Naxos

Naxos was a unplanned stop. Throughout this trip, we’ve had a general outline of where we were traveling, but haven’t booked specifics until a week or so ahead of time. It’s worked well, giving us the flexibility to change plans as we hear reviews from other travelers, and for the most part we haven’t had any problems booking a week out. It only broke down during the Greek islands, where we discovered that island ferries were less on a day-to-day basis, and more on a week-to-week basis – particularly for the less popular islands.

Naxos’ signature attraction – the Temple of Apollo.

We planned to head to Paros from Folegandhros, but there weren’t any ferries for a few days, too long to wait when we were only spending a few nights on an island. But there was a ferry to Naxos that worked out perfectly with our plans, so we quickly booked a Naxos hostel and were off to the island known for its green vegetation and quality food. (Only one of which has any foundation).

Naxos was different from both Santorini and Folegandhos. Much bigger than both, it was far less touristy than Santorini and yet far busier than Folengandhos. We liked how it was an authentic island that didn’t need tourism, as the island had its own industry; the restaurants appeared to be just as much for locals as for tourists, making the experience more fun. The island certainly wasn’t green – it had the same barren hills as Folengandhos, with maybe a few extra bushes and trees. It did have far more farms and agriculture than either of the other two islands we had visited.

The hills of Naxos with Mt Zues in the background.

Sunset on Naxos

Streets of Naxos

We loved Naxos town – lots of pedestrian-only streets that bobbed and weaved their way through the old town and the Kastro (a fortified center of town common to most Greek island cities). And the food was as good as advertised – local fish, local greens, all fantastic and for relatively cheap prices. It was hard to pick a favorite local dish, as we kept trying new ones. Our favorite place was a local spot in the small town of Filoti, where each dish, from the Greek salad to the fish, had a local twist that was incredible. Nothing fancy, just great-tasting food.

Our second day on the island we climbed to the top of Mount Zeus, the tallest point in the Cyclades and the supposed birthplace of Zeus. The hike wasn’t too difficult, even given the terrible signage on the roads and trails, and we were rewarded at the summit with a spectacular view of the surrounding islands.

Climbing Mt Zeus

Scrambling up rocks…

It was often hard to figure out where to go…

At the top!

Looking out to the many other Greek islands that are visible from the summit

On our way down, leaving markers to help others.

After a crazy struggle to find our way back – which due to Naxos’ near complete lack of street signs took our rental car through streets covered in boulders and small town streets where we were lucky there wasn’t any oncoming traffic – we celebrated our rental car’s survival with drinks of Citron (“Kit-tron”), a strong lemon-tasting alcohol made only on Naxos from the leaves of the Citron tree.

Shots of Citron