Scenes from a visit to Naxos, Greece (April 2023): Part I

Continuing the effort to catch-up post about my trip through Greece in spring of 2023, which started with the Athens entry, our next stop on the itinerary was Naxos. Day began with an early wake up call. Not sure what time the actual ferry was, but I remember our car picked us up around 6:30am. I also remember being the very first one in the breakfast room at the hotel. I am a morning person. But I prefer to be just awake and roll into the day vs awake and running out to a ferry.

This was my first ferry in about 25 years or so. I don't think the boats heading over to the Vineyard are quite this big. Impressive vessel to view up close.

It was also my first experience with boarding a ferry like this, where it's all aboard via the giant ramp in the back. That leads you into the warehouse-sized luggage hold, which operates on the honor system. Find a spot for your bag and come back for it later.

I might have been sleeping for some of the ride. Or just didn't take too many pictures. I did get one departing the port of Syros.

Next shots I have were outside our accommodations, the Ippokampos Beachfront Hotel. Solid stay. More pics coming later of their lovely little dining set up right on the beach.

On the agenda for the day was some island exploration. Local rental car company conveniently met us at the hotel with our white Fiat. So we dropped our bags in the room and set off.

We stopped to scout out Hawaii Beach and Alyko Beach. That's my colleague off in the distance.

From the beaches I think we aimed toward the Ancient Temple of Demeter because it seemed like something we should check out. Not particularly impressive in person. And I think it's all restored with very little remaining of the original site. Unless you have a voracious appetite for Greek antiquity in all its forms, this site is probably one you can skip.

Next target was the village of Chalki, which was cool and charming and very much worth the visit.

We did stop at a distillery / retail shop to try some of the island's famous Kitron. I still have my souvenir nip bottle of the green variety up on a shelf in my kitchen. Worth a stop.

Snapped a few more vibe shots walking around the village. Loved the older fellas hanging out for a chat and a smoke.

And this scene caught my eye as being simultaneously simple, charming, sophisticated and rustic.

Naxos has a history of weaving traditions that are still maintained today. You can find more information online, of course, but if you're interested you might check out GreekWeavers, or any number of YouTube videos, like this one.

From Chalki we aimed for Apeiranthos, which is famous for its widespread use of marble -- sidewalks, staircases, alleys. Marble everywhere. More on the village here if you're interested. On the way, however, we did encounter a flock of sheep in the road, which was a fun, authentic touch. Reminded me of scenes we've experienced in Mexico.

If we had more time I would have liked to stop and visit Filoti, too. Passing through it seemed like it would be worth a visit and I don't believe it gets the same publicity as Chalki and Apeiranthos, which leads me to believe it might be interesting to see an 'ordinary' village with no particular hook or angle for attracting visitors. Again, Naxos.net has more on Filoti if you're interested.

Another tip for another time would be to stop at Rotonda, ideally late afternoon or evening for sunset. Do check out some of the photos and reviews to get the idea. Beautiful. This snap below from the general vecinity hints at what you might see if you were seated on a terrace with a panoramic view of the whole landscape.

Eventually we got to Apeiranthos and largely meandered around, climbing staircases, checking out the alleys, etc., before sitting down for a coffee and a traditional citrus tart type thing. Very nice way to spend the afternoon.

On the return from Apeiranthos to the hotel we spotted a sign for Saint Anna Winery, so we stopped and made contact. Nice little operation. We were seeing it pre-season in late April and dropping in unannounced, so we didn't do a tasting or anything like that. Something to keep on the radar, though, as a potential partner.

Posting this two years after the events means some of the details are fuzzy. But if I had to guess I'd say there were a couple / few hours of work/napping before we grabbed dinner at this place. Warm friendly service, good food. Again, my picture-taking judgment was questionable as I focused on the beer and an appetizer that was described as 'cheese in envelope' in English (which was delicous --- local Naxian cheese, drizzle of local honey). Great, casual way to wrap up a fun day of exploring.

Scenes from a visit to Athens (April 2023)

Late 2022 I started a new gig and in spring 2023 I was on my first research trip through Greece. I was not on social media much then. And I didn't resurrect this blog idea until earlier this year. But now I'm going to backtrack and bit and create posts from the past couple of years. Looking back, my photo game was sub par in the early days. Definitely left a lot unsnapped, which is a shame. But some photos are better than no photos, eh?

Athens was the entry point. Coming in from Mexico City the flights get in a bit later in the day than the typical early/mid morning arrivals from the US. Think I had a mult-hour layover in Madrid if I remember correctly. But I got to the Royalty Suites Psyrri around 4 or 5pm and had time for a quick walkabout. I managed to take zero pictures of the room, but grabbed a couple looking in either direction from my juliet balcony.

Location was good once I got oriented. On the far northwest side of the Psyrri neighborhood. As central Athens is all pretty walkable I got to see a good amount walking from my spot on the western edge over to the eastern side with Syntagma and such.

I was a little hungry. First time in Greece. So of course I stopped at Ancho Mexican Grill for a burrito and some people watching.

Then strolled around a bit. Weather was not terrific. Cloudy / rainy. Bad luck. Snapped a few pics of places that looked like they'd be pleasant to revisit in some future, longer stay. Finewine Athens was one. And based on the reviews, looks like many people agree it's a nice spot to sit, drink, soak it in.

Just down the street, Brettos also looked nice.

On my way back to the hotel I also snapped a shot of Krasopoulio tou Kokkora, which coincidentally is where my colleague and I had dinner later that night. Turns out it was on the list of our company's recommended restaurants and she had decided that's where we'd be eating. No pics because for whatever reason I wasn't taking pics. But I remember it being the first of a string of very nice meals in Greece.

We covered a lot of ground in a relatively short visit. One aspect that I did get some pictures of was the full historical tour we took of the Acropolis and its surrounding.

I had a big mythology phase in college. Took some class fully dedicated to it and even wrote my own version of a Sophocles style play, if I remember correctly. But that was 30+ years ago and a lot of the info has been pushed out of the brain now. (Though we did enjoy KAOS on Netflix last year.) Still was very interesting to hear the stories of the various gods, goddesses, and their temples. And the theater.

One thing I noted while up there was the view of the metropolitan Athens area, which according to the internet has a population of 3.6 million or so. Sprawling. Reminded me a little bit of the visual effect when you fly into la CDMX. But with one key difference being that everything here appeared to be some variation of white, whereas you get a few more obvious pops of color in Mexico.

Took some obligatory pics of the Parthenon and our tour / team while there.

One benefit of starting this blog is that I'm now taking pictures a bit more mindfully, thinking about what kind of narrative thread might apply later. That concept/connection obviously not in my head back in Athens. Regardless, had a nice little visit and captured some fractions of it for posterity.