Olive Tree
Ed and Nancy arrived last Monday by boat after touring the sites of the Greek mainland. We had a fun drive around the island on Tuesday under cloudy skies. When we were close to our hotel at the end of the day it started to rain and hail and there was quite a thunderstorm throughout the night. However, Wednesday was a beautiful warm sunny day for more adventuring.
During our last visits, we hiked to an old church called Agia Mamas and have been looking for it on a few drives this time. We thought we found it when we hiked a long way to the church you see above. Turns out it was not the one we were searching for but it was a lovely hike. Unfortunately, the door had been affixed with a new lock so we couldn’t get in. On the way back to our car, we met Sam who was tending his sheep and he told us he had a key to the church so we decided to hike back again. Turns out there was a definite language problem…..Sam didn’t have a key and was quite surprised to find the new lock on the door. So we did the hike twice and had a good laugh about it.
Sam leading the way back to the church
Marilyn and Nancy were both taking lots of pictures of flowers blooming in the countryside. Some of Marilyn’s ‘flower’ photos are scattered throughout this blog. 
There are many hiking trails on Naxos. Many are up mountains and through valleys which connect the villages. These paths have been used for hundred’s of years. We also like to stop at various historic sites and old churches. Every drive is filled with exciting things to see.
Another ancient church
A church cemetery
In Greece it is customary to exhume the dead after one, three or seven years. If the flesh has completely dissolved, the bones are washed in wine and reinterred. But if the body still has flesh on it………..I think I’ll let you look that up on your own. There’s also the part about drinking wine from the scull of someone with whom you had unresolved conflict but I’m not even sure if that is really true. 
I’ve posted some pictures of the marble mountains in my previous blogs. We stopped with Ed and Nancy at a place where they have huge blocks of marble being cut into slabs of different thickness.
Huge blocks of marble
While hiking it is common to find lots of goats and to lose track of the path. In the picture below I took a short cut only to come upon a fence which I tried to pull back so I could continue on my way. I got stuck for a while which made Marilyn glad she hadn’t followed me.
Being watched by the goats
As most of you will know, Greece is experiencing some very difficult times. Most people blame politicians and banks for the troubles which have led to high unemployment and economic collapse. Many people worry about the stability of the country. On Wednesday, the two largest unions called for a national strike day. There was also a protest in the town square in Naxos.
National day of protest
Still, many of our friends here are optimistic for things to get better. We finally met up with our dear friend Nikos who, in 2000, was the reason we ended up staying on Naxos for 4 months. His family own the Venetian Castle in Naxos and he is a big booster of Greek culture on the island. He is opening a new bar in May which he took us to see. After that, he opened up the castle for us and took us on a tour. This was ‘special’ because it is usually closed in the off season and our very personal tour can’t be booked through any travel agent.
Castle Tower
The castle was constructed in 1207 by the Italian named Marco Sanudo who invaded and captured the island and named himself Duke of Naxos. His ancestors ruled much of the Cyclades until 1564 when the Turks took over. The castle is filled with ancient relics and artifacts and in the high season it is a ‘museum’ offering tours.
Standing on the tower balcony
View of the port from the castle
In the dungeon Nikos has set up a concert area where he organizes concerts. We enjoyed a drink of rak-o-mello (raki, honey, and cinnamon) while Marilyn played a few songs. This is where we celebrated Nikos’ wedding in 2000.
Here are a few more pictures throughout the castle.
We also got to meet Nikos’ daughter whom we hadn’t seen since she was a baby. She is quite a lovely young lady who has a very good command of the English language. She is also taking piano lessons but was too shy to play for us.
Nikos’ daughter Andrea
A few months ago, Nikos was putting a new entrance into the castle off the patio when a worker discovered what appeared to be a door in the side wall. It was visible because of the way the sun was shining that particular day and time. Nikos removed a few stones and discovered there is a room which is under the current castle chapel. In the early writings, it is mentioned that Marco Sanudo was buried in ‘the chapel outside the castle walls’ but this chapel has never been discovered. Now Nikos thinks he may have discovered the burial site of Marco Sanudo. Nikos removed the few stones so we could see inside……very cool. We can hardly wait until he explores inside which he intends to do in the next few months.
Is this the ancient burial site of Marco Sanudo?
As if our day wasn’t already full, we headed down to Alyko beach to search for Naxos Eyes which can sometimes be found after a storm (which happened the night before). Nancy found 5, Marilyn found 2 and I found 3 which was a good haul. We then went out to the southern point of the island and watched a beautiful sunset. 
We finished our day on Wednesday with a great meal and some Naxos wine at a nearby restaurant. The food is great on the Island and every restaurant gives huge portions. It is not uncommon for the restaurant owner to offer a free dessert after we’re already stuffed. This time we got a free liter of wine and then free cake. There is a lot of wine produced on Naxos and it can be bought in most stores in water bottles. We quite liked the wine we were drinking so we bought two bottles to take home with us.
Red wine purchased at the restaurant
Ed and Nancy enjoy scrabble so we’ve already played several games. As you can see from the picture below, Ed has an unfair advantage (in his lap). Just kidding.
We’ve managed to get together with a lot of old friends but not all. A group of expats have arranged a music night and asked Marilyn to play. These are a lot of the same people who enjoyed coming out every Wednesday when Marilyn played each week at Bar Vegerra in 2000/2001. Nikos is also planning to arrange a music night.
Having coffee with the expats
I realize this is already a long blog and I many have lost some of my readers by now. Honestly, all this has happened in only seven days. A lot of our time was spent hiking and also exploring old town in Naxos. We also spent a day with Giannis and Maria when they took us to their son’s country house high in the hills. The pictures below provide a pretty good summary of the day……
Morning hike in Potamia
lunch at Niko’s country house
Picking lemons with Giannis
Driving back from Niko’s through the stream
Hiking Mount Zas in the late afternoon
Cave where Zeus was raised as a boy
On Sunday night, Marilyn played in old town at The Jazz Bar for a few hours. A lot of our old friends came out to hear her and also join in a sing-a-long. At the restaurant before going to the Jazz bar, both and Ed and I thought this calzone pizza for two was worth a picture.
Marilyn playing at the Jazz Bar
Here are a couple more pictures for those of you who just can’t get enough of Greece. The first is a shop in Hora which Marilyn calls “The Stinky Cheese Shop”. It is where we buy our cheese and some spices and is full of really cool stuff. The next picture is of Nancy sitting in Zeus’ cave contemplating ancient history perhaps.
Stinky cheese shop
Today (Monday Feb 25th) we said goodbye to Ed and Nancy at the Naxos airport. We had such a great time with them and they love adventures as much as we do. This coming week, we have not guests visiting us but on March 4th we are looking forward to having Amy, Val, Rob and Kelly on Naxos. There are still so many places to explore on Naxos it is hard to know if we will take them to things we’ve just seen or go to some of the other interesting sites. The weather is getting better now so we’ll hope it stays warm for their time on Naxos.
Farewell to Ed and Nancy
