Tag: Naxos (page 9 of 12)

Solitude & scenery at Stelida beach on Naxos

March 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments
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Hohlakas beach Naxos

A view of Stelida beach, also known as Hohlakas beach (right), and St George’s Bay (upper left) on Naxos

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This sweeping view from a slope on Stelida mountain takes in Hohlakas beach (right) and Naxos Town on the far side of St George’s Bay

 

 

 Stelida mountain

Naxos port quay view of 151-meter-tall Stelida mountain. Construction of the Dream View Hotel is visible halfway up the mountainside.

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This Google satellite image shows Hohlakas beach (circled) and the Stelida district of Naxos on the southwest side of St George’s Bay, directly opposite Naxos Town. The island’s popular Agios Prokopios beach stands out at lower left.

 

 

Scruffy and secluded: Greece is abundant in beaches, and many Greek islands are justifiably world-famous for their beautiful beaches and stunning coastal scenery.

One of them is Naxos, which boasts a variety of excellent beaches that cater to specific traveller tastes and needs. For instance, families enjoy St George’s beach next to Naxos Town as well as Agia Anna on the island’s southwest coast. Windsurfers flock to Mikri Vigla and to St George’s, which also attracts scores of sailboat and catamaran enthusiasts. The long sandy strand at Agios Prokopios and the grassy dunes at Plaka are popular with sunbathers — especially travellers who like to tan au naturel. And people who prefer secluded quiet coves or isolated coastal swimming spots can find those in spades.

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Warming up with some Naxos beach memories

November 6, 2012 / / 1 Comment
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Agios Prokopios beach Naxos

Looking across the brilliant turquoise sea as waves softly break against the sand at Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos

 

Feeling the chill: Clouds. Wind. Rain. That pretty much sums up the dreary, depressing weather we’ve been experiencing here in Toronto since late October, when Hurricane Sandy started moving out of the Caribbean on its way to wallop the USA’s eastern seaboard. We were supposed to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday, Monday and again today, but the sunshine didn’t last for more than a few minutes. So you can imagine how envious I felt this morning when a friend in Athens bragged about being on her way to the beach because it was a balmy 29 degrees (Celsius).

At the time, I was sorting through photos from our visits to Naxos in 2005 and 2006, looking at pictures of some of the island’s beautiful beaches. Just out of curiosity, I checked the weather for Naxos. The island wasn’t getting the same blast of heat as Athens, but the temperature was still a summery 24 C.  Meanwhile, we were shivering with a high of only 2 C.

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Greece holiday pic of the day

August 2, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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plant on a windowsill in Naxos Town

A succulent plant decorates a rustic window frame at a house in Naxos Town

 

 

Greece holiday pic of the day

June 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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Naxos mountains

Mountains on the south coast of Naxos, viewed from the Express Skopelitis ferry

 

 

Top 6 memories of my Mykonos holiday in 2012 #6: the striking sea and island scenery

June 2, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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Elia beach Mykonos

Villas cling to a steep mountainside above Elia beach on Mykonos

 

Stark contrasts: On Mykonos, I have always loved the stark contrast between the arid, rocky island and the blue sea and sky that surround it. The rugged brown landscape seems to make the Aegean Sea’s shimmering turquoise water look more vivid and vibrant, especially at beaches, than it does at other Cycladic islands, where it has a pronounced cobalt hue.

This trip I did a lot of walking on Mykonos, as usual, but also saw many parts of the island through the windows of buses and cars.  I never got bored of the scenery, and always found it exhilarating whenever the vehicle rounded a corner and gave us a glimpse of a horseshoe-shaped bay with alluring blue and green water sparkling under the blazing sun.

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Greece holiday pic of the day

May 6, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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Naxos Town

Hotels and houses above the coast in the Grotta area of Naxos Town on Naxos

 

Chasing butterflies

May 5, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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butterfly in Naxos Greece

A butterfly rests near Agia Anna beach on Naxos island. This particular species has the hallmark characteristics of a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

 

Winging it: Back in late April, when southern Ontario experienced an irruption of Red Admiral butterflies, I recalled the time our island bus tour on Paros skipped a scheduled stop at the famous Valley of Butterflies — because there were none to be seen.

That was back in mid-June 2005. We had signed up for a day-long Orbit Travel excursion that would take us to places right around the island, including an afternoon visit to Petaloúdes, the butterfly valley 6 km from the port town of Parikia. I’d read about the Valley in my Greece travel guidebooks; they described Petaloúdes as a Paros must-see attraction during summer months simply because of the staggering numbers of Jersey tiger moths that would swarm the area. We had been impressed with the Butterfly Conservatory near Niagara Falls, so we thought it would be neat to see an entire valley teaming with tiger moths.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

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Greece holiday pic of the day

April 4, 2012 / / 0 Comments
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Stelida beach on Naxos

A woman strolls down a dirt road to Stelida beach on Naxos

 

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