I took the ferry today from Anafi over to the much larger and more popular island of Naxos. It's quite a change of scene. Anafi was a relatively small island, definitely small in population, and for the most part off the tourist map. It was very rugged and steep yet barren, and had these crazy winds that would whip through the small town of Hora, that was perched on the top of a narrow ridge. Anafi was more introspective, whereas Naxos is much more of a tourist destination, with crowded beaches lined with all sorts of touristy shops and restaurants.
However, I'm enjoying the change. I realized when I got here today that, having just arrived in Greece still, I'm a little more interested in delving into the culture and mingling with the people than in finding solitude. Although Anafi was still a very interesting glimpse into the culture itself, there's a whole lot more going on in Naxos; plus the simple fact that I'm now staying in an actual campground, rather than sleeping on the beach, so that I've got the usual civilized facilities, such as my first hot shower with soap and fresh water (rather than a dip in the sea) in over a week.
Also, Naxos is much less hilly than Anafi, so it looks like it will be better for bicycle excursions. Speaking of which, I got the bike back up and running. My bicycle pump wasn't working simply because the stem on the tire was at an angle and so it wasn't connecting in the right way. But I got the stem straightened and managed to pump it up. However a couple of days later it was getting low again, so I've got a slow leak. For now I'll just keep pumping it up every few days, and at some point I'll need to either patch the leak, or else replace the tube. But at least it's working. I bicycled from the port to where I'm camping, Plaka Camping, which was a good 5-6 miles or so, and it was easy going because it was almost completely flat. On Anafi I could barely push my bike up some of the hills.
So it looks like Naxos will be good for exploring for at least a few days, if not more. There's certainly plenty to see, that is if my legs are up for it, I'm pretty sore already from the last several days of biking, walking and swimming. So tomorrow just might end up being a bit of a rest day to do my laundry, do some shopping, etc., just depends on how I feel in the morning.
As for future plans, I start working at the retreat center on August 28th, which is already next Friday. That's going to be a bit of a project unto itself just getting there, because I will have to get back to the mainland and then head north up to the Pelion Peninsula. That will either involve leaving with several days to spare and doing a lot of biking, or else catching a bus that will also take my bike. I'm leaning towards the latter. I'd rather leave most of the biking for the islands where things are a little more low-key.
Well that's all for now, I've got a bunch of great videos to upload but the computer here at the campground isn't able to upload them, so I'll have to wait and try another computer, maybe somewhere else in town....Well I'm headed for bed, or rather my sleeping bag.
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