the right was a sign that said “prehistoric acropolis”. We thought this sounded interesting so we took this road, a serpentine narrow road surrounded by olive groves and the Aegean Sea down below. We didn’t find a prehistoric acropolis (I assumed there would be ruins) but we continued to the sparkling Aegean. We ended up at the fishing village of Moutsouna located on Moutsouna Bay. It is so beautiful! There are about 3 tavernas all advertising fresh fish, of course. Right up our alley. We knew instantly this is where we were having lunch, whether we were hungry or not. We ate at the Fish Net, right on the water. We ordered fried shrimp, grilled squid, and grilled drunk fish with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and onions. It was heaven! The entire meal was delicious and fresh. This fishing village is what we imagine when we think of Greece. We didn’t want to leave! So, after relaxing in this idyllic setting, we drove back up the serpentine road to Apeiranthos, a mountain village with marble-paved streets. Spent about an hour here. Manos recommended that we visit the small fishing village of Apollonas. Another beautiful setting on the water. We ordered ice coffees at a café on the beach. I wish we had more time here. We arrived in Naxos Town around 7PM. Later in the evening we had appetizers and drinks at a restaurant by the port. I forgot to write down the name, but it was lovely sitting by the water and enjoying the evening. This was one of our favorite days, amongst many! |
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Naxian countryside https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...80c37ab24d.jpg Wildflowers on the way to Temple of Demeter https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c5407ccb55.jpg Easy walking path to Temple of Demeter https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...47f9c1f3f1.jpg walking to the temple https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b5ec04eef1.jpg Temple of Demeter https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fbfeacb771.jpg More photos of Temple of Demeter https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...066ec80600.jpg |
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The pretty village of Chalki https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cbb3cce1.jpeg Chalki https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa83e055fc.jpg Chalki https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e00820d9cc.jpg Doorways of Chalki https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0fee5f2496.jpg More doorways https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...16e832a874.jpg Delicious orange cake made by the owners mama https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...210f74d796.jpg narrow lane of Chalki https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9e4a4eefa9.jpg Man painting his shutters - pretty shade of blue https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9c35d3194a.jpg I love doors! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6f943092ac.jpg Another blue door |
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The yellow Spanish Bloom bushes are everywhere in Greece! So beautiful! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dfc86ca4f5.jpg More Spanish Bloom https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...600dcdda1.jpeg Beautiful Naxian countryside |
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Moutsounas on the bay - a lovely fishing village https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...04afde681e.jpg So beautiful! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6859cd3317.jpg The Fish Net Taverna, where we had an awesome meal https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...28b4d7bf03.jpg Love the thatched sunbrellas https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...81e64743fc.jpg The sparkling blue Aegean https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4a2261f5f.jpeg Grilled squid https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f634cfa74.jpeg Drunk fish https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...815efe389.jpeg Fresh shrimp |
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Ceramics in Apeiranthos https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ee4e5819f5.jpg The marble streets of Apeiranthos https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a540ca6fd2.jpg Apeiranthos https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...91819f4e80.jpg Fishing village of Apollonas https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a15857dc3.jpeg Apollonas https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...769c1043a.jpeg It's naptime! On our way back to Naxos Old Town |
WHat a lovely photo panorama of a delightful day! It takes a day of roaming inland to grasp the reality of Naxos as a fertile, farming island ... you can then see how some tavernas now can offer almost entirely local products on their menus. During the start of the pandemic, when tourism totally disappeared, I worried about my "landlady" at my little guesthouse around the corner from your hotel. She wrote back reassuringly, "don't worry janet, we've been through hard times before, and we know how. And of course we have our land up in the village, with vegetables, animals and chickens This year I even have a turkey!" That is how Greeks all over the country survive in tough times... their little patch in the country. Naxos fertility and livestock has been due to its water sources up in the hills... alas, the growing demands of tourism have threatened the supply. No blessing without a curse... so one hopes for rainy winters.
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KarenWoo,
I echo travelerjan's appreciation of your wonderful exploration of Naxos! Your discovery of the lovely fishing village couldn't have been more perfect! I can feel the breeze blowing as you sit by under the umbrellas and overlook the Aegean...what more can you ask for? Funny, we had a similar day on Naxos, and visited several of the same places, though in our "wrong turn", we found ourselves on top of a mountain, with views all around, and a goat sitting in the middle of it all! It was a small farm, and we were given a handful of figs for our troubles! |
Wonderful photos! I feel like I could eat those delicious looking dishes right off the screen.
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The fishing villages sounds idyllic. Definitely putting on my list.
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Originally Posted by travelerjan
(Post 17371714)
WHat a lovely photo panorama of a delightful day! It takes a day of roaming inland to grasp the reality of Naxos as a fertile, farming island ... you can then see how some tavernas now can offer almost entirely local products on their menus. During the start of the pandemic, when tourism totally disappeared, I worried about my "landlady" at my little guesthouse around the corner from your hotel. She wrote back reassuringly, "don't worry janet, we've been through hard times before, and we know how. And of course we have our land up in the village, with vegetables, animals and chickens This year I even have a turkey!" That is how Greeks all over the country survive in tough times... their little patch in the country. Naxos fertility and livestock has been due to its water sources up in the hills... alas, the growing demands of tourism have threatened the supply. No blessing without a curse... so one hopes for rainy winters.
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