After Mykonos, Naxos was a welcome change. The reason…it is not a cruise ship destination J. We loved Naxos. It is a large island, which seems to have everything except the mad rush of tourists. The waterfront is as nice as Mykonos’s, the old town has spaghetti of narrow streets, the beaches are fantastic (some of the best we have ever been to), and the interior is truly mountainous. It is the largest of Cycladic islands and we got to see a good bit of it in our four-night stay.
Adding to the perfection of our experience were our hosts at the boutique hotel we stayed in. They not only came to pick us up from the port but drop us off. We needed beach towels…no problem. We needed guidance for what to do for the days we were there. We got it. Our room on the second floor had a small balcony where we set to have morning coffee and see the life go by in a little square below us. True Greek life, not the tourist fueled variety.
We took an eight-hour tour of the island, which was offered by a local company for mere 25 Euros. We went through quaint villages in a valley and on mountain slopes. We saw churches perched on hilltops and Venetian buildings at vantage points (Venice occupied the island for a period). We saw a town thriving on locally mined marble. The best part of the tour was a visit to Apollonas, a town at the northern tip of the island. The crystal clear bay surrounded by hills and a lazy life style made it a perfect spot to stop for a couple of hours. This was the image of a Greek Island we had in our minds.
