Entries about naxos

On our last night with the Mooneys in Naxos, we wanted to visit one of the most popular spots, Apollo's Arch, and we wanted to do it at sunset. We drive into town and ate a great dinner not far from the waterfront, and started to walk toward the arch, which is close the main port where all the ferries come in. But we were literally chasing the sun as it was setting quickly. The whole day was planned around going to the arch in time for sunset, and now we were late! We were pushing the stroller at high speed, poor pregnant Abha was huffing and puffing as fast as she could (she was fantastic and so energetic for 6 months pregnant!), and Cara was starting to tire, too. I finally decided to grab the camera and race ahead to capture some pics. I literally ran (although I am sure I heard the others laughing that I wasn't running fast enough and wouldn't make it, whatever, slow pokes!). But I did make it and it was stunning!

We spent some time enjoying the view. You can great an amazing view of Naxos island from the arch, too.

A great way to end our fantastic time in Naxos. But it wasn't really over yet.

We walked along the boardwalk, got some ice cream, checked out the many tabepnas (greek taverns/restaurants) which hang their daily catch of octopus from their entrance ways and enjoyed our wee stroll.

We enjoyed it, until we got back to the car. We had parked along the boardwalk, where we had parked the day before without issue. Interestingly, we were now the only car parked there. Even more interestingly, there were only people walking everywhere- on the sidewalk, along the boardwalk and in the street where we were parked. I did say it seemed fishy to park there at the time, and did suggest we quickly hop in and drive to the arch when we raced by our car after dinner (lazy, I know, but we were late!).

Yet of course we were all surprised to see the big, fat, 80 EURO ticket stuck to the windshield. And the whole thing was in Greek except for the info about how and where to make the payment. Ooops! To only add to the embarrassment of the situation, everyone was starring at the six of us squeeze like a bunch of clowns into a clown car, and then as we slowly tried to drive out into the sea of pedestrians, old Greek ladies sitting along the boardwalk shook their fingers at us and said, what we can only assume is, "you can't park here!" Then, a ship officer in a white uniform came to the drivers window and told us we can't park there (thanks, man), told us to put on our hazard lights and then he cleared the road and we followed him down the entire way until the end (which was Apollo's arch, may I add, and there was ample free parking). People stopped and parted to either side of the road, all eyes were on us. I think they thought we were famous, as who else would be personally escorted down the boardwalk by an officer. Then we decided to joke back and began to wave at everyone and unknowing tourists waved back in hopes of a glimpse of some Greek royalty or pop star.

To pay or not pay... their systems surely aren't as sophisticated as those in the US or UK...they are just a small island...no one will ever know...no, we should pay it...it is not that much if we split it...after much debate, the guys decided not to mention the ticket to the car rental agency and we have our fingers crossed it won't catch up with us later! Opa!!!!!

We hired a car to get around as the villa was pretty removed from it all. It gave us the chance to explore different beaches and see lots more of Naxos. We even spent one day driving almost 6 hours around the northern side and rest of the island (by accident), as Naim and Adrian were told it would only take a couple hours to see the whole island, and to expect the north to be much more quiet. Yes, I think we would all agree that the north was in fact desolate, spread out, and not worth it! We would also suggest skipping the Kouros and the village of Apollon. However, for all those insect-lovers, you can see some interesting stuff, including huge cicadas if you've never seen one before! Cara was amazed!

However, the beaches were gorgeous. We spent time at two in particular, Agia Anna and Agios Prokopios. Agia Anna's new claim to fame is that our son took his first steps on their sand and splashed in their water!

The next evening, we came upon Agios Prokopios, had a lovely dinner and then enjoyed the sunset.

We spent the following day at their beach for a few hours, had lunch on the beach. Zavian hung out in his sun tent.

Naxos beaches are great for families, have lots of facilities and easy parking. Be sure to rent a beach chair with an umbrella though! Naim is still peeling almost 2 weeks later!

Cara, Zavian and Baby Mooney (in progress) with Abha

Ahhhh, can I say heaven? That's what I thought when we arrived at the stunning Belogna Ikons Villas in Naxos. Greeted by our good friends, Abha, Adrian and Cara, we spent five nights in a secluded, luxurious villa. It was perfect for our two families, with a kitchen, 2 large bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, living room, and outdoor porch, where we ate all our meals. Zavian had his own crib, and took his very first swim in their pool! There were lots of nice little touches, complimentary local wine (although we did find a caterpillar or insect of some sort in it after we had drank most of it and poured the last glass), amazing coffee machine, and everything from the sheets to the dishware had the Belogna Ikons insignia. Here are some pics of the villa:

The villa

Dining al fresco every meal! Including one night when Naim and Adrian made octopus!

Our room

The pool

Zavian chilling out

Zavian's first swim was such a delight! We weren't sure if he would like the cool water or not. After a couple whimpers, he began to really enjoy it and kicked and jumped around. Cara was sweet to share her ball which he also loved!

Zavian was so appreciative of Cara's kind gesture with the ball, he let her feed him, too! Cara was great at it, not to mention all things when it came to Zavian. She played with him, help change nappies, sang Baa Baa Black Sheep (purple, pink, green, red, orange and yellow sheep, too). Great practice for the big sister-to-be! In this photo Zavian is also modelling the Snazzy Baby Travel Seat in red, a super-compact, soft high chair which attaches to any seat, shopping cart/trolley, etc. Great for babies who can't sit up yet!

All in all the villa itself was a great place. Everything was new and gorgeous. The staff were very helpful. It was removed from the hectic beachfront area, so we had a lot of privacy, amazing views of Naxos as we were up on a hill (which Adrian actually ran up and down almost every day in the heat in preparation for a half marathon! Okay, Naim went twice, too.) And best of all, we were enjoying time with the Mooneys!