A Recap List- I apologize for the lack of pictures on these next two posts. It's 2am and I have a flight to catch soon. No time to wait on blogger to learn how to download pics.
1. Everyone knows Nikos and Astrid, and the location of their cottages. You don’t even need a last name. Small town perks I guess.
2. The route to the next biggest town (area), Mountsouna is a dusty long path with beautiful mountain views, but no shade. This was a running route twice (I don’t recommend this during the heat of the day, which is pretty much all hours here in Greece- I nearly died twice). This route was also walked numerous times, once for the sole purpose of purchasing more Nutella (like peanut butter, but chocolate), which Jessica and I devoured in the first two days of our stay.
3. Internet access at the cottages is limited to the main house. Every time we came up to use our computers, we were offered homemade desert, coffee, and wine. Occasionally we would have a conversation with the father, Nikos…mostly about politics which tended to be somewhat hard to follow, but very entertaining given Nikos’s passion for seemingly everything. We also witnessed a special interaction between Nikos and the youngest son. This little boy could be one of the cutest kids I’ve met (second only to JJ), but he’s a wild one. Once while walking up to our house we were almost nailed with flying rocks. In an effort to calm him a little (at least this is our impression), Nikos calls his son up for coffee every afternoon, and the little boy brings his book and sits quietly with his drink and his dad, and reads. It’s so adorable.
4. We had laundry at the cottages. It was a German washing machine, which was a little bit different than what we were use to. We haven’t come across any dryers here in Greece, which makes sense given the fact that clothes can dry so quickly here out in the hot sun.
5. I attempted to make the popcorn I brought from home twice…both attempts failed, both because of my own stupidity….it was a low point….better not to talk too much about it.
6. There was a hotplate in our cottage. Never thought I’d be so impressed with a hotplate. The water heats in about a minute….it’s pretty amazing, and I was happy with my hot chocolate in the morning. (Never thought on my trip to Greece I’d be blogging about popcorn and a hotplate…hmmmmm, reminds me that I wasn’t vacationing, but really living life here.)
7. At the cottages we had a lot of good relaxing time. We played solitaire, read, watched Harry Potter, which we borrowed from the family, and laid out on our favorite rock spot. Jessica also tried to teach me how to braid, and I helped coach her on her swimming stroke.
8. We also had some great adventures. We went on a hike in the dark (accidentally). We also went kayaking. Our German friends who were also staying at the cottages offered to let us borrow their kayaks whenever. I had my heart set on swimming to the cliffs. Jessica was going to go with me on her dog raft (although I don’t really think she was that thrilled about the plan.) Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it was far too windy and wavy so we decided to kayak there instead. The way out to the cliffs was fun, and just enough of a challenge to make me feel tough battling the waves. The way back was impossible, and just enough of a challenge to make me want to give up and cry. The winds were so strong it felt like we weren’t making any progress at all. Jessica was a small yellow dot way out in front of me. It was just me, my blistered hands, and my negative thoughts. I contemplated jumping out and swimming the kayak back…the paddling thing just wasn’t working. Then I thought about just ditching the kayak all together. After spending considerably more time in that little kayak than either Jessica or I had planned, we finally arrived home. We were welcomed by the kids, and the Germans, and Nikos….seemed like everyone was just a little bit concerned for those dumb American girls (so glad I didn’t go through with the swim to the cliffs). All in all I’m glad we had this experience. It was an awesome workout, and gave us all something to joke and laugh about over lunch. Funny how easily stupidity translates. I think it somehow bonded us just a little more with our Greek and German friends.
9. One night we walked to Mountsouna for dinner. We thought we’d have a few options in town…nope, just one, but it ended up being really great. We had good homemade food recommended by the waitress who also took us in the back to look at the fresh fish selections. We walked back from dinner in the dark, (you’d think we would learn.) Surprisingly this wasn’t the least bit scary thanks to good conversation with Jessica and the overall sense of peacefulness and safety we feel in this small little area on Naxos. I think it has so much to do with the kindness of all the people we’ve met here.
10. Nikos and his wife are very generous (incase you haven’t already noticed). We were given all kinds of fresh vegetables and shown where we could pick our own. Strawberries, grapes, figs, tomatoes, cucumbers….it was wonderful. Nikos also makes his own wine, and showed us the cellar where he keeps it in a giant barrel complete with easy to use spout. We were welcome to have as much as we wanted.
11. There’s a teeny tiny church on Nikos’s property. I assumed it was just for looks, but one evening there was a wedding. We later learned that Nikos’s grandfather built the church and it’s named after him.
12. The bus schedules on Naxos are pretty unpredictable (I think we’ve mentioned this before). This was made very clear to us our second day on the island when we went to Apeiranthos. Apeiranthos is a small charming village 20 minutes by bus from Mountsouna. We caught the bus at 12:30. Once we arrived at our destination we asked the driver specifically when he would return to take us back to Mountsouna. He assured us he would be back at 4:30. Perfect. This would give us plenty of time for our planned “café crawl.” We took our computers and books and spent the afternoon at four different little cafes. We took turns ordering small things until it was time to catch our bus back home. It was a great way to spend the day, doing what we love best.
At 4:30 we waited for the bus. It came, but the driver told us he would be back in 10 minutes. We waited some more…..and a little more. Finally the bus did come back. There was some confusion on how to get a ticket, but the driver hurried us on with all the other passengers telling us more than once that he was going to Mountsouna. Five minutes later I got off the bus to get a ticket at a mini mart. It was then that we were told that this bus doesn’t go to Mountsouna, it goes to Hora. What? No time to question, the bus was pulling away with Jessica still on it. Stop the bus! Yikes, that was a close one. So we were both off the bus, thoroughly confused, and had no idea how we would make it home. Luckily a guy who just happened to be making a delivery at the mini mart offered to give us a ride. We were a little reluctant, but really had no other choice…no more buses were going to Mountsouna that day. We got into the back of the car, and talked long enough with the guy to realize he wasn’t a crazy killer or anything….in fact, quite the opposite he seemed like a great guy, and given the fact that he was willing to give us a ride all the way to our cottage doorstep (he knew Nikos of course), made him a saint. He picked up another girl who he obviously knew well (maybe a daughter), and Jessica and I spent the ride being entertained by their exuberant conversation…all in Greek of course. It was after that incident that we decided we didn’t want to go anywhere else. We chose to spend the rest of our time at our stress free cottage. It ended up being one of the best decisions we made during this trip.
1. Everyone knows Nikos and Astrid, and the location of their cottages. You don’t even need a last name. Small town perks I guess.
2. The route to the next biggest town (area), Mountsouna is a dusty long path with beautiful mountain views, but no shade. This was a running route twice (I don’t recommend this during the heat of the day, which is pretty much all hours here in Greece- I nearly died twice). This route was also walked numerous times, once for the sole purpose of purchasing more Nutella (like peanut butter, but chocolate), which Jessica and I devoured in the first two days of our stay.
3. Internet access at the cottages is limited to the main house. Every time we came up to use our computers, we were offered homemade desert, coffee, and wine. Occasionally we would have a conversation with the father, Nikos…mostly about politics which tended to be somewhat hard to follow, but very entertaining given Nikos’s passion for seemingly everything. We also witnessed a special interaction between Nikos and the youngest son. This little boy could be one of the cutest kids I’ve met (second only to JJ), but he’s a wild one. Once while walking up to our house we were almost nailed with flying rocks. In an effort to calm him a little (at least this is our impression), Nikos calls his son up for coffee every afternoon, and the little boy brings his book and sits quietly with his drink and his dad, and reads. It’s so adorable.
4. We had laundry at the cottages. It was a German washing machine, which was a little bit different than what we were use to. We haven’t come across any dryers here in Greece, which makes sense given the fact that clothes can dry so quickly here out in the hot sun.
5. I attempted to make the popcorn I brought from home twice…both attempts failed, both because of my own stupidity….it was a low point….better not to talk too much about it.
6. There was a hotplate in our cottage. Never thought I’d be so impressed with a hotplate. The water heats in about a minute….it’s pretty amazing, and I was happy with my hot chocolate in the morning. (Never thought on my trip to Greece I’d be blogging about popcorn and a hotplate…hmmmmm, reminds me that I wasn’t vacationing, but really living life here.)
7. At the cottages we had a lot of good relaxing time. We played solitaire, read, watched Harry Potter, which we borrowed from the family, and laid out on our favorite rock spot. Jessica also tried to teach me how to braid, and I helped coach her on her swimming stroke.
8. We also had some great adventures. We went on a hike in the dark (accidentally). We also went kayaking. Our German friends who were also staying at the cottages offered to let us borrow their kayaks whenever. I had my heart set on swimming to the cliffs. Jessica was going to go with me on her dog raft (although I don’t really think she was that thrilled about the plan.) Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it was far too windy and wavy so we decided to kayak there instead. The way out to the cliffs was fun, and just enough of a challenge to make me feel tough battling the waves. The way back was impossible, and just enough of a challenge to make me want to give up and cry. The winds were so strong it felt like we weren’t making any progress at all. Jessica was a small yellow dot way out in front of me. It was just me, my blistered hands, and my negative thoughts. I contemplated jumping out and swimming the kayak back…the paddling thing just wasn’t working. Then I thought about just ditching the kayak all together. After spending considerably more time in that little kayak than either Jessica or I had planned, we finally arrived home. We were welcomed by the kids, and the Germans, and Nikos….seemed like everyone was just a little bit concerned for those dumb American girls (so glad I didn’t go through with the swim to the cliffs). All in all I’m glad we had this experience. It was an awesome workout, and gave us all something to joke and laugh about over lunch. Funny how easily stupidity translates. I think it somehow bonded us just a little more with our Greek and German friends.
9. One night we walked to Mountsouna for dinner. We thought we’d have a few options in town…nope, just one, but it ended up being really great. We had good homemade food recommended by the waitress who also took us in the back to look at the fresh fish selections. We walked back from dinner in the dark, (you’d think we would learn.) Surprisingly this wasn’t the least bit scary thanks to good conversation with Jessica and the overall sense of peacefulness and safety we feel in this small little area on Naxos. I think it has so much to do with the kindness of all the people we’ve met here.
10. Nikos and his wife are very generous (incase you haven’t already noticed). We were given all kinds of fresh vegetables and shown where we could pick our own. Strawberries, grapes, figs, tomatoes, cucumbers….it was wonderful. Nikos also makes his own wine, and showed us the cellar where he keeps it in a giant barrel complete with easy to use spout. We were welcome to have as much as we wanted.
11. There’s a teeny tiny church on Nikos’s property. I assumed it was just for looks, but one evening there was a wedding. We later learned that Nikos’s grandfather built the church and it’s named after him.
12. The bus schedules on Naxos are pretty unpredictable (I think we’ve mentioned this before). This was made very clear to us our second day on the island when we went to Apeiranthos. Apeiranthos is a small charming village 20 minutes by bus from Mountsouna. We caught the bus at 12:30. Once we arrived at our destination we asked the driver specifically when he would return to take us back to Mountsouna. He assured us he would be back at 4:30. Perfect. This would give us plenty of time for our planned “café crawl.” We took our computers and books and spent the afternoon at four different little cafes. We took turns ordering small things until it was time to catch our bus back home. It was a great way to spend the day, doing what we love best.
At 4:30 we waited for the bus. It came, but the driver told us he would be back in 10 minutes. We waited some more…..and a little more. Finally the bus did come back. There was some confusion on how to get a ticket, but the driver hurried us on with all the other passengers telling us more than once that he was going to Mountsouna. Five minutes later I got off the bus to get a ticket at a mini mart. It was then that we were told that this bus doesn’t go to Mountsouna, it goes to Hora. What? No time to question, the bus was pulling away with Jessica still on it. Stop the bus! Yikes, that was a close one. So we were both off the bus, thoroughly confused, and had no idea how we would make it home. Luckily a guy who just happened to be making a delivery at the mini mart offered to give us a ride. We were a little reluctant, but really had no other choice…no more buses were going to Mountsouna that day. We got into the back of the car, and talked long enough with the guy to realize he wasn’t a crazy killer or anything….in fact, quite the opposite he seemed like a great guy, and given the fact that he was willing to give us a ride all the way to our cottage doorstep (he knew Nikos of course), made him a saint. He picked up another girl who he obviously knew well (maybe a daughter), and Jessica and I spent the ride being entertained by their exuberant conversation…all in Greek of course. It was after that incident that we decided we didn’t want to go anywhere else. We chose to spend the rest of our time at our stress free cottage. It ended up being one of the best decisions we made during this trip.
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