Chora, Naxos

May 14, 2018

Yesterday we took the easy route from the port town to Apollonas, following the coast. Today we’re taking the high route back, through the interior. The ride will be like a trek over a pup tent - a steady climb for 14 miles to a high shoulder of Mount Zas (Zeus), followed by a steady descent to the sea. We like rides like this that are heavily front-loaded, so we can get our work in early before it starts heating up.

Mount Zas, at 3,300’, is not only the highest peak on Naxos: it’s also the highest peak in the Cyclades. We’ll only be going up to 2,400’, but that’s high enough that we expect some great views. Also, assuming we have the time for it and my arthritic knees cooperate, we’re planning on a hike at the top. It’s a pretty full agenda.

We prepare ourselves by sitting down outside on the balcony at Hotel Adonis (a terrific place, highly recommended) and absorbing the great breakfast our host has prepared for us. He describes each component of the meal as he lays it before us: home made lemon juice from his trees in the back yard; fresh strawberries and loquat from his garden; homemade lemon marmalade; and so on. Everything fresh, everything local, save for the coffee.

Our host apologizes for the frequent interruptions from phone calls he’s receiving. It’s his birthday!

We don’t make it out the door until nearly 10,but it’s very pleasant when we do. It’s a clear windless day, but not too warm. Very refreshing. We point our Fridays uphill and immediately start climbing. For most of the way to the summit it’s a very steady grade, not taxing, and very quiet. We are passed by only a few cars per hour until we near the summit.

As we climb, I keep stopping to take a last shot back at Apollonas receding in the distance. A mile later, I do it again, for about six miles. We’re climbing a long canyon, and it’s surprising for how long we can keep seeing back to its mouth. Finally we round a bend, surmount a small rise, and Apollonas disappears from view for the last time.

Great conditions for a climb this morning

Twin churches, with Apollonas in the distance

We keep climbing, working our way toward what is apparently our summit, based on the evidence of a line of windmills slowly spinning along the crest of a ridge. Eventually we’re up there too, nearly at the top of the world, and drop off the other side and down a few miles to Apeiranthos. Time for lunch.

That must be the top up there. Farther than it looks - there are a few bends in the road along the way.

Koronos, the last village before the summit

Apeiranthos, our lunch spot, is a very special place. A small mountain village near the summit of Mount Fanari, it is built largely of marble. After lunch we take some time exploring it, delighting in its glistening marble staircases, and narrow white pathways. It’s special enough that it gets quite a bit of tourist traffic - a tour bus drops off a load that marches through the village to their own lunch spot while we’re there, and the local bus brings in folks that use the town as the base for walks in the interior. It feels like a real town though, and this early in the season it’s still quite quiet.

In Apeiranthos, the Marble Village. The woman on the stairs is taking a breather on her way up from the market. A minute later she stood and resumed her slow trek home.

Rachael left our table to explore a bit while I finished my beer, and this rose chafer promptly moved in and landed on her bike glove. He fell off, landed on his back, and couldn’t right himself until I rescued him. (Credit: Bill Shaneyfelt)

We saw these strung up in front of a natural products shop. Puzzled about their identity, I went inside to ask what they were. Aubergine!

It was about 2 when we were done with lunch and explorations. With a mostly downhill 18 miles left in the day, we still have time for a hike. We lock up our bikes against a fence and start on the walk to Hagia Kyriakí Church, which was interesting enough that I’ll create a separate post of it.

I will include here though pictures of the lizards we saw along the way. For the last two weeks I’ve gotten occasional fleeting glances at lizards zipping across the road and into the rocks or vegetation, too quick for me to get a camera. At each sighting, I think to myself that I want a good picture of one to post here, as a challenge to Bill Shaneyfelt, our resident invertebrate expert.

Success at last! We saw probably hundreds along the hike, a few of which stayed still long enough for a decent shot.

A stellagama, a new species to me. Not really like any lizard I’ve seen before. (Credit: Bill Shaneyfelt)

Some variety of wall lizard, but it’s not clear which one. Several different ones live in these islands. They were very common - we probably saw hundreds on this walk. (Credit: Bill Shaneyfelt)

Any arachnid experts out there? This big guy was blocking the path. We had to duck carefully to avoid dislodging him.

We don’t make it back to our bikes from our hike until about five, so we’ve used up our time for the day. After an unexpected four hundred foot climb over a small saddle, we keep a good pace nearly all the way to the port town, stopping only for a rare photo that I can’t stand to miss, and an amazing road blockage. A lone shepherd is coaxing his herd of goats out of the road and up into the hills, armed only with his voice, his whistles, and arm gestures. A wonderful show. Very impressive that he doesn’t even have a dog assisting him.

Filoti, another mountain village I wish we had time to explore. We should have stayed longer on Naxos!

I’m quite careful at mapping the location of our hotel when creating our GPS routes, but as we enter town I’m afraid I may have erred. Our route veers on to a small alley, and then a smaller one, and then a path. We’re in a medieval urban maze, and it’s not clear which way we should go. Most alleys end up at stairwells, and we haven’t seen anything hotelish around so I suspect I’ve screwed up. But no, I’ve nailed it; though who knows why I’ve picked a place for us that’s stair-locked! I suspect they don’t see many bikers up here.

This is the easy part. The stairs come later.

The view from the balcony of our room in Hotel Alixis, another great spot we highly recommend. Just be aware of the stairs.

We don’t stay in our room long. It’s 7:30 and we’re both famished. We work our way down the stairs toward the waterfront, passing through an alley warren unlike any other I know of. It’s practically subterranean, with the main route passing through tunnels so low you almost have to bend over. I can’t believe I’ve forgotten what it’s like here, it’s so distinctive.

We could go down to the waterfront where all the traffic is, but instead we pick a taverna on one of these tiny alleys for our meal. It’s a great dinner. We start with a huge, delicious salad, Apeiranthos style - lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, capers, some sort of delicious cheese. Then Rachael has boring old dorade, and I enjoy a wonderful dish - veal, eggplant, tomato, Naxos Gruyere cheese.

You really should come to Naxos. If we haven’t tempted you with the biking, the hiking, the views, the weather, the economics, or the architecture, maybe the food will do it. Let’s have some food photos!