Greek Isle #3

Naxos - Just another awesome part of paradise

Nadine and Jean Marc rented a car on Naxos and took me everywhere with them.

The weather was changeable but the view always great.

Naxos has lots of marble. It was being mined and used 2500 years ago when Demeter's Sanctuary was built...

... and it is still being mined today. There's so much that the scraps get used as breakwaters. 

Even the parts of Naxos that aren't marble are still pretty rocky...

... and the number of stone walls in some fields is crazy.

Houses were built of stone...

... and windmills ...

... and churches.

We did all sorts of things; stopped at beaches to skinny dip, at restaurants to sample local cuisine, and at this half-built deserted hotel to marvel at the graffiti.

We saw sheep ...

... and cows ...

... and goats.

The wild flowers were interesting...

... and the cultivated ones stunning. And, as usual, I threw my hands in the air and was thrilled to be privileged enough to visit.

Greek Isle #2

IOS  - Closed for the season

At the only restaurant left open the flowers are in full bloom but the bar stools empty.

I was on Santorini just yesterday, it's so close you can see it from here, and it was a happening place. My hostel was almost full, there were often 5 cruise ships in port, the restaurants and boutiques were open for business, the infinity pools sparkled, and the teenagers partied at clubs till 4 am and then got up at 9 in the morning and roared off on their rented ATV's to go and explore the island. (I was impressed. I assume 'explore the island' translates into 'sleep on the beach', but I was nonetheless impressed. But the point is, it was a happening place.)

Ios, on the other hand, is already closed for the season. The hostels and hotels, the shops and restaurants, the taxi boats and beach bars - all are closed. Beaches are deserted. Pools are empty (of water). Coke machines are unplugged and turned backwards. Outdoor lighting is bagged and duct taped. Beach chairs are stacked and tied firmly down for the winter. Nobody is here.

Why?

It is 28 degrees and gorgeous out.

The water is still warm and the flowers are in full bloom.

Ios, where Homer lived and died, is a delightful little island. It has rocky headlands along the shore separating deep bays with sandy beaches and clear turquoise water perfect for snorkeling and a quiet interior where cows, goats, and sheep roam and grapes and olives are grown.

Why is it empty?

I explored the narrow winding (deserted) labyrinthine laneways of the principal town before walking to the main beautiful km long (deserted) beach where I swam and then stopped for a super meal at the last restaurant still open on the island (where I was the only patron). The owner said there are 15,000 tourists per day on the island in summer. We both agreed the number now is likely 15.

I was going to stay at the Far Out Beach Club which has camping, 3 star, and 5 star sections, various pools and activities, and DJs from Athens every night. Not in October. I'm staying instead in a lovely little family run pension with a fantastic front jungle garden right by the port. It's great, which is good, because not many other options currently exist.

If you want to walk, swim, read, relax, or otherwise occupy yourself in a picturesque part of paradise in total peace and quiet with only birdsong and the occasional jangling of a loose goat's bell to disrupt you, then Ios in October would suit you well.

Deep bays with (deserted) sandy beaches.

Interior of Ios.

Detail of interior showing terracing put in by the Romans now neglected and overgrown.

The shady front garden of my lovely pension.

EVERY pool I saw was empty!