Beautiful Naxos

We went back to the Greek island of Naxos this summer and it was just as beautiful as we remembered. We stayed in the beach resort of Plaka again and with its white sand, crystal clear waters and local tavernas set just back from the beach, it’s no wonder that Naxos really has become our happy place.

The island is set in the South Aegean and is the largest of the Cyclades group, however, it is not the most straightforward place to get to. This year, we flew from London to Mykonos and then took a boat to Naxos. Our route was planned, our tickets booked months in advance and we had arranged to meet friends for dinner on the beach later that afternoon so, of course, our flight was delayed. Best laid plans and all that…

After circling Mykonos for a while, we finally landed with 1-hour to spare before our connecting boat was due to depart. As we stood in the queue at passport control I could feel the Greek God(zilla) getting a bit twitchy, but occasionally he does come in VERY handy as after a quick word in Greek to a local security guard, we were being ushered to the front of the queue. Once officially through the gate, we raced to baggage claim just as our suitcases were being loaded onto the belt and so while I grabbed a trolley, the Greek God(zilla) retrieved the cases. We legged it out of the airport terminal to the nearest taxi rank only to discover another long queue and not a single Greek taxi driver to sweet-talk in sight.

“Wait here” instructed the Greek God(zilla) as he took control and went off in search of an available vehicle. He returned a few minutes later having found a bus that could take us to the harbour. We hurried over to the bus stop with our cases side-wheeling behind us, but the bus wasn’t leaving for 30 minutes and our boat was departing in 25. So, back to the taxi rank we charged and joined the back of an even longer queue at which point, Zee (a new name for the 8-year old that I am trying out on the blog) could take the nail biting tension no more and burst into tears. The Greek God(zilla) disappeared again while I comforted Zee with promises of an ice-cream and my iPhone.

We hadn’t even fired up the Minecraft app when the Greek God(zilla) started calling us over from across the street. Before we knew it, we were clambering inside an unknown man’s car, who the Greek God(zilla) had paid €20 to get us to the boat on time! There was not a moment to debate the potential ramifications of this as, before our seatbelts had even clicked, we were weaving in and out of the local traffic with only 10-minutes to board. The driver pulled up as close to the boat as he could and the Greek God(zilla) made a run for it with Zee while I dragged our cases in a clumsy jog behind them.

I was literally hauling the last case up onto the plank as they started to raise the anchor. Zee and I couldn’t stop high-fiving the Greek God(zilla) and his chest swelled with pride at all the praise we were bestowing upon him. We celebrated our race against the clock with a round of ice-cold water and a rewarding beer for our hero!

We disembarked on the beautiful island of Naxos 40-minutes later feeling calm, hydrated and happy.