We just got home from a 2-week visit to Naxos a few days ago. We’re suffering tremendous jet lag, and really miss being in gorgeous Greece, but at least we have thousands of photos we can view to take our mind off the miserable fall weather at home. I’ll be sharing many of those pictures with you in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, I can summarize Naxos in just one word: Amazing!
This Apiranthos travel video runs nearly two and a half minutes. It was posted online by YouTube member naxosislandtv.
Marble & museums: When we visited Naxos in 2006, we rented a car so we could do one of the much-recommended round-the-island drives and visit some of the scenic mountain villages — including Apiranthos — along the way. We wound up seeing far less than we expected, thanks to the weather.
When we picked up the car shortly after breakfast, it was already 29 degrees Celsius (84 F). By the time we reached the mountain village of Filoti, the temperature was in the mid-30s, and we felt like we were going to melt after only a few minutes of walking around. We got back in the air conditioned comfort of the car and headed on, planning to stop at Apiranthos, but as we approached the village the dashboard thermometer showed it was a scorching 38 degrees outside. There was no way we could drag ourselves around the village in that heat, so we didn’t even bother getting out of the car and just kept on going. We eventually stopped at the Apollonas coastal resort area, where it was only marginally cooler at the seaside.
Marble architecture & four museums
It was a huge disappointment not to see Apiranthos, which we’d heard is one of the most beautiful villages on the island. Boasting marble buildings and marble-paved streets and squares, along with four museums (the Archaeological Museum, Folk Art Museum, Geological Museum and Museum of Natural History), the medieval village certainly sounded like a place we would enjoy. We thought we would get there during our next Naxos visit, in 2009, but we didn’t rent a car that trip and never made it to Apiranthos. We didn’t have a car during our brief stop in Naxos in May of this year, either, so the village remains on our Naxos “must-see” list.
With luck, we might finally get to see it when we return to Naxos next month. If we do make it there, you’ll see our photos (and maybe some videos, too) here on the blog. In the meantime, check out the videoclip above for a quick peek at the scenic village.
Thrillseekers take a wild tube ride at Mylopotas beach on Ios
Take the tube: Going for a swim in the sea is the time-honoured traditional way to cool off and seek some relief from the searing summer sun in Greece. Activities on the water can help beat the heat, too, with tube rides and sports like kitesurfing and wakeboarding offering a wet ‘n’ wild workout for people seeking a much more active and exciting adventure.
But if you’re too timid to skim across the sea under sail or motor power, you can still have a blast watching a novice try one of the sports for the first time, observing experienced participants honing their skills, or seeing a professional make even the most difficult maneuvers look almost effortless.
Windsurfing, canoeing, sea kayaking, sailing, and stand up paddle boarding (SUP) are among the mainstream watersports offered at beaches on some of the islands in the Cyclades (as well as in other island groups and many places along the coast of the Greek mainland).
For people seeking more speed and excitement, alternative activities include jet skiing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, water tubing and banana boat rides. In some locations, kite surfing is available for enthusiasts eager to experience the thrills and adrenalin rush of an extreme water sport.
Mountains on nearby Paros island provide a backdrop to this kitesurfer skimming the choppy surf off Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos
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It takes skill and strength, but kitesurfing lets you zip across the water and even catch some quality air time, as these enthusiasts demonstrate in a video I shot at Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos on May 23.
Tube rides offer speed and splash and the risk of an unexpected dip in the sea, as these riders discovered at Mylopotas beach on Ios. I shot this clip on May 21.
For people who prefer to stay close to shore and keep their feet on the ground, jumping and wading in big waves — like these at Agios Prokopios beach in Naxos this past May — can be just as fun and exciting. I shot this clip on May 23.
This donkey enjoys a spectacular view of Skala, the port town on Patmos, from his hilltop vantage point on the edge of Chora
Donkey tales: Mules and donkeys can be a common sight on many of the Greek Islands including — not surprisingly — two of the country’s most popular tourist destinations: Santorini and Rhodes. If you visit Santorini’s capital town Fira, especially during a cruise, you’ll see scores of the animals working as taxis to transport tourists up and down hundreds of steps linking the small port to the town 220 meters above sea level (see my Don’t ride the donkeys! post above for more about that controversial practice). On Rhodes, dozens of donkeys are similarly pressed into service to lug lazy sightseers up the path to the Acropolis above Lindos.
On smaller isles that don’t draw huge hordes of tourists and cruise ship visitors, you’re more likely to see donkeys grazing in fields and yards while you hike or drive around. Sometimes you might not be able to see them, but you’ll clearly hear them — their boisterous braying can carry across a long distance. And at other times, you can wind up having a close encounter with one or more of the animals just when you least expect it.
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