Monday, May 7 Santorini to Naxos

Monday, May 7

Today we will say goodbye to the tour group, as they will head back to Athens and home and we will take the ferry to another island, Naxos, for a few days. Going strictly on things Beth has read, we expect Naxos to be less touristy, less busy and more "authentic" Greece.

We have some time after breakfast, so we visit the archeological museum here in Santorini.  It is small, but nicely done and we enjoy seeing many of the things we had heard about at Akrotiri. They estimate that 85% of the items were made here, with others traded from Crete and other countries. Boggles my mind! Notice the table, coffee cup and bronze items.

 Here are parts of the frescoes - notice monkeys, which surely weren't indigenous to this area.

 Beautiful work from 4,000 years ago!

 Our group is checked out and hanging out in the lobby area waiting for their transport to the airport, so we get to visit and say goodbyes.

 We have decided to take the local bus to the ferry port at 2 euros each, instead of 20 euros for a taxi.  The bus station is only a few blocks away, so it isn't difficult.  The station is a small walk-up window with a large parking lot where buses come and go. Very busy but we eventually find our bus (there is a person standing in front of it yelling "Port").

 Greg puts the suitcases in the luggage compartment and we are surprised that we pull out at 2:17 - this is the 2:30 bus! Emmie was right...

 A friendly guy at the port points us to the right gate and we, along with a hundred others, board the ferry and find a nice seat for the two hour ride.  I wander a bit and take a few photos as we bid farewell to Santorini.  Most of these people are heading for Athens, but we will get off the first stop at Naxos.  This is a nicer ferry with small restaurants, a whole "business travel" level and nicer seating.  We find a nice small table area and settle in.

 We arrive at Naxos

 As arranged by email, Nicos, from the airbnb we've rented is there to meet us and takes us for a short ride to his house.  It is a three story building with several units on the first two floors and Nicos and other family on the top floor.

 Our room is nice and clean with a small bath with shower and a small kitchenette area.  There is even a tiny patio area. All for less than $50 a night!

 After some directions from Nicos, we set off to find dinner.  We are just off of one of the main roads, in a residential area with many pink oleanders. The main road is still quite narrow so that we must walk single file most of the way.  Several car and scooter rental shops, a police station, two bakeries and a small grocery store are in the first 1/3 mile. As we get nearer the "square", a few restaurants, clothing, jewelry and other shops appear among houses..  We walk to the small square,

 then backtrack to a restaurant, Elliniko, that Nicos recommended. The restaurant itself is small, but they have a lovely patio area across the street. I love the old olive tree in the middle.

Greg orders bream, while Beth has lamb chops.  As an appetizer we have what they call fried rolls. They look kind of like egg rolls, but are made with phylo pastry and filled with cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and basil.  Naxos is known for it's cheese and they are liberal in its use!

 They bring an entire fish to Greg.

 This kitty makes friends with Greg after he shares a bite or two.

After the meal they bring us a complementary dessert - orange cake - and two small citrusy liquors (both made by the owner's mother) and both delicious.

I am beginning to see that many of the desserts are baked and then drenched in a flavorful
syrup as is this cake. I don't know how they do it without things getting soggy, but instead this cake has tiny syrupy pockets. Yum!

Nice to return to our comfy room and relax with no timetable but our own! Naxos is definitely a more relaxed place.  The night is quiet.  Ahhhhhh......