Chora - Naxos town

 

 

Yesterday we went for a walk and had only intended walking in the area by the beach. But we got carried away and ended up walking into town, along another beach and a distance of 6 km.  It was very pleasant and it was interesting to see all the wind surfers out making the most of the northerly winds that have blown up over the last day or so.    

 

 

Notice the ferry in the background. These come into port on a regular basis every day.

   

 

One of the many narrow streets in the town.

      After an enjoyable lunch in one of the many restaurants on the waterfront/main shopping street, we wandered around some of the narrow streets looking in the boutique shops before catching the bus home. The bus service is  excellent, running between the town and Agia Anna.   

 

 

 

 

Today we said goodbye to Carol, Brian and Sally as they were heading down to Santorini for a few days and they won't be back until after we have left. We went back into town to watch them get on the ferry. We then walked up the hill to the castle, which dates back to the 1200's when the Venetian used the area. One information board suggested some of the fresh water installations dated back to 3 BC.    

   It's hard to get a good photo but some of the next ones show you just how some of it looks. In amongst it there are small shops as well as some residential buildings.     

 

   

   

   

 Click on HISTORY to find out more about this building and the town.    

      It's amazing how narrow the streets are. No room for cars here and although motor bikes do make their way through some of them it's mostly pedestrian. The bougainvilleas are such a picture.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View out over the town from the top.

   

Out and about on Naxos

 

Click here for HISTORY 

 

 

This structure, Portara is the symbol of Naxos, and is visible as you enter the port of Naxos.  It is the doorway that goes nowhere and was part of a temple started over 2500 years ago but never completed. We have visited it before but decided to go back again yesterday, long with the other NZ family staying here with Ave.  We caught the bus in from Agia Anna where we are staying, a trip of about 6km and after a wander along the waterfront we indulged in some late afternoon drinks before walking out across the causeway to the Portara. There has been a lot of development in the form of paths etc since we first visited and also in line with many other archeological sites visitors are no longer allowed to climb all over them. Or even touch them in fact.  This is also a great spot to watch the sun set though last night wasn't as spectacular as it could be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Today we did something quite different!!!! We got on a boat and cruised along the coast of Naxos.  It was a local tourist venture and quite popular. It was the last trip of the season so was well supported.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a great day out, along with Carol, Brian, Sally and Sylvia. We couldn't persuade  Ave to come too.

The boat left at 10am and we headed south. We made two stops before lunch where we could get off the boat and swim. The water was beautiful.  While lunch was being prepared we had yet another swim which included going into a cave on the side of the hill. Lunch was a barbecue, cooked over charcoal on the back of the boat. It was all very delicious and there were liquid refreshments to accompany it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch being prepared over the charcoal barbecue.

 

 

 

On the return trip back to Agia Anna the skipper made another two stops for more swimming before returning by 5pm. We had a lovely day and saw a lot of sun. I think we will all sleep well tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the boat as we were coming back into Agia Anna, the beach we are staying at.

 

Naxos

We arrived in Naxos on Sunday evening after two good flights and a short stopover in Athens airport. Our suitcase had been checked right through from Split so we were very pleased to see it arrive on Naxos with us! My friend Averil was there to meet us and take us back to her place.  After getting settled and a bit of a catch up we went to her brother in law's restaurant for a meal. The restaurant is right on the beach and at night they even put some of the tables on the sand. We had a beautiful meal - such wonderful flavours. Ave turned up after we had finished eating so we shared another glass of wine with her.

The view from our balcony down to the beach.

      Averil has accommodation units here and we are staying in one of them. Her sister Carol and husband Brian and friend Sally are here from NZ too so there are no other guests while we are here.  The place is beautiful and it is only 20 steps to the beach.    

Yesterday we had breakfast on our balcony, did more 'talking' had a swim and lie on the beach, had a home cooked meal late in the afternoon and generally had a relaxing time. It will be more of the same today!!

Farewell Croatia

We got Liisa, our yacht back safely to the Marina in Kastela late afternoon on Friday. All the charter yachts are to be back by 6pm so the staff can check them for any damage etc.  What a spectacle. Rob reckons the marina holds about 600 yachts and most of them are charter yachts. The place was a hive of industry with staff checking, customers cleaning up and packing up. They even had a frogman under the yachts checking the keels. We were allowed to stay onboard until 9am the next morning. By this time there was an army of cleaners standing around ready to clean them all, inside and out ready for the next charters at 5pm.      

      We headed off for some breakfast, said our goodbyes to the others and then walked to our accommodation in the next village.  This is another Kastela and the castle here is in much better condition than the others along the coast.       

    We had a quiet day relaxing in the sun and I even had a swim.     

      Not wanting to cook we went looking for a restaurant which was quite a mission. We eventually found this family owned one which had some good reviews on the internet but we were a little concerned we were the only ones dining. It was our gain and their loss as it was just lovely. We got some real Croatian food and it was extremely cheap. Stephen had what we would call a casserole called pasticada.  And it was delicious. I had had it once before but this was so much nicer. I had stuffed cabbage rolls with potatoes and they were also lovely. We both had dessert too - baklava for me and a cheesecake for Stephen.  Much of the food along the way was very much westernised to suit the tourists palates which I feel is a shame. Some of their traditional dishes were to be found but not always easily.  Some that we tried were Black Risotto made with cuttlefish. I found it had a similar taste to our NZ paua. We also tried some little fish which are slightly bigger than our whitebait. They are fried and were beautifully presented in an old roof tile!  Quite yummy too.    

    As so on Sunday morning we got ourselves to the airport on the public bus system and checked in for our flights to Greece for the last leg of our journey.

Our last day on the yacht.

 

  It's hard to believe that our two week sailing trip is almost over. Today is our last on the yacht and we will be sorry to have to return to land!!!!  The weather hasn't been quite as kind to us as we had hoped for but that also brings its own rewards as well as challenges.   Too much wind means just the motor as it can be too difficult and takes too long with the sails. But it does mean the washing dries!!

    A couple of nights ago we were in what was supposed to be a very sheltered marina for Hvar.  It was the worst night's sleep for the whole trip as the yacht moved and crashed and banged!! Poor Rob was up through the night checking nothing was being damaged.   

Havr is a beautiful town and once again has a large fortification, this time up on the hill above the town. It has been restored in recent times and is now used as a tourist attraction, as well as for functions such as weddings. It is a good walk but worth it for the views over the town.  

 

A wedding party in the town which was destined for the fortifications for the party.      

Next stop was Milna.  A very sheltered little bay where we were able to get some much needed sleep, after the night before.  From here we sailed to Split where we have spent the night in the marina. We are so glad we did as our first experience into Split at the start of the trip was wet, and very crowded. We were able to walk from the marina into the main part of town where we wandered the streets, soaked up the atmosphere and then enjoyed a meal. The waterfront has been redeveloped with lots of seating and wide promenades. Auckland could learn a lot.

   

 

 

We sailed from Kastela, Solta, Vis, Vela Luka, Rascise, Korcula, Vela Luka, Hvar, Milna, Split and back to Kastela.

 

More sailing

  Actually more sailing isn't quite correct. The weather hasn't been just right for sailing so we have been motoring. With the stronger winds it takes some time to go very far if you have the sails up so motoring it has been.   

After leaving Vela Luka we headed around to Racisce.  On the way we stopped in a secluded inlet and put the anchor down for a couple of hours. This gave us time for lunch and a couple of swims before w headed on into our port for the night.   

    This small village wasn't set up a large influx of yachts and in fact other than one solo sailor from the UK we were the only ones on the quay.  A very pleasant change to what we have been experiencing. We had a wee walk around the village and selected one of the two restaurants for our meal.   

  It was a gorgeous family run place and we had a room all to ourselves that looked out over the harbour.  During the evening we watched a small cruise boat come in and try to moor on the quay. It wasn't having much success and little did we realise that we would need to shift our yacht. As it was such a small port they were able to find us and we were asked to shift as they believed they had booked the mooring. We had actually been told to use it by an unofficial port person but never mind. We made them wait while we finished our meal and then Rob and a couple of of the others went down to shift our yachts while Sue and I stayed to settle up the account.  It's not  ideal moving such a large vessel in the dark and after a couple of wines but in the end all went well and we ended up being rafted up beside them. The twenty of so UK passengers were all delighted and we got a round of applause. Of course once morning came they were ready to move on at 8am which is usually way too early for us!!! Quite an ordeal but a good story to tell.    

Rafted up beside the cruise boat for the night.

  The next day we motored once again because of very strong head winds to Korcula where we stayed in the marina for two nights. This is a very busy spot and once again has an old fortified town that goes back to the 13th century.  The weather was cooler and we even got a little rain and a thunder storm.  We spent the time exploring the old town and going for some long walks, both up into the hills and along the waterfront.   There were times when there were a lot of people about in the Old Town as it is a favourite place for the cruise boats.    

View of Old Town of Korcula.

 

Standing by one of the canons set on the old wall.

 

Notice the cell tower on the hill. We walked up to it one afternoon.

  We finally managed to hoist our NZ flag. We had noticed that one of the super yachts moored close by was also flying a NZ flag and it wasn't long before they were over to see us. They were a party of 8 from Auckland and the super yacht belonged to three couples from Christchurch.  They looked to be having a fairly flash trip!!!  

Kiwi dessert restaurant.

  We also found a dessert/icecream bar called Kiwi!!!  Of course had to indulge and it was lovely. No sign of NZ staff but lovely all the same.   Today we are motoring back to Vela Luka as Sue has been fighting a 'bug' she just can't seem to shake so she is hoping to find a doctor to get checked out. The rest of us are hoping for a place to swim and relax.  

Sailing

Our first night away from Kastela Marina was at Maslinica on the island of Solta.  We arrived early afternoon and spent some time looking around the immediate area as well as having a swim.  Stephen, despite wearing some water shoes, managed to stand on a small sea urchin and he has nine spikes in his foot. Fortunately Helen was prepared with some surgical needles, which Stephen was able to put to good use and dig the offending spikes out. The last thing he needed was a foot infection.   

 

Later that evening we enjoyed a meal together in one of the many family restaurants in the area.   The next day we headed across to the island of Vis which was very much known as a military base during the German occupation.  We pulled into an area before Vis Town and anchored in the bay for lunch. Part of the attraction in this bay was the submarine tunnel which has now become a tourist attraction. After some lunch we put the tender in the water and Stephen rowed us into the tunnel. It went in 110m from the entrance and would certainly have made a good place to hide at least two subs. You can read more about these tunnels by clicking on the word            TUNNELS  

Entrance to the submarine tunnel we went into.    

Enjoying a swim off the back of the boat.

  Later in the day we motored around the corner to Vis Town where we stayed the night. This time we were on a mooring in the bay as all the spots on the quay were taken. It is still very busy for this time of the year. We had to use the tender (with the outboard this time) to get backwards and forwards to the shore and we did this a couple of times - once to go in for a meal and them again in the morning for supplies. 

Some of many yachts moored along side of us.

  Our meal was in a family run restaurant and had many local dishes to choose from. I had a slowed cooked dish of wild boar with gnocchi, Stephen had grilled bass and the others had mussels and a fish stew with beans. All very delicious.   

Today we had a big day sailing across to the island of Kocula and the town of Vela Luka. It was a good breezy day for sailing and we did just that for a good part of the day. However time was getting on and it was taking much longer than planned so he switched to motoring instead. We had lunch on the run, which was a little bit challenging as the yacht was rolling a bit from side to side. It was still after 3pm when we arrived in Vela Luka and we were pleased to get a spot on the quay. 

Lunching on the yacht.

We have spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening in this much quieter and less touristy place. We cooked a meal on board tonight which made a change from the usual dining out and this was followed by a stroll to find a gelato for dessert!! A good way to end another good day.

Some of the local boats on the quay.    

A 15th century church we discovered in a back street on one of our walks around the town.