Naxos Island

We were watching Tony Bourdain's show on the Greek Island of Naxos, and since it was one of the places we'd been, I decided to scan a few photos. We left Mikonos Island on our bareboat chartered "Areathoussa" a Moorings Sun Odessy 42.1 (which means it's built by Jeaneau to Mooring's specs) and headed south to Naxos.

The wind was up a bit, but this was a downwind leg, so no worries, especially with Orv driving. Dave was navigating ("head south") and Jane was recovering and/or trying to keep from getting seasick (look at the horizon, Dear) so I got out my Pentax.

This was our first close up view and you can see the famous ruin, called an Arch, which is all that left.

And it has become the symbol for Naxos. That is the city, or chora, in the distance.

We tied up in the harbor (that's us in the middle) and went exploring.

The causeway leads to the arch. Our boat is to the right, out of the photo.

The best way to go exploring is on a scooter, and Mike's Bikes provided us with 3, one for each couple.

The top photo in this postcard shows the ferry in the harbor and the ruined arch. The bottom photos are of St Georgio's Beach, which Jane said she could easily return to visit.

You need a map, of course, and Mike's Bikes provided us with this one. Recommended road are highlited.

This is Kastraki Beach.

This is an Orthodox Cathedral, which you could visit if you complied with the dress code. Dresses and scarves for women, long pants and shirts with sleeves for men. No worries, though, as they had dresses, scarves and long pants for you to borrow..

Returning to the city, we check out the menus for good eats.

This little castle is on the west side of Naxos, and from here you can see across to Paros.

This is called the Venetian Castle, probably because the Venetians built it. They were the dominant culture in the Med at one time. In some places you can see that they used stone from Greek Temples to build their fortifications. And the Venetian Lion comes from the Greek Island of Delos (but that's another story).

Naxos is a  beautiful place, and even a small effort like this can show you that. From here, we to the Delfini hydrofoil to Santorini for the day. It will probably be the next post.