Naxos / Greece
18 July - 19 July 2017
Day 1
Leaving Santorini we jumped on a boat and headed north to Naxos. It’s the largest island in the Cyclades, not one I had heard of before coming here. It was definitely less busy than Santorini which was a nice change. We arrived into port in a town called Hora where we were staying. After having a quick lunch we set about exploring the town and sorted a rental car for the following day so we could see more of the island.
One thing that caught us by surprise was just how windy the island gets. Before dinner and while the sun was setting I wanted to walk up to the Temple of Apollo. It sits on an islet just north of the harbour. But the wind and the water spray was too much for t-shirts and shorts. So after grabbing dinner (more fresh fish) it was time for sleep before a big day ahead.
Day 2
Our first stop of the day was the small mountain village of Apeiranthos. The village is so unique that the small population have their own dialect. Built at the slopes of Mount Fanari it didn’t even feel like we were on an island, it could have easily been northern Greece.
Our next stop was Moutsouna. A small seaside village on the eastern coast of the island. From Apeiranthos it’s an 11km drive but you go from about 600m above sea level to sea level very quickly, the road and the view was stunning.
It was then onto a beach we could swim at, which wasn’t the easiest task given the wind. We eventually got to Mikri Vigla beach where the wind wasn’t as crazy. The water was amazing, before swimming I climbed the rocks to get some photos from above.
Feeling a bit hungry we headed north to Plaka Beach and had lunch at a spot called Yazoo Summer Bliss. Another excellent meal. Back at the hotel I noticed the sun was setting so Aidan and I walked down to the beach to witness the fireball of a sun descend upon the horizon.
Day 3
Making the most of the time we had in Naxos we jumped in the car and headed a different direction to the previous day. Unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot to see/we didn’t have all the time as we were due to jump on another ferry to head to Mykonos. So knowing the Plaka area was so nice and had good food options – we headed back there. It was then back to the port to make waves to Mykonos.
