CYCLADES
T
HE ISLAND OF NAXOS
looks so different to its
neighbours, it’s hard to believe
it’s part of the same Cycladic
chain. From the shore, plains
covered in golden fronds of wheat rise up
through foothills covered in cedars and thick,
gnarly olive trees half a millennium old.
Tractors chug along narrow roads lined with
cactuses, granite mountains rearing up around
them and casting dark shadows over the valley.
Far above, a solitary eagle floats on the wind.
Naxos has always been a place apart. Its
inhabitants look inward and to each other for
survival with little reliance on the sea and all
that lies beyond. Its most important towns lie
in the interior, not on the coast. Halki, deep in
the mountains, was its capital until the 1950s,
when administrative life shifted to the port
town of Naxos. Unlike in Naoussa on Paros or
Hora on Mykonos, most old-town buildings
here are not white with blue shutters. The
streets are wide. Houses are painted in pastel
shades and built in the Neoclassical style,
with imposing windows.
Halki fell into disrepair in the second half
of the 20th century, but is once again the
cultural heart of the island. Katharina Bolesch
and Alexander Reichardt are credited with its
revival. A married couple, they have lived in
the town since 1989, producing ceramics,
jewellery, lithographs and marble pieces in
their workshop. A constant stream of visitors
wanders in and out of their gallery, Fish &
Olive. ‘All roads lead to Halki,’ says
Katharina, delicately placing a pottery olive
on the side of a vase, while Alex paints the- Naxos
Head inland to the mountains to discover a unique and
fiercely protected culture of craftmanship and local produce
Nissaki Beach in Naxos Town has large,
comfortable rooms arranged around a courtyard
pool. There's a seaside deck for sunset drinks
(from US$180; nissaki-beach.com).
Katharina and Alexander's art is on display at
Fish & Olive (fish-olive-creations.com). For
guided visits to Apiranthos, see naxostours.net.
Other great food experiences include Halki's
Vallindras distillery, which makes local liqueur
kitron; olive press and museum Eggares
(olivemuseum.com); and cooking classes at Platia
restaurant (from US$50; platianaxos.com).Essentials
Time for the final ferry trip, to Fira on Santorini, two
hours away (from US$22; bluestarferries.gr).outline of a fish on a bowl. ‘No-one lived on
the coast – we always had what we needed
right here. Life was always in the centre of
the island.’
In Apiranthos, a few miles along the road,
a women’s cooperative has been making the
same point since the 1980s. In a room near
the top of the village, its windows flung
open to the cool mountain air, up to 20
women work embroidering shepherd’s
shirts, and weaving tablecloths and blankets
ready for sale. Their purpose is to keep the
traditions of the mountains alive, and to
maintain that all-important self-reliance.
The most fertile of the Cyclades, Naxos’s
autonomy was assured by the bounty of its
soil. No-one has to cross the oceans to bring
in supplies. Even in Halki, apricot, pear and
lemon trees grow in every back garden, the
fat fruit lying where it falls. It’s no surprise
that the protector of the island is Dionysos,
god of wine and joy and fertility. ‘People say
there was so much wine here, it ran in the
rivers,’ says guide Eleni Kontopidi with
a laugh. ‘Perhaps the abundance makes
people create. You take everything you
have and turn it into art.’
The abundance also makes Naxians
preternaturally compelled to eat and to feed.
In a farmhouse kitchen in the valley below
Halki, Eleni introduces goat farmers Yannis- who sits stirring a fresh batch of cheese,
glass of raki resting on the arm of his chair –
and wife Maria. She immediately brings out
plate after plate of food: courgette fritters;
spanakopita pastries spilling out spinach;
salads of tomato, cucumber and fennel; and
baklava with jelly – all of it home-made with
their own produce. They worry they’ve not
provided enough. ‘We take hospitality very
seriously on Naxos,’ explains Eleni, trying
the goat’s cheese. ‘Living in the mountains,
you are cut off from the world, and it makes
you feel more solidarity with each other.
We don’t spend a lot of money on things,
but we always share what we have.’A view over Halki village in
the Tragea mountains, deep
in the interior of Naxos