Firstly, an update: We are leaving Austin two weeks from tomorrow and have yet to get our visas, though the harried woman who answered the phone at the Italian consulate yesterday did tell me, "It is a matter of days." Unfortunately, she didn't say whether it's a matter of 2 days or 12...
Well, let's look at happier things that aren't making me tear my hair out!
June 18, 2004 (ahem...): Naxos Town.
This was the day for exploring Chora, Naxos' main town. Many of the islands all around Greece have main towns named Chora or Hora (Naxos, Paros, Mykonos...)- so if a friend tells you they visited Chora, Greece, force their vague butts to clarify.
Naxos' Hora looked very different from Fira, on Santorini. The streets had a more Arabic feel, perhaps due to the long Turkish occupation - they were much narrower, for one thing, and really byzantine in their twists. (Here's a brief history of Naxos, if you're interested.) Many a time I'd be looking down the street we were walking on and think "That street can't actually turn directly under that building... can it?"
But it can, and it did.
The old Venetian center of Hora, where we were wandering, had a pronounced medieval feel.
We were wandering the district almost by ourselves - though there were a lot of cats around - probably because it was the hottest part of the day. We were extra happy about this, though; again, a nice change from Santorini, where in the middle of the day you had to edge your way through the crowds, occasionally throwing the discreet elbow.
At some point during our walk, I decided that Husbear was being too stingy with the camera, so I distracted him (probably by saying "Look, that restaurant serves citron!") and commenced thievery.
Somehow, I even managed to get him to pose with me!
(Please excuse the hat hair. It was HOT.)
Though I thought I was doing a great job with the little camera, Husbear started angling to get it back.
First, he tried saying "please" a lot. Like THAT ever works! (Note the giant bottle of water.)
When this didn't work, he moved to intimidation. (When you look at that shot, please keep in mind I was flipping him off while laughing at the time...)
I finally acquiesced and returned the camera, so Husbear could take pictures of "Naxos." I figured we had enough closeups of my face for one trip.
We walked through some more tunnels
and stumbled on a church straight out of Tatooine. (Kind of like the moisture farm on which Luke Skywalker grew up. Just trust me...)
This was one of the few churches we've seen where girls were actually not allowed in if they were wearing tank tops! The inside was lovely and blessedly cool... and too dark to photograph.
We were getting a mite peckish at this point, and decided to walk down to the harbor and grab a snack and some ouzo at one of the many ouzeries along the beach. On the way, we stopped into a tiny shop to grab some wine for later, before dinner. (Looking back on our honeymoon, I realize we kind of sound like alcoholics... but it was our honeymoon!)
The white wine we bought came in a 1.5 liter ribbed plastic bottle, which I am certain held water directly before its reincarnation as a wine receptacle. It cost 5 euros, and wasn't half bad.
We spent quite a bit of time in this jammed shop - they were packed to the rafters with local products, from long cinnamon bark to honey, dishes, wine, and obviously lots and lots of baskets. There were several different kinds of new and aged cheeses, as well.
Being in there only served to whet our appetite further, so we grabbed our purchases and skedaddled down to the beach.
There are many ouzeries lining the beach, and some of them like to display their specialties out front. I had heard that ouzo with grilled octopus is a really great match, so I was on the lookout.
In retrospect, I probably should have chosen this place for my octopus and ouzo, but I didn't. The place we ended up was empty (but it was like 5 o'clock, prime not dinner hour) but had extremely persistent touts.
The octopus was served with skordalia (here, potato-based, with strong garlic flavor) and a lemon chunk. It was, unfortunately, quite dry and chewy, as I recall. And the ouzo was a bit much for me - very edgy and sharp, with a robust liquorice flavor. Husbear was all about the ouzo, but declined the octopus due to his veggie sensibilities.
After I finished my double O snack (octopus? ouzo? ha ha?) we dropped our bags back at the hotel and walked over to the Portara, Naxos' definitive landmark. It's the only chunk left of an enormous temple to Apollo that was built on a little spit of land stretching out into the sea. (This little island is traditionally regarded as the one Ariadne threw herself off of to get away from Dionysus.)
The view back to Hora from the little peninsula was lovely, with the sunset giving everything a warm pink-orage glow.
We got a nice person to take a picture of us in front of the actual portara. Locals say the only reason the Venetians didn't take these blocks of marble is that they were too heavy to move.
The Portara also frames the view out to sea, with the sunset behind it.
It's a really distinctive monument, and the residents of Naxos are in my mind totally right to be so proud of it.
It for now (I have to go pack a box or two before we leave!). Next time - we explore the wider island on a moped named Dionysus, and find a man carved out of a giant piece of rock.
girlie
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