I'm sending this from a beachfront restaurant on Tuesday because I've had problems with Internet access.

On Monday we left early and drove inland into the mountainous area to a village named Halkio. We'd planned to have our morning coffee there, but nothing was open when we arrived. It was overcast, so this was great for photographing in the village. We finally found a bakery (no coffee) that was open. While there, we had a rainshower, but were able to stay inside for its five-minute duration. That was the first rain we've had. We then went back into the village to find a nice coffee shop that was open, but (guess what!) the power was out. We wandered some more until the power was restored and we could finally have our morning coffees.

So in late morning we continued on our planned tour. We stopped in a very small nearby village. Ted went for a short walk and I walked up to a small square where some locals were sitting around drinking coffee. A photo op! As we were about to leave and were turning the car around, this lady came up to us offering some of her grapes. Another photo op: taking her photo. This led to her inviting us to come sit on her veranda. Then she brought out some oranges to give to us, and then a dessert she had made, a local delicacy made by slowly boiling grapes in water and sugar. But before we could eat this, she offered us something to eat first - potatoes cooked in a tomato broth with some spices - and beer. This was delicious. Then she thought that we could use a salad. Oh, and I forgot the cheese made from yoghurt along with bread. After finishing this, she brought our dessert back. This was our lunch, largely thanks to Ted's ability to converse in Greek. The photo shows us with some of this meal.

This diversion ended any beach plans we had, so we toured some more, met a couple Canadians up a mountain road, and ended the day in Hora, the port town, for sunset at the remaining columns of a temple to Apollo.

Sept 17-2

 

Sept 17-1

 

We've decided to spend one more day in Naxos. At this time, the others are lying, sunning and swimming on the beach. The guy sitting next to them is originally from Levack. Can't get away from these chance encounters.

Bye, I'm off to the beach after finally solving the internet dilemma.