Pt2 - 11:

NAXOS

The sleek new hydrofoil motored across Santorini’s sheltered harbour on course for Naxos like a yellow torpedo. I sank back into the aircraft seat with a copy of the Times bought yesterday in Thira for what I assumed would be two and a half hours of satin smooth sailing, but the moment we broached open water it was suddenly more like a Cessna in a washing machine. I folded the newspaper up and concentrated on not losing the bacon and two fried eggs I had for breakfast. It took a while, but I eventually attuned to the conditions and recovered some composure. The day was hot and clear, but out here the breeze whipped up enough chop to suck the fun out of the crossing. Even as we forged the last 200 meters to the town pier at Naxos the wind fairly howled across our bow.

It wasn’t just the maelstrom that made Naxos seem our most charmless landfall in the islands. Apart from the classical arch on the low bluff to port, the waterfront and the promenade lacked the colour and life we’ve come to take for granted. It’s probably unfair to draw too many conclusions from a moment’s observation and, let’s face it, after Santorini anything is bound to be an anticlimax, so I mentally reserved judgement and resolved to give the place a go.

A veritable scrum of accommodationists awaited us on the wharf. We were drawn to a funny little lady with nice pictures in her folder and ended up in a villa thirty meters from the proper white sand beach in Agia Anna a few ks south of Naxos town. The view to the west promised sunsets over Paros and the intervening islets. The apartment boasted a kitchen, a large balcony and the best shower in a long while. Things were looking up.

We hired another Typhoon from a bike place a couple of doors down and puttered back up to Naxos town for a squiz. The Venetian quarter was Venetian but not a patch on Hania and the classical arch we passed on the way in was classical and archy and windy. We set out to run down the coast aways but didn’t get far before the gale got in behind my glasses and forced such tears from my eyes I could barely see the road. We retreated to the corner supermarket for supplies and then to the apartment to plan tomorrow’s mission: Naxos in a Day.

Why Naxos in a Day? Remember Operation Time Management back in Selçuk? Well this is Step 2 - unless we’re prepared to bum around Naxos until the next boat to Piraeus, which on an off-season timetable means another two days hence, we’ll be catching the late boat at 11:30 tomorrow night and hoping to get enough kip on the seven hour crossing to hit the ground running in Athens. It’s shaping up to be the most intense 36 hours of the journey and a lot of things will have to go right, or at least not go badly wrong.

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To escape the westerly gale still lashing the coastal fringe we headed for the geographical centre of Naxos, the village of Filoti. The well-maintained road wound up through country by turns rugged and barren then arcadian, with steep neatly terraced slopes embroidered with an intricate exoskeleton of dry stone walls. The views from above Filoti revealed the unique character of Naxos; the rural order of the agrarian countryside, the barren tors each topped with the compulsory Orthodox church, the little roadside shrines which, although not particular to Naxos, were impeccably maintained.

The riding was so extremely agreeable as we wound down the deserted road towards the fishing village of Apollonas on the north coast I couldn’t help doing a Zorba. Inside the crook of an east-facing enclave, the charming harbour was protected from the prevailing westerly. The little café on the waterfront served up the best coffees we’ve had, and we’ve had a few, and we sat back and enjoyed the sunny sanctuary of gentle calm.

Recharged, we followed the road around the north-western tip of the island bound for Naxos town. The first 5 or 6 ks to Agias Castle were very hairy to put it mildly; loose gravel, deep dust, soft dirt and a water truck turning 500 meters of it into viscous mud. There were no guiderails so one slip and we were over the edge, down the mountainside and into the frothing Aegean far below. The castle itself was a flaking testament to neglect, a shame in two respects; it was architecturally interesting with its small rock and render doorways, and it is one of only a few surviving examples of native Naxosian fortifications – it was erected to repel invaders, including the Greeks.

After the castle the wind settled down enough to make the ride down the west coast much more enjoyable than I’d expected. The road surface was smooth and properly cambered on the steep corners with excellent views out over the water. It wound through manicured olive groves and neatly tended gardens and, as with the whole island, a riot of wildflowers.

By five we were back at the apartment cooking up everything we hadn’t eaten last night; bacon, eggs, snags, onion, capsicum, spuds – a feast to see us as far into the next 12 hours as possible. We loaded tinned peas and tuna into our packs with lots of water.

At 7:30 we took a couple of post-prandials on a one-way trip across the road and sat on the white sand beach for our last sunset in the Greek Islands. The water lapped tranquilly on the nearby rocks. We absorbed the serenity.

At 9:20 the cab will pick us up from the Sunset Bar and the madness begins…

Next time: On the (Greek) road again...and again...and again...