Arriving at Naxos

Monday May 19 was another beautiful day with a high of 22C.  We finished packing and headed out for a coffee at Cultivos Coffee near the ferry terminal.  We took the 11:55 a.m. ferry to the island of Naxos.  It was a packed ferry, as a ferry from another line had some technical issues and folks who had been booked on that ferry quickly bought tickets for the Blue Star Ferry that we were on.

Farewell to our abode in Parikia, Paros

One last look at the small Church near the harbour

Coffee at Cultivos- just across from the ferry terminal.
Good coffee and croissants (they even had a very good vegan croissant)

Ferry arrival (pic taken from coffee shop)

Docking-getting ready to unload 

Leaving the harbour

We really enjoyed our stay in Parikia, Paros.  It's a lovely small town and it is easy to travel by bus to other villages on the island.  It was a very tranquil spot with lovely whitewashed buildings, a labyrinth of small stores, and great food.  We discovered that the Venus de Milo and the statue Winged Nike were carved from Parian marble, as was much of the marble work on the Acropolis in Athens!

Our ferry to Naxos was quick as it is only about 11 nautical miles (20km) away.  We are staying in Naxos Town, commonly referred to as Chora or Hora, meaning "town".  The town has around 9,000 permanent residents.  It is on the west side of Naxos Island in the Cyclades island group.  The total permanent population of the island is around 19,000.

Naxos has been continuously inhabited since the 4th millennium BC.  According to mythology, Zeus, the king of Olympian gods, grew up in Naxos. Important remains from the Cycladic and later Mycenaean civilizations have been found on the island.  During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades.  It is the largest island among the Cyclades and rich in resources.  It was also among the first places in Greece where marble sculptures developed.   

From 1207-1566, the city of Naxos was made the capital of the Duchy of the Archipelago by the Venetian Marco Sanudo.  There is a huge Kastro (Castle), the town's fortress, that we will visit.  The Kastro is not just a castle in the sense of a fortification, but rather it contains an entire medieval town, which is still largely preserved in its original form.  The Ottomans ruled from 1566-1821, though very few Turks ever settled on Naxos and Turkish influence on the island is slight.  Naxos finally became officially part of the Greek state in 1832.

Approaching the city in the ferry- Venetian Castle visible above the white buildings

On arrival, one spots the Temple of Apollo- Portara, a huge marble gate and the single remaining part of an unfinished Temple of Apollo from 530 BC.  It is the island's emblem and main landmark.

The gateway to Chora (Hora)- the unfinished Temple of Apollo 

Our host, Eirini, met us at the ferry terminal.  It was a quick 10 minute drive to the apartment.  While only a 20 minute walk from the port, which we did later in the day, we most likely would have had trouble finding the apartment for the first time. The Airbnb is in a small development off a main street.

The outdoor table

Bedroom with work station 

Looking back at the bed

Well-equipped galley kitchen

Modern bathroom

Living room and table

View into the apartment 

Eirini lives in the same development.  She had bottled water, a container of orange juice, and a box of cookies from a bakery around the corner waiting for us.

We quickly went to buy some fish as the fish stores close around 1:30 p.m.  Right around the corner is a very large church.

St. Nikodimos Greek Orthodox Church

After buying fish and some groceries at a nearby supermarket, we decided to walk down to the port area and explore the neighbourhood behind the port.

First stop was The Rebel Project coffee kiosk, which was right on our route.  They had a full coffee shop before COVID, but afterwards they found folks wanted take-out, so they switched to a kiosk.

The Rebel Project

Rebel, Rebel

Arriving at the harbour

We walked along the main promenade near the Sea-- lots of outdoor restaurants with great views of the harbour.

The main promenade near the sea.

 

Just off the main promenade are a number of narrow side streets with small stores and restaurants.  This is an older area of the town and a bit of a labyrinth.

Mural-- gelato-- on one of the side streets

A small church on one of the narrow streets

This is a restaurant

We stopped at Nossos jewellery store.  The woman in the store was just putting out various pieces of silver.  It turned out that she was from Argentina (has lived in Chora for 20 years) and her husband was the jeweller.  He died last year and she was selling the remainder of his pieces.  His work was very beautiful.  Allan bought a necklace with the abstract outline of the "eye of Naxos".  We had a nice chat and she gave us some recommendations.

Entrance to Nossos jewellery store

Inside the jewellery store-- her husband's work area was still intact

White and blue everywhere

We then stopped at a beautiful store which featured kitron, a liqueur made from the leaves of the citron fruit.  While the citron fruit, which looks like a large, lumpy lemon is not really edible, the liqueur has been a hallmark of Naxos since the late 19th century.  Leaves are collected from October to February, dried, dampened and distilled up to three times with water and sugar.  It comes in three varieties.  The green variety is the sweetest; the yellow- coloured variety is the strongest and has the least sugar.  Colourless, clear Kitron is somewhere in-between.  

Promponas, operating since 1915, sells kitron, honey, marmalades and other local products.

Local products since 1915

The citron fruit displayed at Promponas

We continued our walk on the waterfront.  A Blue Star Ferry was just docking.

Our destination was the remains of the Temple of Apollo which is found on the islet of Palatia, at the entrance to Naxos harbour.

We first passed the Statue of Ariadne abandoned by her lover Theseus, 
Sculptor: Wolf Bröll (1950-2016), 2004.

We walked up to the Portrara (Gate).  It is absolutely stunning, comprising of four marble parts weighing about 20 tons each.  Its construction was initiated by the tyrant Lygdamis in the 6th century BC, according to the specifications of the temples of Olympic Zeus in Athens and of the goddess Hera on Samos.

Arriving at the Temple of Apollo remains

In front of the gate 

The other side of the gate-- looking back into town

Looking back at the town from the height of the Potrara

Blue Star Ferry leaving Naxos Town

We then decided to try a kitron cocktail at a lovely spot on the waterfront called Kitron 1896.  The kitron is distilled in the village of Chalki (Halki) at the Vallindra Distillery, which was founded in 1896.

The inside and small patio of Kitron 1896

The section across the street on the harbour where we had our drinks

Allan had a Mediterra, a mix of kitron, cardamon and Mediterranean tonic.  I had a Koufoxilia, a mx of kitron, ginger and Elderflower tonic.  Both drinks were very refreshing.

Allan's drink on the left, mine on the right- the drinks are made with the white variety of kitron
(nice and dry)

The outdoor section where we had our drinks

There was a beautiful light on the Church around the corner from our apartment as we headed back for dinner.

Church in the early evening

Allan made a lovely fish dinner which we had with a glass of a local red wine we had purchased earlier in the day.  A great introduction to Naxos.