What do we do? Where will we go?
I suggested we get up early and go for a hike. The number of people really interested in this was less than 2. That is how I found myself in a cab headed to Aghia Marina which it the starting point for of the trails leading to the top of Mount Zas (Zeus). This is the highest point in Naxos. I decided I would make a go of it. That is how I ended up in a cab at 7 in the morning with a cab driver not interested in taking me where I wanted to go and definitely not interested in ever picking me up. I arrived at Aghia Marina at around 7:30 AM with my trusty green backpack, some water, my phone and some gummie bears, the sugar ones not the THC ones. Out of the cab and up the trail I went unsure if anyone would ever come and get me.
Not much traffic that early in the morning. I met a nice couple from Britain who are living in the UAE and I passed a German couple on the trail. The trail is fairly well marked along the way. According to my GPS it was 1.8 miles up and 1.8 miles back.
The trail sign
Scenes from the trail up
You can see the Aegean sea.
Follow the signs
Following along this low stone wall. There were lots of these visible from the trail.
The Cyclades islands and the Aegean sea
Just me and the goats
Views from the top
Views from the top
Views from the top
The summit marker
This old man at the top.
The walk down was enjoyable. I stopped about a half hour from being done and called my cabbie. He didn’t seem to believe I was almost done but he would send his buddy to be there in a half hour.
Low stone walls
A little color on my hike
Love this shot
So windy I had to turn the hat around. Had to be gusting to 45 mph at the top.
The little church at the trail head.
Zeus was supposedly born on Crete and raised in a cave and grew up on this mountain. With its harsh rocky apex and all encompassing views of the Cyclades, I can see where this legend came from.
One more art house shot for EB and PB
I waited for 45 minutes, no cab finally the couple from Britain let me hitch a ride down to Filoti. It is a great little village that almost feels like it is carved out of the mountain. The Brits had dropped me near the town square and I was just preparing to sit down at one of the central square cafes to enjoy a hot chocolate and a snack when my phone rang. My cabbie was very annoyed I was not at Aghia Maria and I was very annoyed that he could not tell time. After a brief exchange we identified my location and in about 5 minutes a dude showed up to take me back. Not enough time to enjoy any food or drink in Filoti but I was happy to have a ride. We rode in silence back to the hotel which was fine by me. Finally I was out of the car and onto the rest of the day.
The family had some time to kill so we spent the middle of the day at the beach. Sun and sea provides the perfect recipe for relaxation
This does not hurt your ability to relax
Grace was in the water. Yeah!!! No Bearpath swim champ spends less time in the water on vacation.
Kari just wanted some shade and a book.
At 3:30 we headed out on a 4 hour tour of Naxos with our guide, Irene and our driver Castos (different Castos). We were all a little unsure of how this would go but it ended up being pretty great. We ended up stoping at several small villages and seeing parts of Naxos I think many might miss.
Our first stop was a pottery in the central part of Naxos, a village called Damalas. The gentleman we met was a 4th generation potter? or is clay sculptor a better term. I don’t know 🤷♂️. Anyway, this dude was awesome and amazingly talented. He never even looked at the wheel while working.
Our first stop was a pottery in the central part of Naxos, a village called Damalas. The gentleman we met was a 4th generation potter? or is clay sculptor a better term. I don’t know 🤷♂️. Anyway, this dude was awesome and amazingly talented. He never even looked at the wheel while working.
He is watching to see how much stuff I might break with my backpack.
If you look left that is where he has been throwing the excess clay off his hands over the years
Finishing the majority of his pot.
A finished Naxian wine decanter. This may be the one thing I regret not buying on this trip. You pour the wine into a bowl and then place the large spout/handle in the wine and siphon it into the decanter by sucking on the top.
He also had a “justice cup” which if you overfilled it would drain out.
I thought his work was quite good.
Figurines and vases
Classic Greek bowls.
From Damalas, we journeyed to Chalki. In Chalki we visited a citron (Kitron) distillery. Citron is again a leaf off a fruit tree that is press and distilled in to a liqueur. This distillery was founded in 1896. The Vallindaris distillery has won awards for it Citron in 1903, 1907, 1914 and 1936.
Walking around Chalki
Street to the distillery
The door to the distillery
Old school design. Fire down below, heats up the leaves and alcohol
Vapors travel over and are condensed by cold water producing the Citron on the side.
Old Citron storage containers
Thea flavors can be combined to make the Greek alcohol Ouzo
Old school advertising
The bottle case at the distillery
Love this old school ad
Yellow and green citron
The 3 classes are
Yellow: 36 percent alcohol and no sugar
Green: 30 percent alcohol with sugar
White: 33 percent alcohol with a little sugar
You will know you are drink Citron if you have the yellow. Perhaps a small glass for sipping after dinner as a digestive is the way to go.
In Chalki, there is a Venetian Tower. Naxos was under Venetian rule for 3 centuries starting around 1207. They were designed to protect the people from raid. It is reported that one could light a fire on the roof and the other Venetian towers would see it and could signal others. Make no mistake it was also built to show Venetian strength when it was time to collect the taxes.
From Chalki traveled near the town of Moni is the oldest church on Naxos. I can hear your eyes rolling, another church, good god Scott find a new topic. So with all do apologies we went to the Church of Panagia Drossiani.
This church was part of an old monastery and the oldest portions date back to the 6th century making it one of the oldest church in Greece and the Balkens. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The original dome has 6th century frescoes which have been damage and photography was not allowed. I was monitored closely by a small Greek woman during our visit. One fresco is unique because it has 2 images of Christ, one as a man with hair and more distinguishable features and the other as the divine, his feature less distinguished and I would say surrounded more by the light of god. Our guide say many art historians, feel that at the time of this fresco the artist was trying to highlight the humanity of Christ and show his connection to the people.
The other fresco has the Virgin Mary above on the ceiling. Christ is in the center on this left is King Solomon and directly left is the Virgin Mary on his right is John the Baptist and directly to his right is the figure who embodies the church. Solomon and John the Baptist connect Christ to humanity because they are believed to be relatives.
Never have I wanted to take pictures of something like this more. The frescos are not in great condition so the pictures most likely would have been terrible and probably would have got me thrown of Naxos.
This is from google this has been enhanced some but gives you an idea of the second fresco
The Church of Panagia Drossiani
Another view of the back domes
The church and the entrance
There is a cemetery here. In Greece the family will reuse the tomb. After a body has been in the ground 15 years it will be removed and stored elsewhere so the grave site can be reused.
After the Church, we headed to the marble village of Apeiranthos. This village on the eastern side is one of the most beautiful places I have been. This is where our driver, Castos 2, calls home.
This was at a church in Apeiranthos. The plaque honors on of the men who took down the Nazi flag from the Acropolis as a sign of the Greek resistance. He lives in this village to the rip old age of 97 (Google) 100 (our guide)
Raise 🥃 (Citron) to Manolis Glezos
The old windmills across the hill from Apeiranthos.
Street soccer on the marble walkways
The marble streets/walkways of Apeiranthos.
A market square in Apeiranthos
One of the biggest arches in Naxos is in Apeiranthos
The girls ran into a friend (CP) in Apeiranthos
The girls in the market. Beautiful girls in a beautiful village. The cowbells on the right are all hand made.
One more for good measure
The marble steps.
Look who I found.
We finally left Apeiranthos which was very sad. I could have stayed there all evening. It strikes me as a place you should bring a book to and spend all day in front of a cafe watching the world go by.
From Apeiranthos we traveled to just outside the village of Melanis. Here we found a large Kouri. These kouri were sculpted in the adjacent marble quarry. The idea is to rough out the statue and the it will be transported to the appropriate temple for finishing details. However sometimes accidents happen.
On the way to Melanis is this white marble quarry. It may be as beautiful as some monuments. The colors in the evening light are almost too much to take in.
Here is the Kouri, in transport the legs were broken so it became essentially worthless and was left here for eternity. The workers that broke it their fates are unknown.
Another view showing the broken legs.
This statue depicts a young naked man and was created around 570 BC. I find it mind blowing that a kid from Choteau. Montana is standing next to something created before the birth of Christ. If there were less people at the site, I might have jumped the fence to touch it.
There is another one of these on the eastern shore of the island. Most scholars think it was going to be a statue to Dionysus but the rough work left the arms too short like a T. Rex and it was abandoned at that point because you can’t put the marble back.
The girls in unison “we didn’t do it, it was like that when we got here.” This May be the first time that statement is true.
A little trivia. Anthony Bourdain once filmed an episode on Naxos where he cooked at this site.
This is our guide, Irene and the family she was so much fun. I think she may have nightmares about me asking her questions.
After we said goodbye to Irene we had a little dinner down by the beach.
After trying to see every last part of Naxos a beer was in order.
Sunset in Naxos
Mussels steamed in Garlic and white wine
Grilled octopus 🐙. ❤️ this
Me and the legend, G-Money.
Our last day on Naxos could have been a bust but it ended up being a blast.
Andrew Zimmerman, Spoon and Stable frequenter once said “ Be a traveler and not a tourist”
Anthony Bourdain once said, “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return life—and travel—leave marks on you.
Hopefully my family and I are travelers constantly interacting with this world in a way, constantly curious about the people we meet and the history they have. Today was one of those days when we were definitely travelers and not tourist.
αύριο στη Σαντορίνη
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