"Thou still hast been the father of good news"

 

"How chances it they travel?"

 

Flying from Washington to Athens

Waiting for the ferry from the port of Piraeus to take us to Naxos

The ferry, which was an enormous catamaran-style diesel boat that made quick time (5ish hours) of the journey with several stops along the way

Possibly the island of Syros?

How I got my only look at the Parthenon

Taking in the Mediterranean. Without a hat on, because it was incredibly windy.

Nearing sunset

Mykonos

Travel-weary, almost there

First glimpses of Old Town, Naxos

Poolside at the hotel after the first day at the beach

Out for dinner in Agios Prokopios

Beating the crowds (there was regularly a line around the block for this place) by eating at 5:30

Appetizer sampler, the best thing on the table was the stewed beans

Some complimentary tsipouri

Agios Prokopios sunset

Agia Anna, I think

Some of the colors near our hotel

Doesn't do justice to the blue of the water at the beach

A long and dusty walk up to Old Town, Naxos. (We usually took a bus)

Heading part the harbor up to the Portara

The iconic image of Naxos--the arch of the Temple of Apollo

The full Mediterranean stretching out 

It was very windy

The only proper waves we saw were on this northern part of the island

J had to hold her hat to keep it from blowing off

The closest we came to eating indoors. (It was a place overlooking the harbor, kind of like an open tent)

Eating fish with the head still on/octopus/langoustines

Some of the elaborate breakfast we had every morning by the pool

Cooking class day

For some reason these pictures are out of order. This was at the very end, when we learned a bunch of traditional Greek dances

Debris on the driveway is from smashing plates

Some of the final product from the cooking class

The presentation at the communal table once everything was done

Part of the view as we climbed out of Mesi Potamia

A bit of Venetian tower (The Kokko Tower?) that has become a historical site

All the stone was Naxian marble

Part of the farm

Making the tzatziki 

Stuffing peppers and tomatoes

Wine, lemonade, and snacks while we worked

Preparing the rooster legs

We used so much olive oil

Olives (not ready yet) on the vine

Estimated age for most of the thicker-trunked olives: 2,000-3,000 years old

On our way to gather vegetables

Selecting our produce from the farm

New shoots from an ancient tree

Bunches of grapes--all the wine we drank was made in house

Prep stations

    

Lunch on the beach

Mid-afternoon snacks

Trying again to capture the color of the water...

Up towards the far northern end of the area where we swam

A cooler, slightly less windy day overall

Sea-view dinner

Fishermen's Pasta

And a Naxian salad

Spot the kittens?

Watching the sun set from the rooftop tables

Another day down

The next day's breakfast

Watching the waves roll in while waiting for the bus

Some of the shops in Filoti

A hidden gem up in the mountains

Part of the descent from Mt. Zas

Felt like we were almost done, because we'd reached a proper path. We actually had another hour of walking.

The Cave of Zeus

We covered a lot of elevation in one morning

Another angle on the summit

Looking at the entire island with Froggy from the very top

The summit

In the direction of Turkey

The trail was fairly well blazed, but there were enormous cairns to guide you when the marks weren't clear

Panoramic view of the valley on the ascent side

Very scrubby climbing. (There were some nicked ankles and shins)

Water break on the ascent

These little family-sized white chapels were everywhere on the island

Where the bus let us off

A Nutella wrap that we've tried to recreate for the boys. (They would have loved them)

Didn't get souvlaki until 6-7 days in. It was worth the wait.

More of Old Town Naxos

Exploring a kitchen shop

"Leisure is the mother of philosophy"

Our umbrella slowly dying on the final day

Final dinner out

Same restaurant where we saw the kittens

Some of the sunbeds. 40-50 euro a day, which was why we made due with the umbrella.

Sea bream, fried zucchini

Grilled octopus

The last Agios Prokopios sunset

And a final beach walk