Friday May 23 was another beautiful day with a high of 26C. We had decided to visit one more mountainous village, which many have said is their favourite. Apeiranthos is about 28 km north east of Naxos Town. We took the 11:00 a.m. bus which also stops at Chalki (Halki) and Filoti where we had visited earlier in the week. Apeiranthos is about 10 km further than Filoti and is at an even higher elevation.
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| Climbing from Naxos Town-- sea in the background |
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| Passing lots of olive groves |
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When we stopped for a moment at Chalki,
the priest had just emerged from the church near the bus stop. |
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| In the middle of an olive grove en route |
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| A close up of the Church we had seen from Filoti-- just passing by on our climb. |
We climbed higher and higher and finally arrived in Apeiranthos. The village is built on the foothill of Mt. Fanari and is around 600 m above sea level. It has marble-paved steets and mainly stone houses with breathtaking views. Lots of climbing in the town! The permanent population is around 1100. The similarities of the local dialect and traditions to those of mountainous Cretan villages have led historians to conclude that Apeiranthos was built by Cretans during the 10th century. The village is known for its crafts like weaving on traditional looms and it also has four small museums (which unfortunately seemed to be closed when we visited).
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| View of Apeiranthos village |
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| Tower ruin near the bus stop |
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| Women's Association of Traditional Art--near the bus stop at one end of the main street |
Just across from the Women's Association building was the Holy Church of Panagia Aperathitissa, one of the most beautiful and characteristic Churches of the island of Naxos. It was built in 1760. The imposing and ornate four-lobed marble bell tower is very unique. We were able to go inside.
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| Holy Church of Panagia Aperathitissa |
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| Inside of the Church- lots of icons and very ornate interior |
We continued our walk down main street. We passed a number of restaurants and cafés. A number had back patios with views of the mountains. It was too early for lunch, so we decided to explore the village. Most places were just getting set up at noon.
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| One pretty café |
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| Sign painting on the main street |
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| Map with highlights of the village |
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| Marble sidewalks and low arches |
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| Good advice on the steps |
We walked up a side street to a tiny book store.
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| Marble and stone everywhere |
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| Lots of climbing and narrow passages |
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| Arches |
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| Hoopin'---a odd location for a basketball hoop. |
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| Another small church |
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| More ancient ruins |
We ended up walking up a steep staircase into a residential area with spectacular views.
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| Roof tops and towers |
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| Allan with the crown |
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| View looking down on the bell tower of the Church |
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| The Mountain |
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| More arches and stone structures |
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| A view from a lower level of where we had just walked |
It was then 2:00 p.m. and time for lunch. We stopped at Café-Ouzeri O Giorgos which has been in operation since 1997, serving homemade, traditional food.
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| We saw at the lovely patio located on both sides of the narrow main street |
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We shared a plate of grandma's meatballs-- very tasty and lighter than they look.
Allan had the tzatsiki yogurt sauce. We also had homemade lemonade. |
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| Zevgolis tower |
After our lunch, we walked back on the main street, passing the Zevgolis tower. It is built on a rock on the town's main road. It was built in the 17th century and is a two-sotry Venetian-era stone edifice which has now been renovated and is now inhibited during the summer season.
We then stopped for coffee at Berdema, a café, bar and beer house. It had a lovely patio with great views of the surrounding mountains. We had a nice chat with our server who told us that the mountains and the town is covered in snow in the winter and cars can not get out of the village. She also told us that in the summer it can be as high as 42C and pretty unbearable.
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| Fabulous view with our coffees |
Our last stop on main street was a wonderful pottery studio and workshop with hand made pieces using local emery and mica which create an interesting patina.
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| Outside of the shop |
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| Very interesting pieces |
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| The owner explained how the pottery is made. |
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| Emery and mica- local to the area |
We bought a small dish. Totally unique pottery technique.
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| Near the bus stop-a woman offered to take our picture. |
We caught the last bus from Apeiranthos back to Naxos Town at 4:15 p.m. There will be more busses added to the schedule in the next month.
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| Farewell to the village from the bus. |
It was about a 45 minute bus ride, making short stops in Filoti and Chalki (Halki). We got back to the port just before 5:00 p.m.
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| Temple of Apollo remains-- pic from in front of the bus stop. |
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| We stopped at Kitron 1896. Allan had a Greek beer and I had a Kitron cocktail. |
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| View out to the harbour from Kitron 1896. |
We walked back to the apartment and stopped at a wonderful cheese shop. We bought a piece of a lovely predominantly sheep cheese (with a bit of goat mixed in).
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| Naxian cheeses are very high quality. |
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| Not too far from our apartment. |
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| Back to our apartment-- such a great location. |
Allan made us a delicious fish dinner. We finished our bottle of red wine and for dessert had a piece of baklava from the bakery around the corner. Another day in a beautiful, tranquil village- Apeiranthos was definitely a highlight. Saturday is our last full day in Naxos Town. It will be another beach day.
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