Two Days in Naxos

After two beautiful days in Mykonos we hopped onto a ferry and headed to Naxos. We used Blue Star Ferries. I booked tickets online in advance, though the ferry was pretty empty and they could have been booked while we were in Mykonos as well, I don't like to chance it. It was nothing fancy and took 45 mins to get us to Naxos.


The port was very close to the main town where are hotel was, so we walked it. While it was in fact a very short walk, only about 10 minutes it also happened to be in the 90's and excruciatingly hot. Like hide indoors hot. But when you are vacation you don't have the luxury to hide indoors now do you? 

The hotel was not ready for us to check in so we wandered around for a bit, trying to get our bearings. Which was hard to do in the blistering heat.. every turn we took ended up being the wrong one. Except for the main street we couldn't locate the little shop lined streets that we loved so much in Mykonos.

We decided to grab a bite to eat while we waited for our room to be ready. 


After lunch we headed back to our hotel, everything was just a few minutes away. The room was ready and we finally checked in and decided to take an hours break before heading out again. 

While things greatly improved after our break it was still very very hot.


We found some cute streets, perused some shops but you see what I look like back there.. wilted. Which is why we took very few pictures. No one was in the mood. We strolled some more, made a few purchases.. the kids needed new straw hats and then we braked for some ice cream.


and then headed towards the Portara aka Apollo's Temple, which is essentially a large marble doorway atop a hill making it a very scenic spot. For mythology buffs - myth has it that the bay beneath it was exactly where Ariadne, the Minoan princess, was abandoned by her lover Theseus after he killed Minotaur on the island of Crete. 



The view of the chora behind me.. the hike was very worth it and quite easy. 


The day had cooled off considerably. We walked around some more before having an extremely average meal and then headed back to the hotel. The downside of living in the center of things meant there was music playing all night long.. 

When we woke up the next morning M and I tried to put the previous day behind us and hoped for a better day today.

We started with breakfast at Bossa Cafe. It was already looking better.




 Afterwards we picked up our rental car and headed off to explore a few of the villages of Naxos. M hadn't driven a stick in quite a few years, over a decade so the start was a bit bumpy.. literally.. lol. The roads were narrow and winding up the side of mountains.. those drives always make me a little nervous. 

The island of Naxos is full of beautiful little villages. Hordes of tourists have not yet descended upon Naxos which makes the island and it's villages unique and not over crowded. We decided to visit three villages.

1. Halki (Chalkio) - the village used to be the capital of the island as well as its main administrative and trade centre. It is located in the centre of Naxos. It is nestled in the hills of Naxos and of the three villages we visited the most beautiful and tourist friendly. By this I mean that when you are wandering through it you don't feel like you are just strolling by peoples private homes, there are shops and restaurants that make you feel welcome and not like a tourist invading their personal space. 



Olive trees - Halki is most famous for its olive cultivation. Products made with olive tree wood were also very popular on the island.






Meat roasting on a spit.. the smell was divine. 


We stopped by at the Phos Gallery and D found the photographs by Dimitris Gavalas impressive enough to leave a comment in the guest book. 


There was lovely little weave shop, PenelopeNaxos where the kids learnt about the art of a loom. 


We visited the small Church of Agios Georgios Diasoritis as well.


It was still incredibly hot but more bearable and the kids ended the village tour with a cold juice. 

2. Filoti - There was a hike from Halki to Filoti but we opted out and chose to drive the short distance instead. Filoti is the largest of all Naxian villages. Set amphitheatrically on the slopes of two hills at the foot of Mount Zas and home to church of Virgin Mary.


The shops and restaurants (touristy) part of the village was much smaller than Halki. Which is totally fine of course but as I mentioned above I don't want to be some crazy tourist wandering around in front of people's private homes.

We stopped at Amvrosia for lunch and had the most delicious salad. 
 

Greece is famous for its cats.. you see them lounging on steps and in corners, the residents leaving bowls of water and piles of food out for them. This was the first time we came across a clowder of them underneath our table waiting for some burger meat to accidentally come tumbling from the boys plates. 


3. Apeiranthos - The third and final village we visited was Apeiranthos. It is a picturesque mountain village with a beautiful name meaning 'plenty of flowers'. It was a steep drive up the mountainous region of Naxos, the island is dotted with several little churches, some teeny tiny ones upon mountain peaks.. we wondered about those.. turns out there are eighty six churches in Naxos. 


This was such a lovely village.. it felt like we had taken a step back in time. As someone who has always lived in a big city I always wonder about small town/village living, I feel like I would get bored. Do you live in a small town? Do you like it? 


The view of another village from Apeiranthos



A tall cold glass of a Freddo (cold) espresso to end the trip. 

On the way back to the chora we decided to make an impromptu stop at the beach. Ugh I wish we had thought to throw a couple of towels in the car, but we didn't. We drove down to plaka beach. 


 It was a beautiful beach.. the kids were good about not getting to wet and dirty. 

We got back to the chora, returned the car and could think of only one thing, food. I know everyone loves a good greek meal but we tend to eat a lot more spice so when we stumbled upon the restaurant, Baco, serving mexican food we were all thrilled.

                          


Oh the food was so good and a view of the sunset, couldn't have imagined a better way to end the day.


       
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Comments

  1. Beautiful place to enjoy a vacation,
    have a great week,
    S

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  2. Anonymous10/03/2022

    Looks so good. Regine
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  3. This island looks beautiful!

    Jennifer
    Curated by Jennifer

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  4. Lots of delicious things to eat and drink as usual!

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  5. I love that last photo of you two! This looked like a great visit to Naxos. You guys are brave, driving over there. I would be in cat heaven!! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Beautiful places and sceneries with delicious foods. This holiday looks amazing. Happy October. Greetings.

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  7. What a great two days! Everything looks wonderful. It's been quite awhile since I've driven a stick, too, and I don't think I'd be brave enough to do it on a winding mountain road! Kudos to M!!

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  8. Looks like you had a wonderful two days. The food looked so good. I also know how to drive a stick but it's been so long I wouldn't want to try it on winding roads.

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  9. I loved this post! I've never been to Naxos (yet!) but I think I need to go! x

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  10. I enjoy reading about your adventures and I smiled when you mentioned the music going all night long, I would not sleep all night long because of that and would have been so cranky. The food looks so yummy!!

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  11. Naxos is so beautiful and looks like that your family had a great time.

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  12. Lovely! I wish I could visit Naxos just now, your photos are wonderful and inviting.

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  13. Beautiful photos and it looks like all of you had a wonderful vacation too!

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  14. What a lovely trip thus far thanks for sharing...and the food!

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  15. Naxos looks absolutely charming! And the meals you had look so delicious!

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  16. Very cool. I loved that one church in Filoti. The food looked interesting as well.

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  17. Another wonderful part of your trip! So sorry it was hot. The food looks delicious!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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  18. What a beautiful place! It looks like you and your family had a wonderful vacation!

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  19. Nice, thanks for sharing.

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  20. In spite of the heat it looks like an incredible place to visit!

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  21. What a wonderful vacation, despite the heat. I am like you are prefer to leave nothing to chance when booking.

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  22. I'm so glad it got better. What an incredible trip.
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  23. What a gorgeous place. Too bad it was so hot. That just takes it out of you, doesn't it?

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  24. What an amazing adventure! Cheers to all!

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  25. The food looks delicious! And Naxos looks like a nice, quieter alternative to some of the more touristy islands...

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  26. What an amazing place! The food looks yum and your pictures are great.
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

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  27. Looks like a fantastic trip.
    What a beautiful place to visit!

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  28. In spite of the false start, it seems like you had a great time exploring Naxos. What a fabulous place! xxx

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  29. Naxos look amazing, I'm so happy to saw that you had amazing time with your family at ferry trip and enjoy beautiful sea, food and weather.

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  30. lovely place and delicious foods .....
    kids look very happy...
    Wish to visit one day.... Thank you for sharing beautiful photos and details

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  31. Anonymous10/04/2022

    My favorite of all is the last one. My immediate thought was, "They're looking into the future and where they have just been, all at the same time. While being in the moment!" I'd print it, mat it, frame it and hang it if it were mine. It's perfect. :)

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  32. You guys looked like you had an amazing time and indeed the hike was worth it and you had so much great food. I can relate to getting lost. OMG the GPS had me walking circles in Paris I was losing it lol.

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

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  33. Oh wow! Naxos looks like such an awesome place and yay that it's not busy with tourists:) I would love to visit that weave shop someday....sigh....

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  34. I am so very glad that despite the heat you had what looked and sounded like a fabulous time.l

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  35. That's a shame about the excessive heat. Glad you all managed to have a great time overall in spite of it. It looks like such a beautiful place and the food looks incredible!

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  36. That food looks delicious and your pics captured the island so well!

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