Santorini

The iconic Santorini blue domes

We've saved the best til last. Or rather...we've saved the most expensive til last! The island of Santorini (or technically Thira) was the last of the Cycladic Islands on our hit list and our last destination in Greece. As expected, the ferry was late and the disembarkation another round of organised chaos. This was where most of the ferry emptied and the port was like a fish market of drivers and guides waving their boards around looking for their customers. Fortunately we found our driver quickly and he had parked his car right near the exit so we didn't have to wait for other cars or buses to move. 

Our hotel in Oia, Art Maisons Aspaki, was chosen by Jonah and we agreed to it as part of his birthday celebration. We booked nearly a year in advance when there was a special on and when revenge travel had not really taken off yet. Little did we know then how good a deal it was. The rates were now 40% more! We all love a good bargain! Our driver called the hotel just before arrival, and 2 porters were waiting for us at the carpark that was chock a block with cars, vans and buses. The rest of the trip would be made on foot. We soon understood why the porters were needed...they pushed their way through the crowds with our suitcases, including past the instagrammers lining up for the famous blue dome shot, and then down the steep stairs. 

We were welcomed with a lovely drink, checked in and was soon able to enjoy our villa for the rest of the day. The hotel and our villa was beautiful, had one of the best positions in Oia, and was staffed with the most helpful and friendly staff. We had dinner onsite and it was so relaxing...but freezing once the sun went down! Fortunately they had blankets for us but we still didn't stick around for tea or coffee!

I won't write too much more as we didn't do too much more other than relax!

Our last meal in Naxos

Lovely way to consume calories by the water waiting for a ferry

The porters barging their way through

And then down the stairs...

The view from reception!

Our welcome drinks, one alcoholic and the other not

Our villa

Overlooking the caldera with a lovely shaded sitting area, a dining area and the deck chairs, oh and a private pool

Our view!

Our room

Jonah's nook to the side

The view from his nook

The dressing area

Bathroom

Selection of books

Sparkling wine and munchies waiting for us

Jonah enjoying the pool

Cheers!

Our hotel

Device time is previous time...

Dinner on the main pool level

Enjoying the sunset and the amazing 180 view from the hotel pool

Santorini sunset

Beautiful colours and lights once the sun goes down

One of specialty produce of Santorini are mini tomatoes. The most amazing tomato soup

Like father like son, looks like this was the position for the pool...

Relaxing In Naxos

Jonah was still not quite 100% so Mal and I let him rest while we enjoyed Naxos. It was a taste of what travelling would be like without the children in the future. Kinda nice but also sorta sad. A leisurely walk to a nearby ex-convent now turned commercial building took us to our breakfast spot recommended by Zack, our apartment manager. We would have never found it if we had not been looking for it. The cafe/restaurant was on the top floor of the building with wonderful views across the town. Mostly importantly, the coffee was good as was the food!

The afternoon was spent at the beach, followed by a nap and travel planning (for our next trip 😂) before enjoying an enjoyable seafood meal by the waterfront (again a recommendation from Zack).

We had just about given up our search for the dried kitron which we sampled yesterday, but managed to find some after dinner. Hopefully customs approves the dried fruit!

Breakfast with a view. The first place to offer a flat white!

A cappuccino latte with a Naxian orange pie. Lovely cake that isn't too sweet

Agios Prokopios beach. Crytal clear water but a little colder than Mykonos

We hated the beach umbrellas and seats which took up a good chunk of the beach. 10 euros for 2 seats...

Catching the public bus like the backpackers. A big change from our private mercedes lol

Fish salad. Refreshing and delicious!

Squid stuffed with...salad and cheese!

Another interesting dish. Yoghurt and candied carrots, a surprising good combo. Would be great for breakfast! Again not too sweet. This was on the house. 

Naxos

Naxos

It was time to move on to the next island of the Cyclades. The seabus conveniently located near our apartment would take us from the Old Town to the New Port for 2 euros per person. From there it was a matter of waiting to see how late the ferry would be...only 20 minutes. Not too bad! 

The 35 minute ferry ride served as our morning entertainment as we watched passengers play musical chairs, with one group displacing another who had sat in the wrong seats. The rest of the passengers walking around were still trying to find their seats by the time the ferry reached Naxos. We could not blame them as the seat numbering system was not intuitive whatsoever. Fortunately, the exchange of cars and passengers at Naxos was far less chaotic due the the fact that there were significantly less people getting on and off. We found the driver of our private guided tour easily and we had 6 hours to see the highlights of Naxos.

Naxos, the largest island of the Cyclades, was greener than Mykonos which made for a nice change. Without going into the geography of why this was, this meant that Naxos had produce that were specialties of the island. Potatoes was one. Naxian gruyere was another. And the lucky last but not least was the citron. The fruit and leaves are distilled to make a liquor called Kitron. The fruit can be dried and preserved into snacks, as well as made into marmalade. We bought them all! Naxos was also known for its marble, which was used for the Parthenon, structures in Delphi and many more. The guide did a good job picking a bit of everything to show us. We visited pretty villages, went to archaeological sites, tried local food (rooster!), and watched local craftsmen at work. He also educated us on mythology related to Naxos.

The seabus. We had to wait until the captain and the deckhand finished their breakfast before leaving...

Illustrating the Greek's attempt to be efficient, the ramp comes down whilst the ferry is rotating and moving into position

Let the chaos begin! Cars and people moving at the same time

The green made everything much easier on the eye. The temple of Demeter in the distance

There were no straight lines, done to give the optical illusion of straight lines when viewed from a distance. The Parthenon would later use this same technique

Manolis, a fourth generation potter at work. This was his work studio in the village of Damalas

It took him no more than 3 minutes to create this

Some of his creations on display

Tradition functional vessels only found in Naxos

The traditional olive press in Damalas

Heavy stone to crush the olives. It took 3 men to turn the wheel

The pulp was then further "pressed", with extra leverage possible if required

Halki, the old capital

Where we discovered Kitron!

Made from the leaves of the citron fruit

The distillery

The end product, this was the least strong of the range and the sweetest

Next pretty town...Apiranthos 

Basil!

Our lunch stop

Xinomizithra (sour goat cream cheese) salad. Another specialty of the region. Tasted like a mix between feta and ricotta. The best of both worlds!

Another specialty of Naxos, rooster. Yup this was rooster chops

A winner. Rosto, a pork dish was a specialty of the village. We also had to try the potatoes!

Naxos exports emery. The mineral that was next in hardness on the moh scale after diamond, used to make emery boards, sanding paper etc! Very hard to mine

Kouros, ancient Greek free standing male sculptures. This one was made of marble (white underneath but not allowed to be cleaned by archaeologists) more than 4m tall and weighing about 5 tonnes. Probably abandoned because it was damaged prior to transport

Our home for the next 2 nights was Naxos Downtown apartments. For only 80 euros per night, it really was a steal. It was an easy walk to the waterfront, was comfortable and had an amazing rooftop terrace only shared by 2 apartments (out of 6 in the building). The host was super friendly and helpful, giving us many tips and recommendations. 

Room

Sitting area behind Mal converted to Jonah's bed

Rooftop terrace right outside our room!

The view back towards the water. The castle on the right 

The Temple of Apollo at sunset