The Pleasant Surprise of Naxos

 

After another restless night in the noisy Hotel Victory, I woke up around 6.  I packed up as quickly as I could and got downstairs to checkout.  I had the desk clerk call me a cab and was thrilled when it arrived.  “How are you?” he asked.  “Happy to get out of here.”  That was the end of the conversation.

I can’t explain the relief I felt once we got out of that city.  At one point of the cabbie weaving in and out of the alleys/streets, he veered into oncoming traffic in order to make a left turn.  I just closed my eyes and prayed for a safe trip.  Besides, closing my eyes meant I didn’t have to look out the window.

At the airport, I continued to look for a flight to Santorini.  The only things I could find were either leaving at 11 at night or were outrageously priced ‘business class’ tickets.  Three hundred euros for a 1 -hour flight on a little pond-jumper.  You must be mad.  I wandered over to a help desk and explained my plight.  The dude couldn’t get me on anything either.  “Just get me out of Athens,” I said, “any island will do”.  After several minutes of waiting, he said he could get me on a flight to Naxos (pronounced like nachos) in a couple of hours for 150 euros.  From there I could catch the ferry to Santorini.  Book it.

I know nothing about Naxos, don’t even know what’s around.  While I waited for the flight, I decided to stay at least one night.  This might not be on the list of islands I wanted to visit, but since I’m going there anyway, might as well take a look around.  Booking.com to the rescue again and I found a place near the beach for 36 euros a night.  I just hoped it wasn’t a dump.

Thirty minutes after boarding should have started, we were herded onto a bus that took us to the tarmac.  The plane was indeed tiny and we climbed the narrow staircase through a door in the back.  It wasn’t the most comfortable flight (does anyone who designs plane seats have a height of more than five feet two?) but at least I had the two-seat row to myself.  Thank goodness it was only a 30-minute flight.

Caught a cab and was deposited outside a pretty, white stone building in sight of the beach, the Infinity Apartments.  My arrival was set at 2 p.m., but since I was a couple of hours early, I sat on the porch and waited.  Eventually, an older blonde lady in a quilted black jacket wandered by.  Her name was Maria.  She and her husband, Mike, ran the place.  She led me around to the stairs in the back, and showed me to lucky number room 13.  The place was small and clean (with a functioning toilet) and had a decent feel to it.  I immediately asked if I could extend my stay a couple of days.  She said they might have to move me the next morning, but otherwise it wouldn’t be a problem.

These rooms are advertised as ‘apartments’ but I find that hard to believe.  The shoebox I had in Funchal still had a fully functional kitchen with an oven, a microwave, and a washing machine.  This is more of a glorified dorm room with some cookware on the wall, a mini-fridge, a kitchen sink, and a portable stovetop.  Call me a spoiled American, but I can’t imagine anyone living here long term.  Fortunately, I was only staying for a few days.  I had no intention of cooking, so the place was good enough for me.

There were a few issues.  It took me a while to get used to the room's door which was horizontally cut into two pieces.  The bottom half scraped the floor, making a terrible noise unless I lifted it up to close it (for my third and final night, I stayed in room 14 across the hall where the door was much quieter).  The showers (always a sticky point with me) while pretty, had no curtains.  Once again, I was wrestling with the showerhead while trying not to spray water over the entire bathroom.

Once I’d gotten settled that first day, it was off to explore. I sighed in relief.  Now this is more like it.  Clean air, space to move, no one trying to rob me, and a laid-back vibe.  There’s a reason all those calendars I bought featured the islands of Greece and not Athens.  The white buildings near the water with the sun shining down really gives you a sense of summer.  But, since it is April, the beach isn’t very crowded and a bit windy.  I’m walking around fully clothed with socks, sneakers, long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a hoody on and I’m chilly.  I have no idea how there were people in the water.  Yes, it looks inviting, but it can’t be very warm.

The first place I hit on my exploration tour is a beach-side restaurant called Ippokampos.  I ate outside then continued to explore the town of Chora.  I love the mosaic tiling on the sidewalks and the pops of color provided by flowers near the white buildings.  As has been a theme on this trip, the narrow streets are clogged with too many cars.  Every other shop seems to rent cars, motorcycles, ATVs, and even rickshaws.  I pass by Mike’s Bikes looking for the owner, but he isn’t around.  Okay.  I don’t know how to pay him or what the wifi password is but whatever.

That first night in Naxos was the best sleep I’d had in weeks.  I woke up amazed and raring to start the day.  But, remembering that Maria was coming to move me to a new place, I packed up and waited.  And waited.  It was almost noon when I decided I was too hungry to wait around any longer.  So, of course, that’s when Maria showed up only to tell me that the room was free for the day so I wouldn’t have to move until the next day.  Cool.  Off for a meal and some more exploration.

Unfortunately, the weather decided to mess with me.  It kept switching from sunny to rainy and windy then back to sunny multiple times.  I’d done some laundry in the morning with the intent of putting it outside to dry, but that wasn’t gonna happen. Another 6 euros for a dryer and I wandered around some more.  I’d run into Mike riding on a bike with another guy and he filled me in on all the questions I’d had.  He still wasn’t in any rush to charge me, saying he’d find me at the dock if it came to that.  That was very trusting of him.

There was no plan for my visit to the island.  I still had no interest in renting a car or hiking.  Athens had been stressful and I just wanted to relax.  I wandered around enjoying what good weather there was to be had and read a lot.  At one point, I had wandered far from the hotel and encountered an Irish man on an electric bike.  He and his companion were looking for flamingoes but hadn’t found them yet so he asked me if I knew where they were.  I told him I was as new to the place as he was and wished him luck.  I wonder if he ever found the birds because I sure didn’t.

While there were no bird-sightings, the place is crawling with cats.  These aren’t feral or malnourished creatures; on the contrary, they look well-fed, healthy, and have no fear of humans.  They just wander around like they own the joint, even crawling among the legs of patrons seated at cafes.  This one just sat and stared at me a while during dinner one evening.

Every time I thought I’d seen everything in the small town, I kept discovering more shops and restaurants.  Every narrow street near the water seemed to offer something new.  A bookshop sold some books in English as well as German and French.  There was a cyber café as well as an arcade among the numerous jewelry and clothing stores. I found my instant favorite café on my last day.  The smiling waitress automatically poured some free water without my asking and gave me a sliver of delicious marble cake.  Not really one to eat sweets in the morning, but that cake was tasty.

As I was packing up, there was a knock on the door.  I opened the top half to reveal Mike.  I was glad I didn’t have to track him down.  He seemed upset that I already had a cab coming as he offers transfers to the dock.  No worries, though.  He charged me the agreed 36 euros for the first night, but discounted me for the other two, charging 30 a night since I’d called a cab.  I had to smile.  Not only was it a nice surprise, but a relief not to be gouged (Athens has really left a bad taste in my mouth).  He charged my card and said he hoped to see me again.

I wrestled my bags downstairs to wait for the cab.  At some point, Maria poked her head around the corner and wished me a good day.  I don’t know if I’m ever coming back to Greece, but if I do, I’m definitely headed back to Naxos.  Hospitality like this can’t be beat.  And for so cheap!

I write this while on the ferry to Santorini.  The movie The Mask is playing on a screen to my right while I sit with my headphones on to drown out the snoring of the huge guy sitting behind me.  It is April 13, 2023, my 52^nd birthday.  I didn’t understand until days later that the free marble cake I’d received earlier was my birthday cake.