Naxos & Amorgos - some not so famous Greek Islands

We said goodbye to the views of Santorini a lot easier than we arrived. We had hired a car the day before so we had a ride down to the port and didn't have to drag our bags over the pavers again - lesson learned. There are many different types of ferry's used to move between the islands - the one to Naxos was a fast one and looked so as well.

Our first stop was Naxos, one of the main ferry hubs in the Cyclades but it sounded quite nice in the Lonely Planet so we decided to stop over for a couple of nights. After we arrived we wandered about 50m to the beach and relaxed.

This marked a change of pace as we settled into a beach lifestyle. There wasn't really much to do in Naxos apart from check out a few local restaurants and chill out at the beach.

We moved onto Amorgos - a must see island according to the two guides I had read prior to the trip. It was quite a big island but had a small town feel. It had large mountain ranges with a couple of main ports. The port of Katapola where we stayed was small and inviting with a splattering of the typical white cubic houses you see in the Greek Islands.

You could feel the the change in pace. The streets weren't that busy. There were just a few mopeds and cars cruising about. There were cats everywhere. We quickly found our hotel which believe it or not was a 3 storey building which meant another couple of flights needed to climbed with our bags - Doh. The room was basic but what do you expect for 45 Euro. It was nice relaxing on the balcony. I managed to do a little repair job on my computer cable which allowed us to recharge the computer. Not that it got much use. It stayed in it's bag the whole trip.

One of the cool things to see on Amorgos is the Monastery. It is only 5ft wide but about 80 tall and built on the cliff side. They were keen to make life hard back then. It is just around the corner of the cliff in this shot.

This is the island they shot the movie 'The Big Blue' about the free diver Enzo. Rob and I actually read his biography on our Europe trip last time. I would have loved to see the movie again and they happened to be showing it at one of cafes on the last night but with a 4:30am start the next day to catch the ferry to Turkey, we passed.

After the Monastery, we cruised down to a nearby well known beach. See if you can spot me in this photo.

The water was perfectly clear. The clear water is a great thing about the Mediterranean. You can see even see little fishes swimming around your feet. Even in the main port where this shot was taken, the water is crystal clear.

To get to the Monastery and the beach we hired a quad bike for the day. It was only 50cc so didn't exactly sprint up the hills but it was still cool to have a bit of freedom. Krishni even had a go.

And as per most of the trip so far, there has to be a dessert involved. Since we had the bike we cruised back up the hill to the old town for dinner. There weren't any streets, just little alleyways which cute old ladies walking around and old men sitting on the sides. On one of the side alleys we came across a dessert bar and I knew the walks and swims I have been doing in the mornings will be taking a set back. Can you see the glee in the eyes.

The last day on Amorgos, we just relaxed at yet another beach and chilled out. Here's the sunset.

As mentioned previously the boat towards turkey left at dawn. It happened to be the same boat as this one which I had photographed the previous day. It was almost like a cruise liner it was so large. Watching it maneuver into place was an event in itself. It almost took up the whole bay.

We are on the boat now. It has Wi-Fi on board so with a newly charged computer, its all good.

It feels like we are on the home stretch. Until we get to Istanbul, we will just be spending a day here and there traveling up from the port of Bodrum. We will be stopping off and checking out Epheus and Gallipoli.