Demeter
I packed just one book, before I boarded my plane to Athens: The Plague by Albert Camus. I bought this book in the first weeks of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic but until this moment I didn’t have peace of mind to open the book. I had read The Plague in the 1990s but forgotten most about it. The irony was that in the week before my journey I had fallen ill with a virus, maybe corona, possibly influenza. I was feeling extremely tired and had no sense of smell. Of all the food I ate and photographed, I just sensed texture and the primary taste of salt and bitter. It was a Greek tragedy.
Early in the morning I boarded a ferry in the port city Piraeus. It envisioned walking into the belly of a great whale surrounded by thick clouds of diesel fumes. It was a fitting start of my odyssey.
On Naxos the world had shifted from dark to light. I rented an electric fat bike to get to my ‘Villa’, roughly 14 kilometres from the Chóra, simply called Naxos or Naxos town. The owner of the Villa texted me directions: “Turn right a the olive tree”. But I came from the other direction so it was a left turn. I had five full days on Naxos.
The very day before my flight I hadn’t booked anything yet, so the choice for a Villa in Kastraki was made quite randomly. Kastraki is a cluster of houses 14 kilometres from the port. You can’t even call it a hamlet, it’s smaller. I was pleasantly surprised by the property: a bedroom with a double bed in the basement, a living room and kitchen on ground level, another double bed on the first floor and a private swimming pool. So much luxury for one person.
This first day there wasn’t much time to get around. I was too tired anyway. I lingered in the swimming pool observing the shadows of the waving reed on the white wall.
Paradise Tavern Kastraki
Then a strange ritual unfolded. Despite having no smell or taste I decided to pretend otherwise. I walked to a tavern on the beach, fittingly called Paradise, ten minutes walking distance, and ordered a glass of ouzo, a Greek salad, boiled vegetables and grilled sardines.
Greek restaurant owners in Germany have the habit of serving a glass of undiluted ouzo after dinner in a shot glass. Ouzo is an apéritif, should be diluted with 2 parts water and sipped slowly.
Cedar Forest of Alyko / Κεδροδάσος Αλυκού
The next day I did some light exploring in the morning. I started cycling south until I saw a cedar tree forest appear on Google Maps. The cedar trees turned out to be comically small. I was towering over even the largest cedar tree.
A bit more south Pyrgaki beach was completely deserted, despite temperatures of almost 30 degrees Celsius and a clear blue sky.
In the afternoon I cycled to the temple of Demeter at Sangrí only to discover the temple was closed on Tuesdays. The God from the book of Genesis rests on the seventh day, maybe Demeter rests on a Tuesday.
Paradise Tavern
I maintained the same dinner ritual as the evening before. At 7 pm, sunset was at 6:50 pm, I sat at the same table and ordered food as if I had smell and taste. I ordered the taramasalata, which was thankfully not pink in colour, and stuffed bell pepper and eggplant. Of course, a glass of ouzo and a glass of red wine had to accompany the food. The texture of the stuffed bell pepper and eggplant was perfect, the taramasalata also seemed very good.
In restaurants taramasalata is often bright pink. In that case it is coloured with beet juice or a different food colorant. The colour should be beige. It is simply emulsified fish roe mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and soaked bread or potatoes.
I planned to prepare everything I ate on Naxos in Amsterdam. However it became clear to me that many Greek dishes are oven dishes. This is unfortunate since my oven in Amsterdam is not functioning and I don’t know if it is fixable.
After dinner I pointed my iPhone to the moon to observe the starry sky. The bright sparkle just above the horizon turned out to be Venus. And I was staring right at the constellation Ophiuchus. 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy already listed this constellation. Ancient sailors navigated the Aegean Sea by looking at the stars. They must have stared at the same constellation.
The Temple of Demeter at Sangrí
The next day I made sure I was at the temple site when it opened. What you see is not the ruins of the temple. A Byzantine basilica was built on the site around 600 AD. This basilica fell into ruins during the Middle Ages. In 1949 the remains of a temple was discovered. Excavations started in 1976 and lasted to 1995. In the mid-1990s the original temple, built around 530-520 BC, was partly restored.
A good side view of the partially restored temple.
Remains of the temple and basilica before reconstruction (1988). Attribution: Mark Landon.
The oldest remains of cult activity are protected by glass plates. This dates back to a time before the building of the marble temple. It is not proven that the temple was dedicated to Demeter. No inscriptions were found and it is only inferred by the location in a rural area far away from any larger settlement.
Below, the fertile fields stretch all the way to the coast. It is easy to see how this location could have been chosen for a temple dedicated to a goddess of harvest and agriculture. Further reading: The Temple of Demeter.
Hike to Chalkio
One of the main reasons for coming to Naxos were the hiking trails. I started my first walk at 11 am for the 6,5 kilometres distance to Chalkio, also known as Chalki or Halki. Normally I wouldn’t think twice about this distance. But arriving at Chalkio I had to walk back to my electric fat bike to return to my Villa. Three hours of walking was all the energy I had for.
The hiking paths are largely along agricultural fields, separated by fences of rocks. Most fields are dotted by old olive trees, sheep or both. Without smell the landscape was lacking a dimension. It was like walking through a painting.
The first time I travelled to Greece, Freddo Espresso didn’t exist. It was first made in Athens in 1991: two shots of espresso and ice. Mix in a frapièra and pour over ice. I ordered Freddo Espresso without sugar. Bitter like the night. That I did taste.
In Chalkio I found a small restaurant called Tradizionale Caffè Ristorante Galanis. They have a handwritten menu, which changes every day. I ordered Briam, a slow oven baked vegetable dish for just 7 euro.
Απόγευμα
For the third time I sat down at the same table at 7 pm exactly, ten minutes after sunset. I ordered the tzatziki, and the lemon goat with Naxos potatoes. They didn’t have goat, and offered the same dish with pork. For good measure I ordered a glass of ouzo and a glass of red wine.
Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt and its consistency should be very thick. Mix with cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil and some vinegar.
“ Don’t tell me what you ate. Tell me who you ate with.”
Lemon Pork and Naxos potatoes.
Next chapter: Dionysus