Tag: Naxos (page 3 of 12)

Christmas greetings with a special touch of Greece

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Hellenic Seaways Christmas greeting 2015

The Hellenic Seaways ferry company extended holiday greetings on social media with this shiny red Christmas tree ornament decorated with a golden satellite view-image of Greece

 

Scenes of the season: My social media news feeds have been filled with hundreds of holiday greetings this week, but the ones that inspire me the most are Christmas wishes that include a photo or image of a place in Greece that I’ve either been to or hope to see someday. 

Just for fun, I have collected some of my favourites to share here on the blog.

Please click on the link below to turn to page 2 and see some of the Christmas greetings that have been spreading joy to me and many other Greece fans this festive season.

 

 

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A music video tour of Naxos island

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“On an island in the center of the world” is a 3-minute music video in which Kostas Doxas and Maria Makri tour top attractions on Naxos

 

If you haven’t been to Naxos yet, here’s a fun way to see some of the island’s beautiful beaches, fascinating towns and villages, hiking trails, mountain biking routes, restaurants and nightclubs. “Naxos: A World to Experience” is a 3-minute promotional video for Naxos that features a catchy pop song — “On an Island in the Center of the World” — with English subtitles for those who don’t understand Greek.

Even if you have been to Naxos before, you’ll still enjoy watching the music video to see how many of the sights and attractions are familiar to you.

The video stars Kostas Doxas and Maria Makri, while the song features original music by dj Rico – Vaggelis Serifis and lyrics by Yiannis Papadakos. The direction, script and photography also were the work of Papadakos.

 

Thanks for more than 3 million views of our Greece photos!

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Screenshot of the mygreecetravelblog page on Flickr

This is a screenshot of the MyGreeceTravelBlog photostream on Flickr, which contains more than 23,000 of our photos of Greece

 

Thanks in large measure to readers of this blog, the MyGreeceTravelBlog photo collection on Flickr reached a major milestone this week, surpassing the 3,000,000-view mark.

I have posted 23,000 images on Flickr to date and still have at least 10,000 more pictures from Greece to upload, if I can ever find the time. (I’m certain that number will rise substantially after our next visit to Greece later this spring.)

A few surprises were in store when I checked Flickr’s viewing statistics for the photos this week.

The individual photo with the all-time most views was a picture of Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos. But I doubt it was popular because the beach is so beautiful — I suspect some nudists wading in the water were of more interest than the golden sand and turquoise water! (If you want to view the image and won’t be offended seeing several middle-aged and older tourists displaying some skin, click here.)

 

Syros photos were the most popular

I also was amazed that our set of 18 albums from last year’s trip to Syros was the most popular individual collection on our Flickr page. I had been expecting that our Mykonos collection would be the most viewed, but people seemed to prefer looking at pics of Syros. (You can access the Syros photos by clicking here.) Mykonos did claim the #2 spot, though.

So far, there are album collections for 13 islands — Amorgos, Astipalea, Crete, Folegandros, Ios, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Patmos, Samos, Santorini, and Syros — plus one set with photos of many (but not all) of the hotels we have stayed at during our Greek holidays. More collections, including one for Athens, are in the works.  Click here to access the main Flickr page showing cover pages for all of the album collections.

Thanks very much for viewing the photos, and please feel free to comment on any of them at any time.

 Kini beach on Syros

Our photo sets of Syros had the most views of any collection on our Flickr page. They included shots of Kini (above), our favourite beach resort on Syros.

No sandy beach? No worries at these seaside swimming spots on four Greek Islands!

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sunbeds on the coast of Rhodes

Colourful umbrellas and lounge chairs brighten a rocky stretch of coastline near Kallithea Bay on Rhodes

 

Whenever I tell people we’re going to Greece, almost everyone says the same thing: “A beach vacation! Nice!”

Truth be told, we visit Greece for many more things besides sunbathing, swimming and water sports activities. Still, I’m not surprised that so many people associate the country with bountiful, beautiful beaches. With its thousands of islands and its mainland combined, Greece boasts nearly 16,000 kilometers of coastline and many of Europe’s best beaches.

But the Greek seashores aren’t long, continuous strips of stunning sand and pebble strands. While those number in the thousands, much of the country’s seafront is rugged and rocky, with no sandy shores in sight. But that doesn’t stop people from enjoying the seemingly endless waterfronts in Greece. In fact, it’s along craggy coastlines that you tend to find uncrowded swimming locations that are favourites for local residents and for in-the-know tourists, too.

There must be countless seaside swimming “holes” throughout the country, but in this post I will profile four that we have seen during our Greek Island travels over the past 11 years. The photo at top shows one we discovered on Rhodes back in 2004, while the three pictures below showing swimming spots on Naxos, Santorini and Syros, respectively:

 

swimming area below the Temple of Apollo on Naxos

Several stone staircases descend to the water’s edge at a swimming spot below the Temple of Apollo monument (also known as the Portara) near the ferry port and harbour at Naxos Town.

  Photo by Rocio Lluch if the swimming area near Amoudi Bay Santorini

A short walk from Amoudi Bay brings visitors to a narrow channel separating Santorini from little Agios Nikolaos island, seen in this photo by Flickr member Rocio Lluch. Tourists enjoy taking a dip in the channel and swimming to the islet, where they can dive from cliffs into the sea.

  Vaporia swimming spot

This is one of several jetties in the Vaporia district of Ermoupoli, on Syros, where locals and visitors alike can take a quick dip and soak up some sunshine

 

Click on the link below to continue reading and view more photos.

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Delightful moments on Naxos

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NAXOS from Kassiani Koufaki // on Vimeo

 

It’s no secret that we love Naxos. We picked it as our Destination of the Year in 2013, and I have been happy to see Our Top 15 reasons to visit Naxos has been one of the most-read posts I have published to date.

As you can probably imagine, I’m always keen to view photos and videos of Naxos, particularly to see how other travellers have enjoyed and experienced this remarkable island. This short video called Naxos, by Kassiani Koufaki, is one of my all-time favourites.

Though it’s only a minute and a half long, it captures dozens of delightful sights and enchanting travel moments on the island.  It brings back many warm memories for me personally, since I’ve seen many of the scenes in person. But I think people who haven’t yet been to Naxos will also enjoy its brief glimpses of beautiful scenery and simple details that make it such a pleasure to visit.

The postcard conundrum

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postcard racks on Santorini

Browsing postcard racks at a souvenir shop in Oia village on Santorini

 

Travel tradition: Call me old-fashioned, but I still send postcards to family and friends when we’re vacationing in Greece. I’m talking paper postcards with handwritten messages, stamped and posted at letter collection boxes in Athens or villages on whatever island we happen to visit.  The real deal that recipients can actually hold in their hands, not a fleeting e-card or email greeting that will momentarily flash on their smartphones or computer screens!

For me, sending postcards is a fun part of our Greece travel experience — especially since I write the messages and address the cards while enjoying a glass of wine on our hotel room balcony or at a taverna with a wonderful view.

postcards pay here sign But picking the right card for each particular person on my list can be a bit daunting since the array of postcard choices is so extensive. At some souvenir stands in Athens and on a few of the islands we have visited, the selection has been simply staggering — rack after rack after rack, all packed with dozens if not even hundreds of appealing postcards.

What to choose? Scenes of beaches, mountains, landscapes, churches or villages? Images of monuments, ruins, antiquities or museum artefacts? Photos of cute cats, dogs or donkeys? Pictures of old folks in traditional garb or physically well-endowed young adults clad in skimpy bikinis or Speedos … or wearing nothing at all? (There’s usually even a few “naughty” cards with pictures of ancient pottery bearing images of two or more adults engaged in explicit sex acts.) I usually wind up purchasing more cards than I need, and bring the leftovers home as personal souvenirs.

Santorini postcardsWhat I particularly like about postcard shopping in Greece is the careful way most of the souvenir shop staff handle the cards I’ve decided to buy. They always insert the cards (and any stamps I purchase) inside either a small paper bag or a clear plastic sleeve, so the cards won’t get scuffed or bent before I have a chance to write and post them. It’s touching how some of the shopkeepers appear so grateful and proud that a visitor will be sending postcard pictures of Greece to people around the world.

The only downside to picking postcards is that I inevitably find pictures of spectacular places that I didn’t know about, or didn’t have time to see. But that just means there will always be new sites and attractions to explore on a return visit.

Kokkari postcard shop

This postcard shop in Kokkari village on Samos had the best selection I’ve seen anywhere. Besides the cards displayed outside, the shop had hundreds more to choose from inside!

 

Kokkari postcard shop

Some of the cards displayed outside the Kokkari souvenir shop.

 

Archetype souvenir shop Mykonos

A cat snoozes beneath a postcard display at the Archetype souvenir shop near the Paraportiani church in Mykonos Town

 Archetype Souvenir Shop

Night view of the Archetype souvenir shop in Mykonos Town

 

postcard racks in Mykonos Town

Postcard racks in a narrow lane in Mykonos Town

  Naxos postcards

Postcard display outside a shop on the Naxos Town waterfront

 

postcards in Oia

Postcard racks outside a souvenir shop in Oia village on Santorini

 

Mykonos postcards

Postcards on display in Mykonos Town

 

Mykonos postcards

Postcards at a Mykonos souvenir stand

 

Naxos postcards

A postcard and bookmark display at a shop in Naxos Town

A splendid Naxos sunset

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Naxos sunset

Naxos resident Manolis Lykouropoulos captured this mesmerizing image of drama in the sky during sunset on March 5. If Manolis’s name seems familiar, that’s because I recently posted his terrific shot of the Temple of Apollo on Naxos during a vicious winter wind storm. You can see that photo in my February 14 report More weather woes as wind & waves thrash the Greek Islands. It’s the second picture from the top of the post.

 

More weather woes as wind & waves thrash the Greek Islands

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Portara monument Naxos

The ancient Temple of Apollo monument on Naxos is barely visible as winds carry sea spray up and over the Palatia peninsula. This amazing shot was one of three photos shared on Facebook by Manolis Lykouropoulos.

 

Wild winter: While it was the ongoing economic turbulence and political bluster in Greece that made headlines around the world this week, surprisingly severe winter weather conditions in many parts of the country were just as wild, crazy and unpredictable.

For several days, and especially on February 10 and 11, Mother Nature thrashed many of the Aegean islands and parts of mainland Greece with an unusually vicious torrent of wind, waves, rain, sleet, snow and cold temperatures.

The latest barrage of bad weather came slightly more than a month after a similarly brutal storm system brought icy temperatures, freezing rain and heavy snowfalls to many of the Greek Islands in early January (see my posts Wild winter weather wallops Greece and Snow scenes from the Cyclades to view photos and videos that were shared on social media during and after that storm).

 

Acropolis and Odeon of Herodotus Atticus in Athens

Snow falls on the Parthenon (top) while two pedestrians walk past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus next to the Acropolis in Athens. Flowmagazine posted this photo on its Facebook page February 11.

 

This week’s weather disturbances dusted Athens and surrounding areas with light snow, while various islands including Skiathos, Samos, Karpathos, Crete, Naxos and Tinos experienced either light flurries or significant snowfalls in some regions, particularly in mountainous areas. Freezing rain accompanied chilly temperatures in many places.

But it was relentless gale-strength winds that wreaked the most havoc, flooding popular waterfront tourist areas on Crete, Samos, Mykonos and Naxos.

Gusts registering force 10 and higher on the Beaufort wind scale raged across the Aegean, pushing powerful waves against coastlines, ports and harbours. Particularly hard-hit were the Chania harbourfront on Crete, the Little Venice seafront of Mykonos Town, the Naxos village of Apollonas, and the Long Beach area of Kokkari village on Samos, where seawater surged ashore, flooding streets, shops and restaurants and leaving muddy debris — and even the bodies of drowned animals — in its wake. The winds and water also caused extensive damage to the port of Evdilos on Ikaria.

Chania Crete floodwater damage

Waves and water damage at the Chania waterfront on Crete are shown in these photos posted to Facebook by βαγγέλης διαμαντακης 

 

Please click on the link below to continue reading page 2 of this post, which includes more news, photos and videos of storm activity and damage on several islands.

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