Chalkio, Greece
At 170 square miles, Naxos is the largest island of the
Cyclades. To see more than just the main
town, it made sense to rent a car for a day, something made easy by the rental
agency in our small hotel that emailed me about the option well ahead of our
visit. My first time driving in Greece –
how crazy can it be? Typical of southern
Europe, Greeks are quite aggressive drivers, but after my near-accident
experience in Gran Canaria last December, I decided I was not going to imitate
the locals.
I did not have a specific route in mind for the island, just
a zigzag course more or less across its center to take in a number of
archaeological sites, small villages, and ancient churches. Our first stop was the 6th-century
BC Temple of Demeter near Sangri, or at least its ruins, the most important archaeological
site on the island. The impressive site is located in site of Mount Zeus, at
1,003 meters (3,297 feet), the highest point on the island and supposedly a
very doable hike on a nice day.
We next stopped in a small attractive village named Halki
with several historic churches in its vicinity, including the 11th-century
Church of Saint Georgios Diasorites and the even older Panagia Drosiani, one of
the oldest churches in Greece, with well-reserved murals dating from the 7th
Century.
Halki is also known for its liqueur,
and we stopped at the Vallindras Distillery where they make something called
Kitron. It’s a strong liqueur uniquely flavored
with the rind and leaves of the citron fruit, a unique local Naxos product.
From there it was off to Moutsouna, a coastal village on the
east side of the island down a steep winding road from Naxos’ mountainous
heart. Moutsouna was the port town for the island’s famous emery mines. The
mines now abandoned, the village has an end-of-the-earth as well as
end-of-the-road feel. The views on the way down were dramatic, especially
toward the set of small islands to the south and east of Naxos known as the Small
Cyclades.
Our last stop of the day before the drive back to Naxos
Chora was in Apeliranthos, the atmospheric highest village on the island of
Naxos. Our goal was to find a restaurant
serving authentic Rosto (roast pork with spaghetti), according to the car
rental agent at out hotel the specialty of the village, one of many local
specialties on Naxos. We preceded that with a platter of Naxos four specialty
cheeses - Kefalotyri, Xinotyro, Graviera (Gruyere), and creamy Xinomizythra.
Food like this is the reason I always gain weight when I travel even if I try to
stay active.
2025-05-23