Travel Talk

Exploring Old Town, Naxos

Greetings,

Part of the allure of traveling is that each day that presents itself is usually quite different from the last. Went for a stroll and found some cool views and the remains of the “doorway to the temple of Apollo“, ventured further until we were in the “old town” of Naxos. Later had some traditional Greek food, not bad for a random Monday. Supposedly tourism only really started here ~30 years ago.

The old town is incredibly picturesque and pleasurable to go for a stroll through with no real goal. Supposedly this whole area was exceedingly dangerous back in the day with pirates everywhere. This aristocratic family built a castle near the port in 1200. It still stands but it’s expensive to keep up so in 1999 or somewhere near that, the family turned it into a museum.

Inside the old town, asked for directions from this lady who was from England. When I asked her what she was doing in Naxos, she said “living my dream”. She always wanted to live on the Greek islands, she does. It’s funny how people that are doing what they want with their lives have an extra “pep in their step”, so to speak.

Apart from that, enjoyed some wonderful Greek food and just chilled out. Tomorrow, might rent a car and go tour some of the other castles on this island. This is my first full day here and must say, it has a different vibe and feel to Santorini. Not sure why everyone says “OMFG, you gotta go to Santorini, omg, Santorini!”. It was cool but I’d recommend Naxos over Santorini.

This place isn’t as touristy which I’m rather indifferent about it, just turns out that more Greeks come here to relax in the summer. There is a cool town right along the coast. Still, this place is just “warming up” in every sense of the word.

Oh yeah, one of the top 20 beaches in the world is here.

Never order a glass of ouzo with you’re dinner. Never order a glass of ouzo with your dinner, especially if you’re eating a Greek salad for starters, I dunno it just kinda killed my appetite and made me nauseous. Still enjoyed dinner but, yeah save that for later in the evening, it would be like drinking tequila or black liquorish from a glass with dinner, not recommended.

Tomorrow is last full day here, big strikes on the 11th but the gent at the port is 1,000,000% sure that there is a ferry leaving at 9:30AM to Athens on the 11th, I will have to take his word.

I have nothing else to say, frankly, can’t believe I’ve written this much.

Oh, if you’re looking for a great meal, Lucullus is the oldest tavern in town. Asked the English lady about it and she suggested we go to Maro’s Tavern. Maro’s did NOT disappoint. Great service, great meal and great price.

Cordially,

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