Naxos 1 May Sagri

Nigel and Sue in church courtyard.

Lovely weather for walking, around 22°, fine, cooling breeze.  There are 14 in our group, 7 men including our two guides.  After breakfast, we had to choose the easy or hard walk.  To our surprise, only 4 took the hard option, us and Sue and Nigel, both about 60 years old and looking very fit.   Our walk was supposed to be 14.5 km but David’s GPS registered 16.4 and by the end I was noticing every extra step!  This time, taxis are used instead of local buses to take us to each starting point, leaving at 9:30 and picking us up at some place at 4:30.

 We started the walk at Sagri, stopping for morning tea in a church courtyard, where a lady offered us (free) shortbread.

The paths all day were mostly rough and stony but we had no problem reaching the Temple of Demeter, built around 520 – 530BC. It was partially dismantled in the 6th century AD when a church was built over it. In later centuries the site was abandoned and plundered for its marble.  Until 10 years ago, there was very little to see - none of the temple was left standing. However, it was discovered that most of the columns and stones of the original temple still remained on site, either buried or used in the ruined chapel. It was restored in 2001. 

Looking back at Temple of Demeter

By the time we left the temple, I was aware of a sore ankle and I struggled to finish the final 10 km to Plaka Beach. In the hotel a cold can of beer held against the side of my foot using a sock gave some relief.  It was an easy decision to opt out of tomorrow’s walk.