Brad flew out of Santorini bright and early, but we were able to take it a bit easier in the morning since we didn't catch our ferry until the afternoon. Eventually, we took a bus to the new (no stairs or donkey poop!) port of Santorini to take a ferry to Naxos. We were warned by some friends that the ferries in Greece were chaotic, and that definitely held true when boarding and disembarking. They basically herd a huge group of people onto the ferry's storage level where you drop your bags in piles, fight your way to the staircase to show someone your ticket, and finally make it upstairs to the more relaxed areas. The Bluestar Ferry we got on was the size of a small cruise ship, and was set up a bit like an airport. We grabbed a table by a window and passed the two hour journey playing cards.
We arrived in Naxos and were greeted by the Temple of Apollo arch next to the port. We fought our way off the ferry and walked to our hostel; this hostel was nice and felt less like a hostel and more like a hotel with a communal kitchen. We got settled in, soaked up some air conditioning, and for sunset walked about 10 minutes to the nearby Agios Georgios Beach. That evening, we wandered through Naxos town, where we were based for our time here. It felt much more relaxed and "beachy" than Santorini, but still had the quintessential white buildings and Greek architecture. For dinner, we tried to go to a restaurant we read about, but it was full so we made a reservation for the next night. Instead, we got reeled into another local restaurant by a Greek grandma who, just like the woman with the blue linen shirt in Athens, was an excellent saleswoman and couldn't be refused.The next day, we mostly relaxed at the hotel and did some admin. We probably spend about one day a week at least doing "nothing" (well, not really nothing, but no real sightseeing or activities) and catching up on things like tracking our budget, planning our next stops, talking to friends and family, watching Bake Off, and trying to keep this blog up to date! That afternoon, Carson ventured out to figure out how we could get bus tickets for some of the places we wanted to go on Naxos. Apparently you just buy your bus tickets at random stores along the bus routes. There isn't really any signage or information about this, which makes us wonder if we were the only tourists who plan to use public transportation here. Regardless, after our time figuring out buses in Bosnia, Montenegro, and Albania, we didn't even bat an eye at this system. Later that afternoon, we tried to get out of the hostel and catch some sun at Agios Georgios Beach, but it was very windy and we ended up catching more sand to the face. We gave up after about 15 minutes and went back to our hostel pretty disappointed (even paradise isn't always perfect). Finally, we went to our dinner reservation at To Elliniko Restaurant, which was excellent. Carson had the lamb veggie dish that was cooked in a pot with wrapping paper, and Mel got a Greek salad made with local Naxos cheese.
We got up early the next morning to catch the first bus to the Mount Zas (Zues) trailhead. According to mythology, the god Zeus was born on Crete but was raised in a cave on Mount Zas in Naxos. Mount Zas also happens to be the highest point in the Cyclades group of Greek islands at 3,294 feet, and hiking to the summit provides gorgeous views of both Naxos and the surrounding islands. You can actually visit Zeus's cave on one section of the mountain, but we read that the cave itself isn't very impressive and it required taking a much more difficult trail, so we decided against it. We were the only tourists on the bus that morning, and we got dropped off on the side of the road near the trailhead, where we were greeted with goats and donkeys. The trail starts out in a forest, but quickly becomes transitions to shrubs and rocks. The landscape continued to change as we climbed, and all of the rocks and plants were so unique; the shrubbery on the mountains was green, but looked almost like it belonged in the desert. The higher we got, the more islands we began to see all around us. As we approached the summit, the dirt trail disappeared, and all that was left was a "trail" up the rocky mountain face to to the top. The climb was pretty fun since it involved some scrambling, and it helped that people had left cairns along the way to guide a good route. But as soon as we left the protection of the vegetation, we were greeted by some very heavy winds! We kept joking that Zeus was in a bad mood that morning. Once we finally made it to the jagged peak, we stopped to look around and take in the beautiful scenery. From this vantage point, we could appreciate the beauty of the island of Naxos and get a sense for how many island surrounded us. It is said that on a clear day you can even see mainland Turkey from here, but we couldn't see it that morning. Naxos is classified as the largest and "greenest" island in the Cyclades, and is known for it's stunning mountains, beautiful beaches, and agriculture. Its mountains cause the island to get more rainfall than its neighbors, so it has very fertile land that is used for agriculture and farming things like Naxos cheese and potatoes. Looking over the island from the peak of Mount Zas, it was amazing to see how green and hilly it was while still being right next to the ocean. Carson also got to appreciate three large griffon vultures that were flying around the peak, though he originally mistook them for eagles. Mount Zas was one of our favorite hikes on the trip so far and it's definitely up there for one of our favorite hikes ever due to its beauty, uniqueness, and overall trail quality and difficulty.
After enjoying the summit, we hiked down into the town of Filoti for brunch and walked around the small town for a while. We caught a bus back to Naxos Town and went to watch sunset at the Temple of Apollo, which has stood unfinished since the 6th century B.C. It was intended to be a huge temple, but construction was halted when war broke out, and now the only thing standing is the imposing entrance gate. Sunset from this location is beautiful, but it's a very popular spot, so you have to fight your way to a good view. On our way back to our hotel, we stopped in a few shops, and Melissa bought a really nice handmade Greek-style dress from a nice woman who owned one of the boutiques. Melissa was eyeing a different dress, but the woman who owned the store immediately pointed her to this other dress she probably wouldn't have tried on otherwise; no surprise, it was perfect. Between her and the Greek grandma who found Carson's linen shirt, we've been seriously impressed with the Greek shopkeepers and their ability to style us! We cooked dinner at our hotel that night, and made a veggie pasta with feta, which turned out great.
On our final full day in Naxos, we took the bus south to visit two of Naxos' most famous beaches: Agios Prokopios and Plata. We started at Agios Prokopios, which was one of the most beautiful beaches we have been to. It has a feeling of being a little more calm and sheltered because of the way the land juts out on its northern side. The water was crystal clear, blue, and refreshing, and the beach was not very crowded. The sand was also really unique at Agios Prokopios; the sand grains were bigger, and didn't stick all over you the way finer sand usually does. It made an already great beach even better! Even though we could have stayed at Agios Prokopios all day, we decided to walk about 40 minutes further south to visit Plata beach. Plata was also beautiful, and had white sand and bright blue water as far as the eye could see. Because Plata is so large, we were able to find a nice spot to ourselves to enjoy the rest of the afternoon until the clouds started to roll in. We loved both beaches, but Agios Prokopios won us over with it's non-stick sand.
For our final evening, we treated ourselves to a small bottle of local Naxos liquor called Kitron. It's a liquor made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree, which is similar to a lemon tree, but is stronger and has a slightly different citrus taste. Kitron comes in three varieties - bright green, clear, and yellow. The liquor gets stronger and less sweet from green to yellow. We opted for the clear so we could taste something right in the middle. We thought it tasted good; it's sort of like a limoncello, and great for sipping. Apparently Kitron went through a popular fad in the 1980's in other parts of the world, but can't be easily found outside of Naxos now due to a shortage of citron trees.
We ended up absolutely loving our time on Naxos. We think it might be the perfect island (at least for us!); it has everything we love- mountains and hiking, beautiful beaches, history and ruins, and delicious food. It really checked all of our boxes, and we were sad to say goodbye after only a few days.
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