Naxos first week in June 2022
We had an 8AM Seajets ferry from Heraklion to Santorini and to Naxos We struggled with the decision to spend one more night in Plakias and race to Heraklion to catch the ferry. Common sense persuaded us to stay in Heraklion that last night. We stayed at Kronos hotel which has sea view rooms and is a 15 minute walk to the ferry dock. We met a good friend Dimitris and his wife and had a lovely Greek dinner somewhere in the Maze that is central Heraklion.
We arrived in Naxos; so good to be back. While we love Crete, Naxos is special for us. We first visited in 1996 when research information was in books and brochures. Lolly and I poured over this information and both independently chose Naxos. We have visited 15 times since then..
We stayed at Three Brothers hotel on Plaka beach. It is directly across the road from the beach. It’s an older hotel but most of the rooms have sea views. They have been slowly renovating to upgrade the rooms. We had asked for room 22 which has a beautiful bogenvoula bush hanging over the balcony. Much to our surprise we got one of the remodeled rooms which had a minimal sea view and a west exposure. We got toasted that early evening as the sun set on our balcony.
Next morning we were able to get another room right beside this one but on the east side of the building, with a sea view.
Our first order of business was to get to the nearest Mini Mart to pick up a bottle of wine. I have been disappointed several times with generic Red wines in plastic bottles. This one was quite good considering it was 3 euros for a liter and a half.
That evening we walked back up the beach to Nicolas and Marias. It’s a taverna with tables on the beach about 2 meters from the water. The combination of the sun setting over the beach and the romantic location puts me in mind of that scene in Shirley Valentine, where she was sitting at a table 3 feet from the sea sipping wine. This taverna certainly creates a memorable location for dining.
We ordered dinner and a litre of house wine. I took one sip of the wine only to discover it was off, really off. I told the waiter and ordered a bottle of wine. A couple of minutes later the head waiter came to our table and confirmed the whole batch was ruined.
We had stuffed red peppers and beetroot salad, and grilled eggplant . The amazing location, sun setting over Paros and the antics of the three cats dodging the waiters made made this an evening to remember.
Next day we stayed close to the hotel and mainly walked Plaka beach and hung out at the Aegean Palace beach club just across the road from the beach. There is no charge as long as you purchase a drink.
That evening we went to Patrinos at Plaka beach. It is a go to destination for us and has long been a favourite. It’s a 15 minute walk from the hotel. It specializes in Naxian dishes. We had Chick pea stuffing on an eggplant and a carrot puree. While Patrino is not as close to the beach as Nicholas and Marias but it too had a nice sunset view.
The next day we walked to Agia Anna in the early morning before it got too hot. Neither one of us felt like we had much energy so we bought a bottle of water from a mini mart and sat on the edge of the beach for half an hour before trudging back to Three Brothers. We spent the rest of the day at Aegean beach bar. A few ouzos on ice seemed to be a magical cure for our fatigue.
Refreshed we walked back towards Aggia Anna and had dinner at Taverna Manolis on Plaka beach. Given our afternoon medication neither of us seem to be able to recall what we had there but the to the best of our recollection the location and the food were good.