Naxos

August 2nd, 2010

We all slept in until 9:30 and the sun was well up in the sky. Breakfast was pleasant and filling. We spent a long lazy day at the beach near our hotel. We camped out in our familiar spot near the local restaurant and enjoyed the sun, the clear water of the Aegean and later an excellent lunch at the Tatra Cafe. We were sitting comfortably on a couch overlooking the beach sipping our drinks and eating our salads. I also walked down to the end of the bay and found that it continued with another bay for windsurfers and beyond. There was a superb view back towards Naxos town with its castle and the Kastro (old district) overlooking the harbour.
At the end of the afternoon, we returned to the pool for a refreshing dip, laps and a drink at poolside. A few minutes of computer checkups and we were ready to get out to explore. We walked up throught the town to the Kastro district and kept taking small little alleys higher up the hill..At one point we came to a little restaurant, the Kastro Taverna, perched on a small terrace. We stopped for a drink and ordered some spanakopita as a snack (spinach pie). The waiter brought us out these delicious small pastries, clearly home made. They were delicious and the drinks went down well, so we converted the snack into a full supper as the sun set behind us. The food was good and I had a delicious fish (dorade). We enjoyed the views, the tourists and the meal until it was dark. After the meal, we headed up even higher through spooky poorly lit alleys where Kate was afraid to go. But around every turn was a home or a floodlit square and finally the cathedral and convent near the top. A few more twists and turns brought us back downwards to more familiar territory and eventually back to the busy main area of town in front of the port.
That was our little adventure for the day but it proved that sometimes the most interesting moments are inspired by taking an unpredictable turn. On our way back to the hotel, we also had some delicous frozen yogurt and stopped in local bookstores and a cute cafe for takeout cold capuccino and  coffee- far nicer than any Starbucks as well.Another few meanders brought us through unfamiliar back alleys to the hotel and rest. It's interesting how you can feel at home very quickly in a small place such as this even though it was only our second day here. Tomorrow we hope to rent a car and explore the island a little more, away from the beach.