Naxos
Leaving Mykonos, mom and I took the ferry to Naxos Island. Waiting for the ferry in Mykonos was organized. There were a few different lines for different ferry companies keeping people organized as boats arrived. There are many ferries each day headed to various locations and the Mykonos terminal is a busy place.
Being from an island, Mom and I are very familiar with travel via ferry. BC Ferries could learn a few things from the ferries in Greece. The first thing that amazed mom and me, was how quick the turn around time for the ferries was. At home, ferries can take 20 minutes or more to unload and reload. Greek ferries had a turn around time of maybe 5 minutes. They drove up, parked in a hurry and people and cars just poured out.
Mom and I went with the flow of people and got onto the ferry. We left our luggage on the racks at the base of the ferry and went to find our way to our seats upstairs. Our ferry tickets assigned seats and our seats weren’t together. Mom and I assumed the ferry was going to be full and crowded. This wasn’t true. There were many empty seats. Once the ferry left the port mom and I moved to sit together and watch the world pass by.
When we arrived in Naxos the ferry was just as efficient. When the doors opened we were ready to leave and find the hotel. It was a short walk from the ferry to the end of the dock. We pulled our bags down the road for a while before we found the right turn for our hotel.
Exploring
We checked into the hotel. Despite the early hour, our room was ready. Once we dropped off our bags, we headed to out wander around and explore. We travelled back the way we came, to explore the obvious ruin.
Standing tall and visible from along the main street was a tall set of columns that look like a door. This area was once a Temple to Apollo. Now it is a roped off area that attracts tourists. Looking back towards Naxos there is a wonderful view of the city.
After spending time exploring the area around the temple mom and I returned to town to explore with streets. We wandered with no purpose in mind we found many interesting side streets and shops to keep ourselves busy with.
Eventually, we made our way back to the main street. There were many places to find a snack, a meal, or even a drink. Naxos is less well known than other islands in the Cyclades, because of this the prices at restaurants are more affordable than other islands. With fewer tourists, I can only assume that prices have to be more affordable to attract locals also. Eventually, mom and I found a place where we liked the menu and the drinks and sat down to have an early dinner.
After eating, mom and I continued to walk around. Not too far away from where we were, there was a beach. We decided to explore the area around the beach. Along the way, we passed a candy shop. We stopped and watched as lollypops were made and samples passed out at the candy shop.
Beaches
We continued on our way and stayed at the beach until the sun began to set. Because we arrived later in the afternoon the beach was pretty empty. This is also one of the advantages of going to a less well know island. Once the sun began to set we headed back towards the Temple of Apollo to watch.
Many other people had the same idea as us. The area around the Temple of Apollo was full of people there to watch the sunset. The colour of the sky was a rainbow of reds, pinks, oranges and purples. We stayed until the sun was below the horizon and then returned to town with the crowd.
Mom and I weren’t tired. We continued to explore side roads on our way back to the hotel.
When we reached the hotel we decided to pass it and head back to the Candy King to buy some candies to take home. When we arrived there were two people working to make candy. They were working with multiple colours, on hot and cold countertops, and making a very entertaining show of making candy. Mom and I ended up staying for about half an hour watching the candy come together.
After watching the candy being made, and subsequently buying more candy then planned, mom and I returned to the hotel for the night. We planned what ferry we wanted to take the next day to Santorini. We decided that we wanted to have breakfast at the crepe place near the hotel and then catch an early ferry from Naxos.
Leaving
In the morning we had crepes and then went to buy a ticket on the next ferry to Santorini. The exchange of passengers on the ferry was just as efficient as when we arrived. We were quickly on our way to Santorini.
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