Appolonas, Naxos

May 13, 2018

We arrive in Naxos at 12:30 - time for lunch. The ferry terminal is in Naxos Chora (Naxos Town), the largest settlement on the island and its tourism and commercial center. Most visitors stay in town and visit the rest of the island by bus or rental vehicle.

The commercial waterfront, only a few hundred yards from the dock, is lined with eateries of all kinds. We have a bit of a ride ahead of us to get to our hotel in tiny Apollonas at the northern tip of the island, so we’re looking for something fast and casual. The place we find is perfect: good view of the sea, good view of our unlocked bikes parked just outside, good food. I have a tomato, mushroom and Naxos gruyere omelet (Naxos is known for its cheese), and Rachael has a delicious tuna and egg sandwich with fries. Ten euros. If you steer away from places like Santorini, Greece is a real bargain.

After two weeks in Crete, getting off the ferry in Naxos is like arriving in a whole new country. Everything is so different! Suddenly we’re in a unique land of whitewashed cubic houses, robins egg blue domed churches, and donkeys.

And a land of quiet roads through a beautiful landscape, perfect for cycling. After working our way through about two hundred yards of traffic, suddenly we’re pedaling along an empty road, stopping often to admire wonderful views of the sea, the fields, the rugged interior.

I think Naxos really must be the best of the Cyclades for cyclists. The largest island, it has enough roads to provide several good length day rides; and it’s quiet enough that you can really enjoy them. That’s why we’ve come a second time, and would come yet again given the chance.

It is also a great island for hikers, crisscrossed with age old footpaths. We hope to spend some time on one of these tomorrow, so you can see for yourself.

Not far from the end of the day, we pass a structure that startled me: the Tower of Agia. I’ve seen nothing like it here, and it reminds me of the tower houses of the Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese. Not long after, we round the northern tip of the island and Apollonas comes into view, far below us nested into a tiny cove.

This surprised me. It’s not characteristic of the islands. It looks like a tower house from the Mani peninsula.

There’s still some color in the maquis, but it’s mostly passed. I’d like to come back earlier in the spring to see it at its best.

Apollonas, population 100, our home for the night.

I love how overgrown the roads are with roadside vegetation.

Just before descending to our hotel, we stop to revisit the Kouros of Apollonas. It’s a tradition now! Every time we come to Naxos we stop to see if he’s still here, as he has been since the sixth century BC. Yep, still here!

Naxos was an important source of marble in Ancient Greece. The belief is that this statue was carved on site and then abandoned, incomplete, because of flaws found in the marble. There is a second similar statue like this lying elsewhere on the island.

So is this sacreligeous? I hope I’m not bringing the wrath of Zeus down on Jen for this.

We arrive at our hotel right about six, check in to our room, and quickly get on the phone. It’s Mothers Day, and we have an important call to make. It is so different now, to be able to easily and spontaneously connect around the globe. So different than when we first started traveling: find a postcard; find a post office; send a message off into space, and hear nothing back for a month.

Apollonas is a very small village, so it’s a short walk from our hotel to the riverfront, where we find a good fish restaurant and watch the light fade as the sun drops below the hills to the south. It is early season, so we are the only guests at the hotel, almost the only diners at the restaurant, and people aren’t sick of the tourists yet. And it’s almost chilly, sitting outdoors by the sea in a mild breeze. Rachael has to put a coat on by the end of the meal.

Toward the end of the meal, Rachael’s eyes suddenly grow wide with alarm. Seconds later, a boy wheels erratically past my left shoulder, carrying about a six foot stick width wise across his handlebars. According to Rachael, its sharp near end passes just inches from my head. Big city, highway, village: there are risks everywhere. There is a lot of randomness and luck in life

Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 571 miles (919 km)

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