Naxos - 20th and 21st August 2016

Since I knew I was coming to Mykonos (maybe even before that, when I visited Santorini in 2011) I wanted to visit Naxos and Paros. These two important islands are part of the Cyclades and the reason why I wanted to visit them is that Herodotus mentions them quite often in “Histories”, the book that was the focus of my Master’s.

Naxos is the largest island of the Cyclades and centre of archaic Cycladic culture.

We didn’t spend much time there, so we didn’t have the time to see much. But, luckily, it seems that I chose the right island to spend less time. Although it is the biggest island in size, it is not the island with a lot of things to see (well, there are quite a few of things to see, but perhaps a little bit less than Paros and Syros, my next two stops).

We stayed in a place called Katerina Studios, which was great for what I was looking for: walking distance from the port, with a small kitchen for quick meals and near the city centre.

Unfortunately, I don’t quite remember what Horodotus talked about Naxos in Histories (shame on me), but this is a book that I will definitely read again. One day.

One thing to remember about Naxos is that I had there one of the best Greek meals so far. Food in Mykonos can be a bit bland – Mykonos is an island for tourists so some restaurants don’t really care if they are serving really nice and fresh food. People will come and go, so what is the point? But this restaurant in Naxos called Meltemi served quite good moussaka. Their tzatziki was quite amazing too - home made, what made me throw the rest of tzatziki bought in Carrefour I had in the fridge straight into the bin. But the price was a long wait. If you are in a hurry in Greece, you are in trouble. And wait for a meal to be served when you have a baby who doesn’t stop for one minute can be quite challenging. God bless Peppa Pig.

Here are some pictures.

Our room:

Katerina Studios

Potamias Street, Naxos Chora, 84300, Grécia
Picture from Booking.com

Meltemi, a nice local restaurant:

Meltami restaurant

Protopapadaki Street | Road to St George Beach

Picture from tripadvisor.com

And some images:

My office

Because I don't have a quiet space to work (our house has just one kitchen, one bedroom and one bathroom), I go every day to Starbucks. I call it "my office". All employees know me already, and I don't really like to be this familiar. But what can I do? There is no place like Starbucks, where I can buy only a coffee and spend the whole day there with no one to bother me or look at me with that face "you have to spend more money if you want to stay here". Not to mention good wi-fi.
Anyway, I cannot wait to move to a place where I can have my own office. It will happen eventually.

Agios Ioannis beach

We went to Agios Ioannis probably in the beginning of August. There is a bus that leaves from Fabrika (centre of Mykonos old town) that also goes to Ornos and costs 1,80 euro - a bit expensive, but everything is very expensive in this island. We decided to go until the end of the route and visit Agios Ioannis instead of Ornos, because we have been quickly to Ornos when we first visited Mykonos in March.

Agios Ioannis is apparently a quiet beach - at least quieter than Paradise and Paranga, but the same crystal blue sea. Good thing was that we could find good shade under a tree. But not our favorite beach for sure.

(Pic from http://sithoniagreece.com/sithonia/nikiti/videos/agios-ioannis-beach/)

Elia beach

Today we went to Elia beach. The beach is beautiful, as every beach here, but we were a bit disappointed because there was only 2 trees that could give us some shade (and I refuse to stay under the sun), and they were far away from the sea. As usual, it would be impossible to use our own umbrella because of the strong winds. I even asked how much it would cost to rent an umbrella and 2 sun beds, and I was astonished by the price: 25 euros! No, thank you. We spent just an hour there - enough for me to swim (I am trying to "test" every single Mykonos beach) and head back home.
Hope to be luckier next time!

(pic is not my own, I have got it from this website: http://www.greekexclusiveproperties.com/property/house-with-sea-view-mykonos-2/)