Thursday, June 27, 2019

Naxos



Naxos sounds a little bit like Nauseous - which is what we were when we arrived.  Everyone who travels has a maddening airline/traffic/missed connection story - so I won't bore you too much.  Ours involved a ferry with a broken engine, multiple transfers to smaller and smaller boats on rougher and rougher seas, and my poor wife holding it together as our leisurely 4 hour tour of the islands turned into a 7 hour drama on the high seas.
But thankfully our hotel "greeter" George met us upon our belated arrival to Naxos - supposedly an island where many Greeks vacation.   It is a very dry island where the tap water is taboo but the open spigots in the streets are supposedly safe for consumption - no more stomach issues so I guess that is true.
We had four full days here, probably one more than we needed but part of our plan was to simply plunk and be.  The first day we rented the cutest convertible ever and toured the villages and ruins of the island - the spring of Zeus was at the end of a too-narrow road with no guard rails and treacherous drop-offs - luckily we met no traffic in either direction.  The villages were cute but a little sad as it was obvious many had seen better days.
Janine gets to drive
We had been told to flee Naxos town (aka Chora) during the heat of the day and we largely did.  The second day we decided on some alone time - Janine had found an exquisite bakery where she spent the better part of the day and I took the local bus down to some of the "good beaches" and rented a chair and  an umbrella.  The hypnotic lap of the waves and the relaxation of a good book in the shade made for a great afternoon.
On day 3, Janine finally got to rent an ATV - something she has wanted to do again ever since our Honeymoon 15 years ago.  We got the more powerful 300cc engine quad and went to the inland olive oil museum and later to another beach - the first time Janine spent any significant time on the beach during out whole trip - she's definitely a mountain person.
As mentioned, probably one more day than we needed - we had some fun on our last full day but it blended into repeats of past days.  We had our last(?) traditional Greek dinner on the second floor of a waterfront restaurant watching the sun set near the iconic Temple of Apollo.  It was the eve of our 15th anniversary and Janine continued her tradition of buying us tiramisu at her favorite bakery - we saved it for breakfast this morning to mark the actual day.
We are both ready to return to some routines, our home, and our dog.  A Sunday afternoon run with Jackomo is the first thing on our calendar.  But before that we must make the long journey home  -  starting with a hopefully uneventful boat ride back to Athens.  Tonight we stay on the outskirts in a port town called Rafina.  A short transfer tomorrow to catch the plane back to London - and then, because of timing, another overnight stay before our London/Portland/SF flight - sadly not business class.  How will I survive?

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