The warm sun caresses my skin, balancing the sharp chill of the ocean below. My mother stands next to me, holding my head and chest. I tilt back, fully submerged in the chill. I break through, back to the sunlight, and gasp for warm air.

“You now have a new skin.” My mother is calm, reassuring, and proud. I have been baptized in the Aegean Sea.

Back in December of 2019, I wrote

“On my next sojourn across the pond, I want to stay in one place long enough to become a local. I want to see what normal life is like, outside of a church or a holiday.”

Of course I had no idea what would happen to the world in four short months, or that I wouldn’t be traveling again for quite some time. But in hindsight I did achieve that goal, spending a week in Naxos, Greece during the off-season. My mother and I left Minnesota on April 10 and returned April 17, filling our week with magical adventures.

Travel/Logistics

Why Naxos? I’m not sure even I know. I had wanted to return to London or Ireland, somewhere familiar from my study abroad trip. Greece was completely out of left field. And why am I writing in September about a trip I took in April? I really don’t have an answer for that one. 🙂 I have a delay in “real life action”, so this is as good a time as any.

Prestige Hotel

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of islands in Greece, so choosing our destination was basically a dart toss. The most popular tourist destinations include Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete, but I’ve already mentioned my distaste for typical tourism. My “research” consisted of asking those around me if they’d been to Greece and where they’d gone. A passing acquainted mentioned loving Naxos, so we went with that one. I found the Prestige on the Beach hotel after about three minutes of internet searching, and it’s an amazing choice! It’s incredibly affordable (about $300 USD for five nights), and the hosts Babis and Irene went above and beyond to make us comfortable.

We did spend one night at the Soffitel Hotel attached to the Athens airport, and the total for one night there was also around $300. The island is much more affordable and pleasant.

We did spend our last afternoon in Athens, visiting the Parthenon and the Olympic rings and trying some food. The food was excellent, but the Parthenon was underwhelming. The generally cloudy and “blah” atmosphere didn’t feel inviting, and the city reminded me of Dublin Ireland – which is not a compliment to either.

Platia

Once we got ourselves oriented to the island and the hotel, we were looking for things to do. Our lovely host Babis arranged a private cooking class for us at Platia, a local restaurant on a farm. We started with a cheese platter, and then got to cooking. The menu included zucchini feta balls, Greek meatballs, tzatziki sauce, and some tiganites – a doughy dessert with orange and honey

Driving Tour

Our host Babis had another surprise for us the next morning, arranging with another high school friend to take us on a four-hour driving tour around the island. We started at the ancient temple of Demeter, which was also the site of an early Christian church. We also visited a distillery that made Kitron, the local lemony liquer. To top off this incredible morning, we visited a charming pottery studio and two smaller villages up in the mountains. We watched a potter “throw” a new drinking pitcher on his wheel in under three minutes, without even looking at what he was creating; a true master. We came upon a lilac bush in one of the villages, and the second we got out of the car I could smell them. Lilacs have always had sentimental meaning to my family, is smelling such a familiar scent across the world was amazing.

Aegean Sea

There are plenty of words I could use for this ocean. A few are “majestic”, “dazzling”, “blue”. Our hotel was right on St George’s Beach, so we rented a cabana almost every day and meditated with the water. Every day the water is three different shades of blue, and the sunlight sparkles in thousands of tiny diamonds across the surface. I’ve been near a lot of oceans already, but the Aegean Sea is in a league of its own.

Portara

This cool structure was once the gate to an imposing temple of Apollo, but now stands alone. It’s a short walk from the island’s port, and turning around from the other side provides a cool view of the village. A certain traveling companion may or may not have crossed under a barrier to get the first photo, but no one knows for sure .;)

Cats

One cool feature of the island is the plethora of random cats wandering the streets. Most of them have homes, but they like to go exploring. The innovative authorities have devised a system of clipping the cat’s left ear to show that he/she has been “fixed”.

My week in Greece was an incredible opportunity to explore a new part of the world and an inviting way of life. From hand-thrown pottery and home cooking to small-batch distilled liquer, the island still has a “small-town” vibe to it, and the beach is always open for rest and relaxation. Flying across the world to Greece is an immense privelige, and I don’t take this abundance for granted. My week in Greece was absolutely magical and rejuvenating, and I can’t wait to go back someday. That’s all from me for now, and I’ll catch you on the flipside.