Naxos
Aeolus, the god of the wind, was in need of some appeasement this past evening. While we traveled north during the night from Santorini to Naxos, we navigated into a steady headwind. This did not thwart our spirit of adventure; it only exercised the flexibility of our intentions. We spent our morning on board the Panorama in a discussion with Stella and Elli of “modern” Greece. This was an interactive opportunity and afterwards Michelle gave a presentation on the oceanographic features of the Mediterranean and the history of its formation.
After some skillful maneuvering by our Captain, we docked in Naxos and spent the afternoon experiencing the productivity of this large, mountainous island. The roads were lined with olive groves and small plots of land bordered by giant reeds. These reeds are used as windbreaks to protect the crops and orchards within them.
High in the hills we could see the brilliant white marble quarries shimmering in the sunlight. These quarries are a source of excellent quality marble, which has been transported all over the Cyclades since ancient times. We stopped in the small village of DalmalÜs. Elli told us of the process of coaxing the delicious oil from the reluctant olive and we viewed a traditional community olive press as well.
From here we walked to a small pottery factory. A demonstration of throwing pottery on a wheel was given. Afterwards our host, Manolis Libertas, showed us a number of functional but ancient designs of pottery. Two of the favorites were the vessel created for holding the milk while you milked your goat and a pot made to hold the calming smoky fire you wafted upon your beehives before robbing them of their golden horde of honey.
Upon our return from the mountainous countryside, we walked up into the town Kastro. Our first stop was in a specialty foods shop which offered a sampling of a specialty liquor called citron, grown and made on the island of Naxos. Fortified with this tasty alcoholic beverage we started climbing up to the Kastro. Historically, these high walls, narrow streets, confusing alleyways, steep steps and constricted entrances combined to confound and foil raiding marauders. Today we found in this maze, colorful flowers, picturesque arches, scenic overviews, and an adorable puppy dog. Our canine friend was waiting patiently and staring intently inside the church, watching for his companion to return.
On our walk back to the ship we strolled along the waterfront. This is lined with a number of restaurants, many serving seafood. Amongst their offerings was octopus. The octopus were hung outside the restaurant entrances like drying tentacled laundry waiting to be grilled and cooked to order as an appetizer, or ready to catch your hair if you failed to duck upon entering the eating establishment.
For the evening cocktails we had a Greek Festival in our lounge which started with servings of ouzo and grilled octopus. We ended our day with a lovely buffet dinner featuring delicious Greek specialties.
