Granny Naxos is a callin'

 

48 hours in Mykonos, whilst not quite a blur, has been done at a fair old lick.  And even this morning the alarm was set to beat the heat and get a Saturday morning run in with Chrissi.  My scouting yesterday meant that we had a coastal route mapped that followed the road around to the next settlement, Omos. Barely saw it if I'm honest, been between 2 headlands I was either out of breath running up, or recovering on the downhills from running up!

Fairly pleased with that effort and always lifts the mood to start the day. That combined with turquoise sea and great views over the town put a spring in our step for the first couple of hours. We sprang down into the town to little bakery we used yesterday, but today sat outside with our breakfast and watched the world go by.

It was then time to check out of our AirBnb which I'd like to give a bit of a thumbs up to in the blog should anyone be looking at a short stay in Mykonos. Reasonably priced , great central location, and a feeling of being in amongst the real people of Mykonos, a family next door living their life as normal (often extended their front room into the alleyway, sitting outside for much of the day), quite the contrast to the hedonism and partying that maybe just a few streets away. So I am saying I think, you can have the best of both worlds at the Grey and White Chora

It was time to make our final trip through those tight little alleys down the harbour, and a water taxi over to the main port.  First chance to see one of these Island ports in full swing, it was manic.  Big ferries in and out in the blink of an eye, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. Each time, 5 minutes of chaos, people piling off, people piling on, and then suddenly a strange calm and emptiness port side until another appeared and the whole circus began again.  We joined the circus when our ferry appeared, by the time we were in our seats, it was moving off towards Naxos.  I'm not joking, these were pretty big beasts too.

earlier bakery purchase wolfed down en route to Naxos 

The crossing to Naxos was a mere 40 mins and we were rustled off the ferry in no time at all. With another 2 ferries also arriving in Naxos simultaneously it was carnage on the quayside, a temple of Apollo on a nearby hill and a female port official with a whistle the only sign of order in the maelstrom. We fought our way through to a taxi rank where it was wheeler dealer time, the taxi drivers working out how many people they could get in their cabs for different trips. We were squeezed in next to a couple of other younger backpackers who were dropped off in the town of Naxos before we were taken out into the wilds along the coastal road to a settlement called Galini.

We have returned to hitting the jackpot of Airbnbs though. This pink house, almost built into the rock, set amongst the lemon, orange trees and vines.  We need to find out a little of its history, am assuming farming back in the day but now it hosts several people in a range of rooms.  We can only speak for ours, but huge character, wooden decor, historic vibes but with enough mod cons to cross the traveller / home comfort divide.  Our room also right in front of the pool.  I am still crossing that divide between backpacker and tourist, handwashing my own clothes at this point just like they would have done in the sinks of yesteryear.  It turns out I am Granny Naxos and I loves it.

We took a short stroll into the village of Galini knowing there was a shop for provisions but also knowing it was not likely to be full of choice. We got the basics should there be any risk of starving and got ourselves acquainted with the position of our lodgings. On return it was pool time which I think will be an important feature of the next few days.  And then glamorous Granny Naxos, the mother of the property owner, introduced herself to us and made us feel completely welcome with some sweet coffee and cherry ritual that truly meant we were part of the family for the next 5 days.

Our evening stroll was to sample the other outlet in the village, the restaurant called Platia. Again we were welcomed like long lost friends, sampling some local rose from the vineyards, complimentary honey cake for dessert, after some vegetarian mezze (stuffed aubergines, and zuchinni croquettes) along with local sausage. No sign of us going hungry after all. And the bar across the road had a TV, so you can guess where we might be for the football.  The only TV in the village it feels like!!