Naxos- continued

August 3rd, 2010

oke up with the sun shining in the window, wow is that no change! It has been seven mornings of blue sky and bright sun. No worries about late afternoon thunderstorms or showers.Temperature is a steady 30-32C daily. Breakfast with the gang in the hotel lobby- buffet included some little fried flat dough balls with honey and cinammon. Forgot to say that I had a swollen lip allergic reaction again- probably the pistachios in the frozen yoghurt last night. After the usual preparations, the three of us walked 2 blocks to a small rental place, there are hundreds, and rented a small red Toyota Ayto or something like that for the day. Red, four door, manual with AC that was fighting a losing battle against the sun all day. We headed out of Naxos town (Hora) and up into the hills. We quickly climbed to Galanado and then south to Sangri. By that time we were in the valleys between mountains, olive groves dotting the hillsides, Greek chapels on hilltops like sentinels. \the roads were narrow but smooth enough and like, in Morocco, there was rarely a straight stretch of road to drive on. All twisting, and serpentine up and down the mountainsides. We reached a sight called the Temple of Demeter, a partially reconstructed sight from several hundred years BC where offerings were made to the gods to promote a good harvest. The setting was quiet and hot, exposed to the sun. Many tourists, like us, came in their little rental cars and open air dune buggy like cars to the same site- our own tourist pilgrimage to ensure an interesting vacation.
We drove the heat higher up in the mountains to the towns of Halki, Filoti and finally Apiranthos, perched on a hillside. Like the Kastro area of Hora, this town was built around and below a Venetian tower and house, Zevgoli tower, I think. Anyways it was very quaint and had museums of fine arts, natural history and fossils- all small -But there were also little shops and small tavernas and cafes on various levels  throughout the town. Each corner brought a little surprise. We did not climb to the top but were satisfied with taking drinks in a cafe with an overview of the valley below. Kate took a waffle laden with fresh fruits, three scoops of ice cream and then she was no longer tired, hot or unhappy.... After that cute village, we thought of going allll the wya north to Apollon, on the coast, another 30 km bt the heat and the feeble air conditioning drove us back to Hora vi a Agios Prokopios, the supposedly nicer beach further South. They did not impress us as we all thought Aghios Georgios was nicer and closer walking distance to town. I dropped the car off at the rental stop and met the girls at the hotel pool for the rest of the afternoon.Sunshine and laps of the pool.
With hunger looming from the light lunch we had, the three of us headed off into town ealier than usually to have dinner. Tonight we chose a roof top restaurant, Flamingo, where we were able to eat and watch the sunset over the harbour. Food and wine were good and the atmosphere very pleasant. As we thought about departure tomorrow AM, it felt to each like we had been here in Naxos for much longer than three days.

After dinner, the streets were filled with people strolling (locals and tourists alike). We walked to the end of the harbour to take photographs of the Portola , the remians of the Temple to Apollo. The monument is lit up at night while the surroundings are dark and the waves can be heard .Naxos was lit up in the background. After sightseeing, comes shopping so we wandered through the alleys buying some souvenirs despite the hour of 11 PM. So long,Naxos. Kalineekta.