Private Tour of Naxos

Aloha Everyone,

Psatra Evapxia “Evi” is an archeologist and certified tour guide fluent in Greek, English and German. We were introduced to Evi by Manoli of our hotel who is a fellow Thespian. Her regular job as a High School and Junior High School teacher of Greek History, language and geography served as an exceptional tour guide for J.J. and me.  

Evi chose the route going from sea level to where we could see cloud covered mountains. J.J. and I learned how to identify Venetian castles most of which are still standing. Unlike the Paradors of Spain, government owned old palaces and monasteries converted into luxury accommodations, Venetian castles in Naxos are private.

The three of us stopped at the picturesque town of Halki for coffee and wonderful conversation. Halki used to be the capital of Naxos and this colorful charming town was fashioned after Palaka, close to the area where democracy was born in Athens. I purchased a bagful of freshly picked grapes and apples for 3€.

Evi made several more photo stops for me including the narrowest section of Naxos where you can see the East coastal and the West coastal area at the same time. She also pointed to old marble mining areas. Evi explained the reason island buildings are white is because they pulverize small marble chips and used it for paint. White color of the marble deflect the hot sun during the summer months.

When I asked her any reason for the azure blue color for roofs and trimmings, Ivi said that is what tourists expect to see when they come to the Greek islands. Blue is associated with the color of the sky and the sea. So this is the commercial reason behind the color famously associated with Greek Islands. We spent 4 hours with Ivi and the things J.J. and I learned could fill several of our blogs. Please click on the link below to read more about Naxos, its history et al.

https://www.naxos-greece.net/site/history.htm

Aloha -- Cathi