A Greek Odyssey 6-15 June 2002

 Thursday 13 June

Today it was very windy, and I commented that I was glad we weren't going home this morning. We decided against the beach and Keith, the children and, I went to Parikia to do some shopping. We arranged to meet Mum and Dad at lunchtime to return our hire cars in Naoussa. 

We parked easily on the front and walked a short distance to the shops. I had my eye on some lovely tee shirts for the children and me, and I also wanted to buy a big bag decorated with blue dolphins. Sophie bought Stephanie a little kitten, and I treated her to one as well, while Michael had two new dummies and a crocodile. I also bought a calendar and more film, as there was so much to photograph on the island.

We drove out of Parikia and saw the old Xenia hotel; it looked very sad and shabby stuck behind another hotel that had been built on the headland and that had stolen its view. We decided to make another circuit of the island and visited Alyki again but became lost through the narrow maze of streets. We noticed the small roadside shrines that were set up by the relatives of someone who had died in an accident there, which were beautifully ornate and normally contained a photo of the deceased with some of their personal belongings. It was sad to see them and there were too many for my liking.

We drove all around the island and headed back to Naoussa in time for lunch. I was very tempted to keep the car until tomorrow but in the end, we handed back the keys. It was a very cheap model and speed wasn't its greatest strength, but we would have found it very difficult and expensive to have relied on taxis and buses all the time, and we wouldn't have been able to see so much of the island without it.

Mum and Dad arrived bearing gifts for the children, and we went to Dad's favourite fish restaurant for lunch. Keith and Dad had sun-dried mackerel while I plumped for potato salad followed by calamari. The children had chips while Mum made do with a Greek salad. It was our last lunch on the island, and I wished again that we could stay longer. We were all worried about the strong winds, but Dad had received confirmation that the Naxos Star was sailing tomorrow, so we hoped that the weather would improve, although it was still sunny and hot.

We took a taxi back to the hotel and collapsed around the pool for a last soak in the sun. It was too windy on the beach, but the pool was more sheltered. Michael played with his cars on the edge of the pool while I went for a welcome swim and took more photos. Sophie played in the pool the whole time and was rapidly turning as brown as a berry!

In the evening, after showering and dressing, we took the minibus to Naoussa along with another couple that we had seen eating out in the town. Hardly anyone ate at the hotel restaurant, and we had thought about it tonight as it was our last night, but I wanted to wander the narrow streets of Naoussa for one more time. We had a drink at the bar on the front and Dad spoke to the Port police about the weather tomorrow. They said they would decide in the morning at about 7am, but the wind had died down slightly by now and we were confident we'd be on the Naxos Star the next day.

We didn't know where to eat tonight and decided to visit one of the harbour restaurants. A waiter put two tables together for us and I changed Michael's nappy in the cramped restaurant toilet. When we came out and I looked at the menu it was all fish dishes, no meat or anything for the children at all. We, therefore, made a hasty exit when no one was looking and wandered up to the Italian restaurant that we had looked at a few days previously. The menu looked good, so we went in hoping for fresh pasta and pizzas for the children.

Our last meal was fine - nothing special but the children enjoyed their pizza and Michael had tiramisu once again. We enjoyed our last night of the holiday and vowed to visit again!