Naxos: Potamia Villages

Nestled in the middle of Naxos, lies a series of three small villages called Potamia. With 300 year-round inhabitants, sleepy and beautiful are two good words to describe the environs. George's mum's summer house lies nestled around the village and George spent lots of his childhood summers here. 

The original plan was that Paul and I were going to rent a scooter and make our way up 9km of winding roads to spend an afternoon with Gil, George and co. After spending ten minutes scooting around Naxos Town the day before, Paul crashed the scooter turning onto the main road. Flip flops, my ankle, Paul's arm were all minor casualties in the world's slowest turn.

Fortunately main road and casualties are both terms I use loosely and the biggest loss in this event we call Scootergate is that the day's fee, €30, was non-refundable. Paul, sans pride, walked the scooter back to the rental place and we chose our own two feet for the remainder of our time on the island. 

And so, we ended up meeting two of Gil's Taiwanese friends for a silent taxi ride up the middle of the island. It turns out that 9km of winding road feels like a lot longer than 9km and both Paul and I were grateful that we hadn't attempted it on a scooter. 

We arrived with a late afternoon sun beaming down on us and took to the many paved walking paths in the area. George regaled us with stories of his youth and 'guess how old this is' style tourism as he pointed to churches and buildings that dotted the horizon. 

I love Greece for the beaches but I must admit that Upper, Middle and Lower Potamia were utterly charming. There are 37 churches, which amounts to about 1 church for every 8 people in the community. The oldest, Agios Mamas (not pictured) is from the 10th century Byzantine era. I can't quite wrap my head around that. 

Shaded paths gave way to wildlife in the form of lizards and turtles and Kieran continued to snap photos of plants to insert into his Plant Finder App. Yes, it's a thing.

Notes of history were all around us--from abandoned wine presses and water mills to beautiful stone walls--there was a peace in just being in this space. It turns out that medieval Venetian nobles used to holiday here so if it's good enough for them, it's definitely good enough for me.

In the long term, I imagine I would go stir crazy in a place like this. But for one afternoon with friends, walking, eating fresh everything in a local taverna and stargazing on a rooftop to end the day, it felt like exactly where I needed to be.