A Memorable Pre-Summer Escape with Friends
By John Thomsen
Lunch on the beach in Aghia Anna
I just returned from a fun and interesting end-of-summer getaway to the beautiful Cycladic Island of Naxos with friends!
Naxos is stunning. We drove through several charming mountain villages and were delighted to see about 40 goats heading home for lunch, their bell collars ringing cheerfully. It was one of my favorite sounds, one I hadn’t heard in decades, and I had hoped to encounter it again.
Many of you may know about emery, which is used for emery boards and various sanding tools. Naxos is the ONLY place in Europe that mines emery! Mining is tough work, but there is a long-standing tradition of it in the remarkable Naxian mountains. Many locals don’t want to be away from their beautiful mountains for too long. One village, Apeiranthos, is believed to have been founded by people from Crete hundreds of years ago. You can still hear the Cretan dialect spoken there. Crete is about 180 miles from Naxos, and no one I asked knew why Cretans moved to these mountains, possibly around 1,000 years ago. The views from the village are breathtaking, and the steps and walkways are made of marble!
Not far from this village, we found a remarkable unfinished marble sculpture called the Kouros of Apollonas, measuring 21 feet (6.4 meters). It lies at a 40-degree angle, so if you visit and want to climb to the head of the figure, wear shoes with good grip. I wore sandals and didn’t feel as secure as I would have liked.
We made two trips into the mountains to visit one of the most charming villages I’ve seen in Greece, called Halki. Halki is known for Kitron, a delightful lemon-orange liqueur made from the citron fruit and leaves. We also visited a church there dating back to around 500 AD, where a kind priest gave us an informative tour. I could have easily spent the entire day in this peaceful mountain village, but there was so much more to see on the island.
In Chora, the central town of the island, we enjoyed food, drinks, nightlife, and a stroll through the impressive Venetian castle built around 1200 AD, now filled with restaurants and charming little shops. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, with its narrow, winding walkways.
Of course, being on an island, we also spent time relaxing on the golden beaches and enjoying the calm, beautiful waters of the Aegean. This was often followed by a late and leisurely lunch at one of the lovely beachfront restaurants, offering Greek, Italian, and Mexican dishes. Ahhh! It was hard to leave, but thankfully, Naxos will still be there for a joyful return trip one day.