The imposing 6th Century BC marble Portara at the Temple of Apollo in Naxos, the rest of the temple never completed. [8394]
From our own research, we decided to spend about a week on Naxos, another Cyclades island, but one we did not visit on the Sea Cloud. We chose Naxos because it was reputed to be large and diverse enough to be self-sufficient, it was not visited by cruise ships, it had pretty mountain villages to explore, and good beaches. To get there, having been returned to Athens off the Sea Cloud, we caught a ferry from Pireaus, about four hours with stops on the way. We will be using more ferries, so more on that in later blog posts.
Ag. Prokopios Beach and its beautiful clear water, the town at the far end, salty lagoons on the left. [1240]
We relied on Halina from the Greek-Mediterranean Travel Agency in Sydney to pick a suitable hotel on Naxos. Halina listened to our requirements and budget and recommended the boutique hotel 18 Grapes which is about 5km outside Naxos Town or Chora, the main town of the island, in a beach village called Agios Prokopios, where Agios means "saint". This was a great choice, Halina! The 18 room boutique hotel was excellent and the village was vibrant and busy with lots of cafes and stores, and the beach was long, sandy, popular and very popular. Our room had a sunny terrace with a view over the beach, although we had to walk maybe 300m to get to it. "In the middle of the west coast of Naxos south of the island’s capital, Chora, Agios Prokopios beach is considered to be one of the most mesmerizing beaches in Greece and in all of Europe with its golden, coarse sand and crystal-clear waters. One part of the beach is an organized tourist resort with sunbeds and umbrellas, whereas the other part is left unspoiled by tourist facilities and provides a quieter, peaceful place at its western edge, where a chapel of the same name stands." https://greekreporter.com/2023/07/04/sandy-beaches-greece-naxos/
The narrow main street through Prokopios. Buses radioed each other to be sure they did not meet on this stretch. Pedestrians shared this narrow space, but we note that Google maps walking routes avoid this part of the road. [8305]
Our objective on Naxos was to hang out and not do much, having been encouraged to partake in endless activities whilst on-board the Sea Cloud. We think we achieved that pretty well. After a daily morning walk (and swim) for Mike, we had leisurely breakfasts, then explored the town of Ag. Prokopios sampling many of its cafes for lunch and dinner. One day we bussed into Chora, and another we drove into the highlands, but other than that, we took it pretty easy. The days were hot, never a cloud in the sky, so we tended to hide in shade at the pool or beach, and come out in the evening when the sun was low or down. It was always windy.
View of Prokopios' untidy main street. The town is blighted by overhead power lines. [8319]
The beach at Prokopios was extraordinarily popular. As Greek Reporter said, near the town, it was 100% "organised" (i.e. covered in a grid of beach umbrellas and pairs of deckchairs, each section controlled by a cafe opposite). A visitor leaflet described it as "characterised by fine pebbles that look like sand and do not stick to the skin". From mid-morning to dusk, the beach was crowded with holiday-makers (mostly Greek) who used all available sand to bake, frolic and play ball games, and the water to cool off. The waters were calm, we never saw any surf there, and its temperature was just right - cool enough to be refreshing. Depending on which provider, renting an umbrella and two deck chairs cost between EUR15-30 (for a day), plus any food or drinks you might buy. Near and after sunset, the hardware may be complimentary, as long as you bought something from the cafe. To the north-west the beach extends about 500m out of town where the degree of organisation reduced to maybe 25%, with remote operators still managing to run small patches of rented shade and lounges and tiny cafes in beach sheds. There were beach showers spaced periodically along this length of beach, a true delight after a salty swim.
The beach in Ag. Prokopios is "organised" in that most of the sand is laid out in a neat grid of rental beach umbrellas and sun-lounges somehow belonging to cafes opposite. There is no suggestion that the beach itself is private, though, andf you can walk and swim where you like. [8307]
The tidal range in Naxos is less than 100mm, so the organised section runs close to the water-line. [8308]
Closer to the water, you pay more! [2434]
The intensely organised beach at Ag. Prokopios, just after dawn. [8322]
Early in the morning (like 0700-0800) the beach was a different proposition. Greeks, who have been up late at night, don't bother much with getting up early. The whole kilometer of this delightful beach was all but empty, same with the slightly more upmarket neighbouring beach of Agios Anna. On Ag. Prokopios, in total there might be 8-10 people in sight, men and women, sunbaking early or swimming, and half of them were naked. Why not join them? A post-walk skinny dip was most refreshing, and the cool beach shower afterwards most cleansing. Greeks are obviously unconcerned about nudity, those dressed took no notice of those undressed. As crowds arrive, the nudists fade away, maybe out of politeness, possibly retreating to more secluded places we don't know about.
Very empty Ag Prokopios Beach at 08:30. [8347]
Our old friend, the SeaCloud surprised us by appearing and anchoring off Ag. Prokopios Beach one day. [2222]
Prokopios is replete with visitors, bars and cafes. With so much choice, it might have been difficult to decide where to eat and drink, except that we received good advice from hotel staff who sometimes let vested interests guide their recommendations, but mostly gave their own personal opinions. As a result, we had some great Greek meals in truly spectacular locations. Sunset, about 8:30pm, proved to be a good time to eat, and we enjoyed truly wonderful views. Some restaurants were on the sand at the beach, the water lapping near our toes, making the whole occasion most memorable.
A tiny marina at Ag. Anna housed a small group of pleasure boats, specialising in sunset cruises. [8329]
Behind Ag. Prokopios Beach are a few salt pans complete with red aglie. [8344]
There was generally very little litter at Ag. Prokopios but too many plastic straw wrappings got away in the breeze. We found that Greek retailers generally were not as resistant to single use plastics are we Aussies are, but at least they know how to clean up![0712]
We don't want to name restaurants, because our experiences were, by definition, anecdotal, and they were all good in one way or another. But at one (unnamed, recommended), we encountered a proprietor with "attitude", the only such in all of Greece. When Clare ordered a cocktail, he said abruptly "You want cocktails, go to the beach! You come here for the food!". He still managed a vodka and soda, and at the end asked for a post "on Google". In every other cafe or bar, in all of Greece, the staff provided excellent and friendly service, always spoke pretty good English, and were grateful to receive a tip.
Delicious lobster pasta in a cafe on the beach at Prokopios. [5117]
Seafood on the beach at Prokopios. [1351]
Not a bad place for dinner! [5247]
This proprietor was proud of his food and wanted to become famous. Go Spiros! [8441]
For EUR2, you can take a public bus back into Chora, along with lots and lots of locals and tourists. We did this one day to take in Naxos Town, mainly to look at thePortara of the unfinished Temple of Apollo which dominates the headland at the entrance to the harbour. According to Greek mythology, the islet of Palatia was exactly where Ariadne, the Minoan princess, was abandoned by her lover Theseus after he killed Minotaur on the island of Crete. So, in the 6th century BC, when Naxos was at its peak of glory, the ruler, the tyrant Lygdamis, wanted to build a fabulous monument. Its dedication to Apollo is confusing, but that is suggested because the temple would be facing Delos. Other experts believe it was meant to honour Dionysus, and some Athena, so who knows? Apollo was "one of the most widely revered and influential of all the ancient Greek and Roman gods" and was feared by all the other gods (except his mother) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Apollo-Greek-mythology, so what's to be lost honoring Apollo? Anyway, war with Samos stopped construction, then Lygdamis was overthrown in 506BC, and the temple was never finished. Today all that remains of the temple is the 6m tall marble Portara(great door) and the ruins of the partly constructed temple. https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/naxos/sightseeing/portara-naxos/.
Chora, or Naxos Town, as seen from the impressive portal of the Temple of Apollo. [8385]
The harbour in Naxos Town., the medieval castle of Marco Sanudo on the hill. The cafes, centre bottom, are where we hid from the sun awaiting our ferry. The island of Palatia is now connected to the mainland by a wall which also encloses the harbour. [8395]
Fisherman at Naxos harbour. [8408]
Naxos Town harbour was busy enough, but adding to the chaos was a dredging operation. [8416]
A popular swimming hole in Naxos Town, really part of the harbour. [8367]
A SeaJets Power Jet coming into Naxos Town, Chora. [8384]
The Portara dominates, Chora has, like many Cyclades towns we have seen, a hilly labyrinth of narrow alleys laden with tourist trap shops in the foothills leading up to an old castle, the pretty maze of alleyways inviting exploration and exercise. For rather more than EUR2, we rented a car to visit Naxos highland villages, but more on that in another post.
Pedestrian shopping strip in Naxos Town. [8417]
In the Chora labyrinth, narrow paved alleys, covered sections, tourist shops. [8428]
House decoration in the Chora labyrinth. [8431]
Architecturally, the 18 Grapes hotel was designed in what we would call a classic Grecian style (masonry with rounded corners) with multiple pavillions linked by large attractive arches, all different and painted a brilliant white. It seems to be quite new, certainly well maintained, with staff who were selected from the pages of Vogue magazine. They were very well trained too - service was and attentive and capable, friendly to the point of being exceptional. We basically knew the names of everone we dealt with, and they remembered ours. The property had two pools, one heated slightly, the other, on a rooftop, not, but the difference was barely detectable, and both could be regarded as delightfully refreshing in the hot summer weather, under cloudless skys. Each pool was serviced by its own bar. We had colour-coded towels: white for the room, grey for the pool and brown for the beach. Our room was spacious and stunning, and the shower was a contender for the "best-ever" award - hot, high pressure from two each of hand-held and rainstorm nozzles. There was seating built in to the shower enclosure. We can't imagine a better hotel on Naxos.
One of several villas at 18 Grapes. Our room was upstairs left, a sunny balcony facing west. [8303]
Very comfortable and spacious bedroom in the 18 Grapes hotel at Ag. Prokopios. We had a distant view of the beach. [0947]
Quiet time at the heated pool at 18 Grapes, before any guests disturbed it. [4215]
Greek sewerage systems are, well, odd. The world's first flushing toilets were in Greece, at the Palace of Knossos on Crete from around 1700 BC, but it seems Greek plumbing has not advanced much since then. Not so, of course, but generally speaking, you can't flush paper because the sewerage pipes are too narrow and they will block. A bin is provided beside every toilet, and that's where used toilet paper goes. No matter how flash the establishment, they are hostage to the local sewerage system, and so we had to follow this procedure at 18 Grapes. The toilet had a bidet system which helps with personal hygiene and reduces the need to use paper anyway.
Heading for sunset as seen from our 18 Grapes balcony, silhouetted by a sad looking Norfolk Island Pine. Coloration is helped by a constant haze of desert dust. [8314]
The Lightroom photo-map below shows the locations for photos from this post. The map shows Chora or Naxos Town at the top centre, and Ag. Prokopios at bottom left. The island's main airport is visible.
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