TPThursday: Circling the Cyclades

Die-hard travelers like us aren’t content to be preparing for the next trip, we must be thinking about future journeys as well.  (From a practical standpoint, if you plan to use frequent flier miles, you need to be planning ahead!)

Our travel compass for our next year is pointing towards Greece.  And with so many favorite islands there, it is going to be difficult to narrow our focus to visiting just a few of them. 

As our planning discussions pick up momentum, Joel started talking frequent flier mile seats and I pulled out photos from our first journey there ~ when we circled Greece’s Cycladic Islands:



We are agreed that as much as we love cruises, we prefer Greek ferries to cruise ships when it comes to experiencing the islands. Modern ferries, such as this NEL Lines fast boat, in the harbor of Naxos Island can’t be beat for comfort and convenience.

Spending an evening at a Greek taverna, savoring good food and drink, isn't possible if you are racing back to a departing cruise ship. Why visit Greece if you can’t have some taverna evenings, right?


Traveling by ferry is as casual as life itself. We love waiting for a ferry departure. We sat at this small café in Mykonos watching the cruise ship in the distance to pass the time. No stuffy airport waiting rooms nor long security checks here.

Our days went far too quickly - no matter which island we were on.We were easily entertained just watching the daily rituals of the island fishermen as they off-loaded the day’s catch and began preparing the boats for the next morning’s departure.

By now you know we prefer the off-the-beaten-path back roads and villages.They just offer so many unexpected experiences. . .I mean, how often back home does a passing herd of goats block your route?

By taking those off-the-beaten path routes we found beaches like this one. . .

. . .and sunsets so stunning that they seemed surrealistic.

If You Go:

Our first trip to Greece took us to four islands in the Cycladic group, Siros, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos. It’s so easy to succumb to the spell of any one of them that it is difficult to move on to the next. . .until you get there and you find yourself not wanting to leave that place either. We made advance reservations for hotels on our first two islands because we were there during the Easter Holidays (when everyone on the Mainland heads to an island). The other two we booked upon arrival.

If you’ve been reading the TravelnWrite Facebook page you know I’ve been including updates from fellow travelers who’ve been visiting Greece this year or who live there – all are reporting calm and serene environments and business as usual. (Novelist Bill Kitson has a guest post on TravelnWrite about his recent stay in Crete.)

Thanks for stopping by on this TPThursday. Hope you’ll head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos and travel tales. And then come back again!

TPThursday Capturing The Four Seasons

The seasons in photos. . .

I hadn’t given seasons  much thought  until Leigh from Hike Bike Travel invited our participation in another blogosphere event; this one sponsored by Booked.net.

At our house we have two seasons, ‘Travel and No Travel’.  It is from that perspective I offer views of the four calendar seasons as we fondly recall from our travels::

Winter



A January evening in Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii. 

Spring



An April day on the island of Naxos, Greece

Summer



A July morning in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Autumn



An October morning in Spain’s Andalucian hillsides.

When you capture the memories of the seasons, what do you picture? 

This is my contribution to Travel Photo Thursday created by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. If this is your first visit to TravelnWrite, stop by again Saturday for Washington Weekend.

Travel Photo Thursday: Greek Memories

While sipping wine last night with friends who are in the planning stages of a trip to Greece, we started telling stories about our travels there. . .

Today I happened upon Travel Photo Thursday which is making its way through the travel blogosphere world. That, combined with last night’s conversation, sent me off to the Greek photo file where I found this one I took on the island of Naxos.  I think it’s time we start talking Greek travel again as well. . .


If you want to see others participating in Travel Photo Thursday, check out  Budget Travelers Sandbox

Kitron sipping in Naxos

I neglected to say much about the Greek Island of Naxos, the last stop on our itinerary-less fall trip only as result of lack of time and technology. But this, the largest of the Greek Cyclades, shouldn't be overlooked for a number of reasons - one of which is sipping Kitron (Citron) a drink only distilled here.

In appearance the citron, appears to be a large, oversized lumpy lemon. The story goes that it was introduced into the Mediterranian region back in 300 BC by Alexander the Great. Believed through the centuries to have medicinal value and reputed to be a symbol of wealth and fertility, its popularity grew to such proportions that citron groves nearly blanketed the entire island.

Today the island has two major producers and the limited production pretty much limits availability to the island. It is great for souvenirs. The key ingredient to the drink are the citron tree leaves, not the fruit. The family-run Vallindras Distillery opened in Halki town in 1896 and continues to use the old method of drying the leaves, then mixing them with alcohol and water in a boiler heated with olive wood fires; ultimately adding water and sugar to the mixture creating the popular drink. It is worth a visit when you are on Naxos.

Our nightly ritual for the three of us -- Joel and I and Rob, the traveler from Australia with whom we forged a friendship as we hauled suitcases up the hill in Folegandros -- was to sip a Kitron (or two) at Kitron Naxos, a popular waterfront bar, across the street from the marina. We had actually begun our nightcap tradition in Folegandros, sipping Greek raki, and we continued the ritual sipping Kitron in Naxos.

Kitron comes in three versions: green with the most sugar and least alcohol (30%), clear, which tastes somewhat like Contreau (33%) and the yellow which has the least sugar, most aroma and alcohol (36%). We liked the yellow best - although each was good.