Sailing Calista7 September 2023 – 25 September 2023
After the Volvo mechanic had identified we definately had a problem with our transmission and it would not be safe to contine without it being fixed, we once again tried to get permission to go into the Marina. At first the Harbour Master told us we would need to be towed back out to the anchorage and wait a few days until a spot in the Harbour became available. After he discussed our situation with the Coast Guard, they gave special permission for us to dock in the fairway on the end of the second pontoon.
From the ferry berth where we had refueled, we got towed into the marina and tied up on the end of the pontoon. With the second pontoon being a little further up in the harbour it was more protected from swell and also the fairway was a little wider. We are actually in a prime position and we watch all the charter boats coming and going and the activity along the waterfront. With the ferries arriving and departing just outside the harbour, we are experiencing some surges but all in all, life is good.
We are held at the bow by a single slime line to prevent Calista moving any further out into the fairway, and we are well fendered off the end of the pontoon. We have several mooring lines attached to the mid and rear cleats and running back to the bollards on the pontoon.
Once the marinero had left, we rearranged some of the fenders and placed more fenders on the aft. We also got our inflatable fenders out, inflated them and placed them between the two yachts.
With the Meltemi winds due to increase over the next few days, we were pleased to be in the marina and not out in an anchorage which can be quite exposed. We were holding well but the fenders where squeaking under protest from being squeezed between the two yachts and the end of the pontoon as the winds gained in strength.
Once we were happy that Calista wasn’t going anywhere, we went to the Port Police to get our transit log stamped in. It was a very straight forward process, no questions asked and no need to sight our passports or crew list, the Female Officer was very welcoming.
Afterwards we went along to one of the bars on the water front and ordered a couple of cocktails to celebrate finally being settled in the marina.
Stravos, the Volvo mechanic came to Calista the following afternoon and removed the transmission. Because the gearbox is not Volvo, it needed to be sent to the nearest manufacturer agent which happens to be in Athens. The manufacturer will strip it down and check what is wrong and arrange the necessary parts to be sent from Sweden.
Once the transmission had been removed there was nothing holding the drive shaft in place and water entering through the dripless shaft seal, so Stravos secured a rope onto the shaft and also placed a piece of timber between the engine and shaft to hold the shaft in place to avoid any ingress of sea water. Now we have to stay and wait …
After Stravos had left, we went for a walk around town and walked up to the Kastro.
The Venetian Castle of Naxos is a castle which was built in the 13th century. The castle and it’s walls occupy the small elevation next to the port of Naxos.
We wandered around the narrow lanes of the Kastro and there didn’t appear to be many people living in the houses, it looked pretty derelict.
There were half a dozen yachts in the anchorage and with the sea state getting rougher, the seas were crashing over the sea wall.
Some remedial works were being carried out on one of the castle walls.
The Catholic Cathedral situated inside the Kastro and dates back to the 13th century.
Walking through the maze of narrow alleyways we stumbled upon “Avaton 1739” , a coffee and wine roof top bar with amazing views.
We ordered a glass of rose then couldn’t help ordering some fried potatoes with white truffle mayonnaise, fresh herbs and smoked port dust. They were delicious. Naxos is the agricultural heart of the Cyclades and is known for it’s potatoes, cheeses and meats.
I thought the wording on this window was quite appropriate …
With the meltemi blowing over several days, we walked up to the Portara and it was blowing a gale. The waves were pounding into the neighbouring beach. We got sprayed as we walked along the causeway.
Watch out Paul!
Around the streets of the Kastro there are so many alleyways.
Down the far end of the town we found a sushi restaurant overlooking the entrance to the marina.
We enjoyed fresh sushimi and sushi rolls with a lovely white wine from the 9 Muses Wine Estate.
We think Calista is the star in the marina. From the top of the hotel nearby there is actually a “live” webcam directed onto the harbour and Calista can be easily seen.
After seeing this sign on the wall, we checked out the Rum Bar which was directly across from Calista. Maybe the Volvo mechanic and the transmission people should have a few rums here??
We enjoyed our rum cocktails, and had a bird’s eye view watching people coming and going along the pavement below.
As soon as the sun has set, people seem to come out in the cooler part of the evening and the restaurants start to get busy.
From the Rum Bar we were able to see Calista, she is certainly in a prime postion of the marina. She can’t be missed.
Passing the Creparea we couldn’t resist a sweet crepe for dessert. I had a strawberry and white chocolate, and Paul had banana and nutella. They were both yummy.
While we were eating our crepes we noticed the stairs opposite us, leading up to a roof top bar. I wasn’t the only one photographing the stairs that evening.
As we were going to be stuck in the marina for quite some time waiting on the transmission to be repaired, we decided to make the most of the situation and hired a car for a couple of days to trip about and see some more of the island.
We decided to take the scenic road that went up into the mountains and over to the eastern side of the island. On our road trip we passed though the village of Filoti, it looked very pictureque with the cedar trees and olive trees around the countryside.
The asphalted coastal road was in very good condition, the road wound up the mountainside onto a ridge where we encountered a small Church situated on a small piece of land on the crest of the hill before the road wound sharply back down towards the coast.
The Church had amazing views out towards Danoussa Island.
We visited the small seaside village of Moutsouna, it is the largest of all the settlements on the eastern coast.
The old emery cable cars are visiable along the countryside when driving along the road as we approached the sea. On closer sight you can actually see the small baskets. Emery was used for the manufacture of sandpaper. Up until the 1970’s the emery came via the emery mines of Koronos in the cable cars and loaded onto ships in the port.
We continued further along the coast until eventually the road ended at Panormos Bay, a lovely harbour protected from the northerly winds.The beach was a mixture of sand, stones and pebbles. The trees along the foreshore gave some shade protection.
We headed back along the coastal road and back up the mountain ridge where we stopped for lunch at Rotonda which lies between the mountain villages of Filoti and Apeiranthos.
The restaurant is high in the mountains with glorious views down over the hills towards Naxos town in the far distance.
For starters we had codfish croquettes with beetroot and garlic sauce.
I enjoyed my healthy shrimp summer salad. Paul had a slow cooked lamb shank with potatoes, pepper, tomato and local cheese.
When we paid the bill, the waitress brought out a couple of small glasses of liqueur on the house.
When we left the restaurant, our car key wouldn’t turn in the driver’s door. Paul had to phone the rental car company explaining our predicument. The office advised that someone would be there in about 40 minutes. We then went back into the restaurant grounds to sit and wait. The car rental company owner’s wife eventually arrived with the spare keys, and luckily a key fob as her key didn’t work either. After an hour we were on our way back down the mountain.
The following day we headed off again to explore more of the island, first stopping at the Eggares Olive Press Museum, one of Naxos’s oldest remaining olive mills. The Eggares Olive Press recently renovated, dates back to, at least, the late 1800s when it pressed locally-grown olives for the village community. The Olive Press has been in the Lianos family for at least five generations.
The Olive Press use to be operating 24 hours a day when the olives were picked. Two guys would each pull and push the large granite wheel to crush the olives. They would work in shifts around the clock.
The crushed olives were then pressed until the oil dripped into the basin and then was poured into containers.
We stopped at Melanes village, the oldest village on the island. Parking at the top of the village, we headed down the steps into the village and came acrosss a lovely upstairs cafe called Melanes Cafe.
We ordered a coffee and a fresh homemade lemon tart, it was delicious.
A picture that was on the wall in the cafe had very appropriate wording for us.
Heading up the mountains we came upon several quarries which have scarred the countryside. The quarries can be spotted from quite some distance away as the white marble glistens in the sun
There are about five areas near Kinidaros village that are currently being mined for it’s fine marble. Bolimbas in the largest quarry visible from the road. Nowadays, Naxian marble is commercially known as Naxos crystallina. Due to it’s unique nature, it has been highly preferred by sculptors and builders.
The marble of Naxos is highly priced due to its less porous nature, which leads to more durability against erosion and staining. Additional characteristics enhance it, such as its rarity, sparkle and crystallization, as it is made up of 2% quartz and 98% calcite composition that makes it gleam in the light.
Driving through the narrow residential streets of Kinidaros we were confronted with a large truck transporting a huge slab of marble. We had to back up and make room for the truck to manoeuvre around the bend in the road.
On the windy ridge there was the old windmill (not working) and the newer generation wind turbines.
We drove down into the valley of Koronida where we were intending to stop for lunch at a taverna which had been recommended to us by Patrick of Tropic Sailing.
We parked the car at the top and proceeded to walk down into the village, hoping we will find the taverna somewhere amongst the narrow alleyways in the lower part of the village.
By chance, we stumbled across the Matina & Stavros Tavern that Patrick had told us about.
Being a Monday there wasn’t much on the menu and the choice was either lamb, chicken or goat. Paul was daring and choose Goat in tomato sauce while I had the lamb. The meals were very tasty even though they were pretty basic. The potatoes and veges were really good, it’s been a long while since we have had boiled potaoes and minted peas and carrots. The water was from the local well which had been created around 1910. Until the 1960’s there was no central water supply in Koronos. The well still produces water today.
From Koronos we made our way further north and visited the seaside town of Apollonas which was very exposed to the meltemi winds which were blowing, and the seas were pounding onto the beach.
The occassional wave would crash up over the sea wall and cascade over the road. Where we had parked the car, we had to time it right getting back into the car without getting soaked.
We stopped for a fresh orange juice before heading back to the marina.
Arriving back in Naxos, we still had quite abit of petrol in the tank so we took a run out to the abandoned hotel at Aliko Beach while there was still abit of daylight left.
The ruins of an uncompleted hotel dates back to the 1960’s/1970s and the days of the military Junta in Greece. Following the fall of the Junta, is is believed that the constructions were deemed illegal and with decades in the courts it became unrealistic to continue with the works. The building shell has been repurposed as a street art museum.
Apparently there were some magnificent works of the famous street artist WD (Wild Drawing). He was born in Bali and has degrees in Fine Arts and is now based in Athens.
With the light starting to fade we rushed around the building site and managed to check out several of WD’s artworks.
Our friends Sabine and Uli were staying in the Marina Kalantos, down on the bottom of the Naxos for several days hiding from the meltemi. They managed to hire a car and drove up to Naxos Port to see Paul on his birthday.
They bought a bottle of champange with them, which their Italian friend had produced and we toasted Paul on his birthday.
Sabine and Uli had been busy collecting small stones from some of the beaches we had been to around the north of Greece earlier in the season, and created a stone resin dish for Paul to put his keys in. We all went for lunch at Sto Ladoxarto (Meat Restaurant) for Paul’s birthday. The steak was very good.
From our spot in the harbour, we have a good vantage spot watching the charter boats coming and going throughout the day. The deck hands picking up the bouys make it look so easy and are very proficient.
It is amazing to see how many tourists visit Naxos every day. They would often trudge along pulling their suitcases behind them on their way to and from the ferry or hotel.
At the end of our pontoon it has been interesting watching the fishing boats prepare new fishing nets and touch up the paint on their boats in readiness to head back out to sea.
While we still waiting for the gearbox to be repaired, we have decided that we will take a couple of day trips by ferry to help pass the time while we wait.
