Tags
Europe, Greece, Island Hopping, Mount Zas, Naxos, Portara, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Temple of Demeter, Zas Cave, Zeus Cave
This is post eleven of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
- Greece Lightning: Heading to Greece
- Acropolis for Breakfast: Staying at the Hilton Athens
- Starting at the Top: The Acropolis
- Oompa! Eating Athens
- Taking it Indoors: Athen’s Museums
- Athen’s Other Sites
- Room with a View: Staying in Santorini
- Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 1
- Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 2
- Looking for Santorini’s Best Eats
- It’s All Greek to Me: Heading to Naxos
- There’s a Meat Town in Naxos!
- Shots! Shots! ShotsShotsShots! Heading to Mykonos
- A Delightful Day Trip to Delos
- The Trashy Side of the Greek Islands
- Bling Bling y’all! Upgraded at the Hyatt Regency Montreal
When I was researching which Greek islands to visit, it was clear to me that we should visit the renowned islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Since both of these are very popular islands, I wanted to visit a lesser known island as well. I ended up settling on Naxos because it was easy to travel between Santorini, Naxos, and Mykonos and because it is supposedly the island on which the Greeks vacation.
Naxos ended up being my (and probably Mr. Selfish’s too) favorite island. It was so much less touristy than Santorini and Mykonos but equally beautiful. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t visit Santorini or Mykonos. But if you want to experience a more low-key Greek island, then Naxos should be on your list.
This is the view of Naxos as you’re approaching on the ferry from the water.
Right near the port is Portara, which is a 6th century BC marble gate and the only remnant of a temple dedicated to Apollo. It is quite scenic, and when you’re up close to Portara, you get a nice view of Naxos’ old town.
The old walled city of Naxos is known as the Castro. Mr. Selfish and I spent a lovely and relaxing morning admiring how quaint it was.
Mr. Selfish and I stayed in the southwest part of Naxos. As a result, we mostly explored the southern part of the island. We took in some more mythological sites, starting with the Temple of Demeter.
It was mostly ruins but I am still glad we stopped at the Temple of Demeter. I’ve always been fascinated with Demeter and her ill-fated daughter, Persephone.
Next, we had plans to take a brief hike to Zeus’s cave, which is near Mt. Zas (Zeus). It was a little out of the way but the drive was quite lovely.
We found a little car park for the hike and started on our way. Unfortunately, it was quite hot and I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy. I ended up staying behind in the little shady fountain area near the car park while Mr. Selfish made the trek to the cave.
According to mythology, young Zeus was raised in this cave. Mr. Selfish didn’t find it too enthralling but I don’t think he explored the cave in depth.
Lastly, we headed to Hawaiian Beach in Naxos. We had to see how “Hawaiian” it was, but then we remembered that we have never been to Hawaii. Oh well. It was still very nice with azure waters.
Tomorrow, Mr. Selfish will go over the wonderfully delicious meat we had in Naxos. The island derives most of its income from agriculture, instead of tourism, so it makes sense that the meat is soooooooooo tasty.
