Our wonderful holiday in Greece is unfortunately drawing to a close and I am writing this on the ferry back to Piraeus.
The first week was spent at my father’s house in the Peloponnese mountains in a small village near Mystras. (If you are new to my newsletters, you can read a postcard here from a previous visit)
Whilst everyone was boiling up in the UK, the weather was perfection in Greece… around 26’ with cool breezes. This is a first as we usually come in July and August and have to endure temperatures over 40’. There has been unprecedented rain over the past months, and the flowers in the region looked as though they had been taking steroids. I had never seen the Bougainvillaea in such abundance.
The rampant Bougainvillaea on my father’s hayatai (balcony)
Fallen pomegranate flowers
Unfortunately, it was not only the land that was in a fertile state. Loyal followers will know that there is quite a serious cat ‘situation’ going on at my dad’s house. Being an animal lover and the son of a vet, my father is feeding and tending to half the local cat population. He has been neutering the females that they can catch, but many are totally feral, and craftily bring their kittens to the feeding station that he has set up in his garden.
The local vet is highly adept at spaying, but less of an expert at catching the wild females, so if anyone has any bright solutions, please do let me know! This year there were 3 new litters, and they are all completely adorable. But what to do with all these kittens?! I have researched bringing them to the UK for adoption but that would cost an arm and a leg.
Anyway, enough about Greek cats (which may be the topic of another newsletter!) and onto my Naxos experience.
Our main holiday focus in past years has been exploring mainland Greece and the Ionian islands – but after falling madly in love with Syros 3 years ago (read about it here) we thought we would visit another of the Cycladic islands. Of course the tourist traps of Mykonos and Santorini were off the list, and I was quite intrigued by Naxos, which is the largest island of the Cyclades. It is known for its beaches and being one the greener islands as it has mountains and water.
After much research and advice from my Greek cousins, we settled on renting a villa on the Eastern coast about 25 minutes drive from Naxos town, which proved to be a good move. The East Coast is made up of many long sandy beaches and coves, and the further south you head, the quieter it becomes. Unfortunately, in typical Greek fashion, there are buildings all along the coast now, many of which are half finished and abandoned. I can imagine a few years ago this region would have been truly spectacular with sand dunes and empty beaches stretching for miles, but even now many beaches were uncrowded with only a few of families and the odd nudist to share the sea with.
It is fascinating how different all the Greek islands are from each other. Naxos is an agricultural island, and once you are out of the towns and villages, it is mainly made up of farmland.
Our villa was typical in that it was located in the middle of a farm where part of the land had been sold off for development and a string of ‘luxury’ villas had popped up. We were woken up daily by a cockerel and the sound of goat bells which I loved. Unusually for Greece, there are cows dotted around the countryside and Naxos is very proud of its cheeses, which have won international awards. Local dishes are smothered in it. I rather liked the slightly grotty agricultural aspect as it felt very Greek and it is obviously a Good Thing that it is not giving in to mass tourism…yet.
Naxos Town (Chora) Is quite a mish mash of Greek architectural styles. The upper town is the most distinctive part, with a 13th-century Venetian fortress quarter built by Marco Sanudo. Below the Kastro, the older town follows the classic Cycladic style of whitewashed cube houses, flat roofs, blue-shuttered windows, and a maze of narrow lanes designed to block wind and provide shade. This is the architecture most people picture when they think "Greek island." Terracotta pots are made on the island (oh how I wish I could have taken a container of them back to England!) so flowers are in abundance.
Around the harbour and main commercial streets, you'll find some 19th and early 20th-century neoclassical buildings and of course, it wouldn’t be Greece without the ubiquitous concrete blocks that line the roads in and out of the town. However, the jewel in the crown is The Temple of Apollo, a massive marble gateway (the Portara) standing on an islet in Naxos harbour. The building was begun around 530 BC by the tyrant Lygdamis but never finished. It was oriented to frame the sunrise over Delos, Apollo's birthplace, and at sunset you can join the hoi polloi to try and capture your own picture of one of the most photographed scenes of the Cyclades. We queued up with the crowds and influencers to take our own photos. I can imagine that out of season this would be a magical experience.
My favourite day was spent exploring the mountain villages, which are beautiful albeit quite full of tourists. The views are spectacular and the houses charming with winding streets and cafes and tavernas dotted around.
My favourite encounter was with Theodoros, who owned a wonderful old shop selling all manner of hardware and locally made items carved from olive wood. His shop has been open since 1952 and he had kept his collection of old tins and knick-knacks on display.
We had a love-in with each other as I exclaimed in my patchy Greek how much I adored everything in his shop, and he gave me a Greek flag and a little bunch of dried flowers in appreciation, all for free! Of course I couldn’t leave without buying a few things, and picked up these charming hand painted salad servers (see below)
Another advantage of Naxos is its proximity to many smaller, sparsely inhabited islands. So yesterday when the wind had died, down we joined 50 other people to visit Kounifissia and Iraklia. We all piled onto the boat, and with classic Greek regard to health and safety the Captain started the trip with an announcement, 'Does hanyone here not know how to sweem?’ One lady tentatively raised her hand. To which he responded ‘Pleaze! Do not jump in the sea!’
The snorkelling wasn’t up to much, but the sea was an incredible turquoise colour and the tiny coves and beaches were spectacular.
Our final afternoon was spent on a marble sculpting workshop, which my husband and daughter were very keen to do. I didn’t really think it was my thing, but I am not one to be left out of any activities so I tagged along.
Jean Baptiste and his marble loving cat. A few examples of Jean’s work below.
Jean Bapstiste is a French sculptor who has been living in the Cyclades for over 20 years. He talked us through the properties of the local marble- Naxos has many quarries that supply the whole of Greece.
Selecting marble for our masterpieces. We were shown that you have to wet the marble to appreciate its markings.
Power tools at the ready …
I am embarrassed to confess that I have hardly handled a power tool in my life and initially the grinder scared the life out of me… but after a few hours I was waving it around merrily. I decided to make an ancient Cycladic head -and I was pretty pleased with the results!
Before and after…
To summarise, I would recommend Naxos for a holiday, and I think it is particularly good for families. It still feels very Greek, with a bustling main town and plenty to do. Naxos doesn’t have the charm or elegance of Syros (which still holds my heart) But the many beaches are absolutely top notch, and whilst there were quite a few tourists there (end of June/beginning of July) you can easily find spots away from everyone to relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of beautiful Greece.
