Visiting the Cyclades: The Search for the Real Greece

 Sight seeing is about your eyes, the real Greece is about your heart.  To warm your heart, you must get far from the madding crowd.  That takes a bit of research and a bit of luck.

What you are looking for is an island with a few good tavernas and just a few small hotels or rooms with ensuite bathrooms.  Less and you suffer, more and you will be less likely to find the flow of village life.  It helps if it takes some effort to reach a good beach.

A bit of good, or disheartening, news depending on your spirit for adventure.  Your undiscovered island will be discovered.  The search is always on going.  Let me give you some personal examples.

In 1992 I was working on the most high stakes, stressful deal of my career.  A never before tried benefit plan would, if successful, allow my employer a 380 million tax deduction as part of a divestiture.  If my idea failed, as I was reminded daily by lead counsel, I would be fired.  

When the deal successfully closed, I needed a vacation to decompress.  It was a time before google.  Researching a trip meant reading travel guide books and other source material.  I came across a New York Times article about an island desolate enough that from 1900 until 1970 it was a place of exile for political prisoners.  But the article said it had a certain charm and a beautiful chora, which means town. and is usually the designated name for an island's main town.

Folegandros had no gas stations.  The one bus ran between the port and Chora and continued on to the main beach, and finally to Ano Meria the other town on the island.  I was intrigued.

My first wife, who has since passed, and I, arrived on Folegandros in late September.  The bus from the port filled us with some trepidation.  In the fall the land was barren, befitting of a former prison colony.  Our mood lightened when we were let off at one of the most charming Cycladic towns in the entire chain of islands.  

We stayed at Polikandia, just a one minute walk from the main squares.  The rooms were basic, but spotless.  The owners, Maria from the island, and her husband from Crete, became fast friends.

In total there were no more than 20 tourists on the island.  I soon settled into a routine.  I would go to the village bakery with an oven built into stone, to get my wife a spanakopita.   I would then go to Manoli's restaurant, sitting outside in the main square for Greek coffee and a light breakfast.  I would relax and read, buffeted by the gentle trade winds.  At lunch time Manoli, who spoke no English, would tap me on the shoulder and lead me into the kitchen.  He would open the oven and I would point at my choice.  

Sometimes I would, alone, or with Lynne, spend the entire afternoon there.  Other times I would take the bus to the beach.  The beach was perhaps a gentle slopped 1/2 mile walk from the bus stop, but seemed much steeper on the way back.  In fact when I was lazy I would ride a donkey back up.

Dinner was a group of 8.  In addition to Lynne and I, there was a Dutch couple that are now close friends, a Belgian couple, and Canadian newlyweds.  After dinner we would drink the suitably rustic 3 star Metaxa until well into the night.

I have since visited Folegandros many times, including for the incomparable Orthodox Easter.  But the last visit will be my last.  The island is filled with boutiques and chic coffee houses and restaurants.  Hotels are fancy and expensive.  Polikandia has tripled in size with the rooms surrounding a newly added pool.  Folegandros is now trendy.

On the same trip we and the newly weds went to Naoussa, a small fishing village on the island of Paros. I discovered an Ouzeri and ordered an ouzo.   Everyone had calamari on their table, as it is traditional to have an appetizer with ouzo, often gratis.  I asked for a metza, Greek for appetizer.  No response.  I asked in English.  Again, no response.

The place of honor in a Greek taverna is often closest to the kitchen.  I saw two weathered fisherman sitting in the prime spot.  I pointed to them and ordered another round.  Suddenly peanuts appeared on my table.  I went back the next day and was served mixed nuts.  When we had to leave the island, I complained to my wife that I was this close to getting the calamari.

Now Naoussa harbors rows of yachts.  Scratch another town off my list.

Visiting the Cyclades: Naxos

The regular ferry from Syros left at an awkward time, so we bit the bullet and paid a little over 40 euros each for the fast ferry.  We stayed for 7 nights on Naxos, the longest of our island stays.  That was for a number of reasons.

We had been traveling for more than 3 weeks (7 nights in Istanbul, 5 on Milos, 2 on Kimolos and 4 each on Sifnos and Syros), so we were about due to chill on the beach, and settle in.  Also, Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades.  Finally, Naxos is ideally situated for day trips, including the one we took to Delos and Mykonos.

The decision for a long stay was made easier because I knew we had booked a charming room right on Agia Georgios (St George) beach.  Our room at Kalergis Studios was reasonable at 70 euros per night.  The picture above is from our patio.  The bed was an extremely comfortable CocoMat mattress, a well regarded brand in Europe.   

The terrace was an idyllic place to sip the local citrus based liqueur called citron, and Roslyn's faithful tsipouro.

Breakfast was not included, but the hotel has a charming bar/cafe on the water where we often took our morning coffee.  There were a number of other restaurants on the beach in easy walking distance.

At Yialos we were on the sand.  We ordered three appetizers, including tasty french fries, and a house rose, deviating from our usual house white.  Big mistake.  We never ordered the house red because Roslyn likes most whites, but only light bodied reds.  With a house wine you never know exactly what you will get.  The whites were uniformly good, this rose was bit off putting.

A few days later we ordered a full breakfast at Manolo's next door. Both restaurants are good, well priced and right on the water.

Melimilon made us regret that we were seduced by the outer beauty of the beach cafes, and discovered, too late, the inner beauty of the best breakfast cafe on Naxos. The hot chocolate was thick, and their speciality of fried bread with local cheese and home made jam was perfect.  Even at brunch they gave us a liqueur on the house.  At least our last breakfast on Naxos was our best.

St George is an ideal shoulder season beach.  A short walk into Naxos town, surrounded by restaurants and tavernas, with golden sand and warm (for the season) shallow water.  It is the town beach so locals equaled tourists.

But in high season the beach is over run, and better choices are farther out, such as Plata beach.  

Our exploration of Naxos town started at the main square.  While I took a few pictures, Roslyn shopped for shorts and/or a sun dress to better enjoy the now, warmer weather.

The next day we explored old town.  It is a labyrinth of stairs and alleys.  There are also shops and restaurants.  If you are young and able to handle multiple steps every day, there are hotels with wonderful views.  Near the top are the remnants of an early 13th century Venetian castle (kastro).

Having  climbed to the top before, I deferred to my sciatica.  Roslyn continued to the top and took the last 6 pictures.  Whilst she climbed, I stopped at Port Tou Yialou.  Having already overloaded on coffee, I had a snack of meatballs and a beer.  Greek meatballs are fried crisp on the outside and tender inside.  They were wonderful.  An hour or so later Roslyn joined me and we had a half liter of house wine and she ordered a lovely moussaka.

What a difference a block makes.  As you walk along the water on the town's main tourist drag, you pass an endless row of seaside tourist oriented restaurants.  Port Tou Yialou is just a block off the main drag, but caters  to locals.  Great taverna food without the tourist tax of either reduced quality or inflated prices.  Highly recommended.

Before describing further sight seeing, let me finish off my restaurant reviews.  Oasis is the most popular restaurant in the St. George beach area.  The restaurant serves standard taverna food, expertly prepared, and well priced.  As a added bonus they speak multiple languages including French.  This spared the many French tourists from the indignity of ordering in English.

Two of the top dishes were fried eggplant and lamb chops.  The restaurant was only a block from our hotel.  As good as Oasis was, another block took us to the dramatically better Nostimon Hellas.  Once again, what a difference a block makes.

While Oasis is a superior taverna, Hellas elevates Greek food to a whole new level.  I believe it to be the best restaurant on Naxos, which is saying something, since Tripadvisor rates approximately 100 Naxos town restaurants at 4.5 stars and up.

The homemade rolls were warm and came with two dips.  The shrimp was great both ways, but I highly recommend the fried version.  The whole fish was perfectly prepared, and the fries were to die for.  The lemon liqueur on the house was tasty, and they generously brought the whole bottle.  Someone, who will remain nameless, had seconds.

It was the best restaurant during our nearly 5 week trip.  We dined there twice.  I lobbied for a third night but was overruled.  Roslyn still apologizes for her error in judgement.  The substituted restaurant is not worth mentioning.  So I won't.

Our first excursion was a one day trip to Delos and Mykonos.  The price was a reasonable 60 euros each, but did not include food, or the Delos admission charge. This was a fast ferry as you can see from the wake.

The water was glassy smooth.

On the way to Delos we stopped ever so briefly at Naoussa, Paros to pick up passengers bound for Mykonos. 

Delos has long been regarded as a holy island, home of some of the Greek gods.  It is a unesco world heritage site.  Overnight stays are forbidden.  There are no hotels, restaurants or vendors.

There is also no shade.  So. particularly in summer, bring your own.  I always say about Roslyn, that she is high maintenance but self maintained.  Also be sure to bring water.  You cannot buy it on Delos.

Visiting Delos in Spring is ideal.  You get more temperate weather, and wild flowers amidst the ruins,

The remaining columns allow you to imagine the city that once flourished.  The mosaics are timeless.

The most famous statues are the Delos lions which were dedicated to the sanctuary of Apollo.

The next stop was Mykonos.  There are two reasons to go to Mykonos-- you need a place to dock your yacht or you were abducted.  Mykonos is overcrowded and over priced.  Do not go there.

Mykonos has some pretty beaches and nice white and blue Cycladic architecture. Neither of which are in short supply in the cyclades.  During our short stay, we did not visit the beaches.

We hoped to find a less touristy restaurant, so we strolled the backstreets.  Finding nothing, we asked a local merchant.  She said all the restaurants were touristy, but advised a restaurant on the quay named Captain's.

To the often repeated adage, never eat at a diner named Mom's, I add the admonition never eat at a seaside restaurant named Captain's.  Below is a picture of the worst meal I had in Greece, which includes meals I skipped.  Since it was Mykonos, the inedible was insufferably expensive.

This is the ship that blessedly returned us to Naxos.

Being tired, upon our return, we had booze and gyros on our terrace.  

Long ago, in my Southeast Asia travel guides, I coined the expression the 3 Ps of travel: Priorities, Price and Pace.  You use your personal priorities to develop your itinerary.  Price is always a factor in planning.  But the forgotten P is pace.

Vacations are to be enjoyed.  If you ignore pace, stress can impair your vacation.  I believe it is why many couples have fights on vacation.  This is a long lead up to our taking a chill day after our excursion.

We enjoyed the view from our terrace.  Our hotel rents sun beds, although for guests there are portable loungers that can be used on the terrace or in the sand.  I noticed someone offering massages to those in the sun beds.  I called her over, and had her give us each a massage in our room.  Heaven!

The roads are good on Naxos, but it is the largest Cyclades island.  So instead of renting a car we took a bus tour with Naxos Transfer,  The price was about 30 dollars each. An advantage to staying at St. Georges beach is it was just a short walk into town to the pickup spot.   

The first stop was the temple of Demeter.

I take my liquor seriously.  When Jack Daniels lowered their proof from 90 to 86, I boycotted the brand. My longest boycott, now going on 35 years.  Fortunately, I have long since discovered a wide variety of much better bourbons.  Still I miss ordering Jack Black, soda back.

Our next stop was Chalki, a beautiful village which houses the Citron distillery.  The liquor has not changed other than an expansion of the product line.  In addition to the original yellow orange liqueur, there is now a less sweet green, and an even drier clear.  The bottle, however, has changed.

The bottle used to be beautifully sculpted glass that was the pride of any liquor cabinet.  Now the green looks like a cheap bottle of de kuyper creme de mint.  Aesthetics matter.   No, I am not boycotting citron.  But I did not buy a souvenir bottle, as I have in the past.  Also, I took pictures of the town, but not of the distillery.

Whereas Greek men hover in a cafe for their daily chat, women usually congregate in front of their residence, or in this case, in front of their store.

As we drove towards Apeiranthos, we passed the village of Filoti.

Another picture from the back of the bus, on the road to Apeiranthos.

Apeiranthos is perhaps the most charming village in Naxos.  We stopped for coffee and a quick look around.  But for being on a tour, we would have spent more time.

The penultimate stop was the fishing village of Apollonas where we took lunch, and a few hearty souls braved the waters. I had yogurt and honey because my stomach was a little off from the unnamed restaurant we went to instead of Nostimon Hellas.  But thick Greek yogurt with local honey is well worth ordering no matter what state your stomach is in.

 Our final stop was an olive oil press.  The building looked like a church.

Once again gyros and drinks on the terrace for our final night.   We took one last view from our room, and then it was off to the airport for our flight to Athens.

This concludes our visit to the Cyclades.  Thanks for your readership.  

In a few days I will blog on the search for the real Greece.  The post will include anecdotes about what makes Greece special.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, it will be worthless.  Just a bit of prose.