Greek ferries, the beautiful maze of Naxos and drinking wine out of a plastic bottle

Did I mention the insanity of driving in Greece? I know I have, but I just gotta emphasize it again. We packed our backpacks and hiked up to our good old rental for the last time, saying goodbye to the happy place that is Oia. Driving from Oia to the port included a pit stop in Fira to collect our ferry tickets. Fira is packed with all sorts of people, animals and cars. Driving in Fira is not for the timid. It's all about dominance. If there's a one lane road, it's the assertive car that will always get across first (and second and third...) so eventually you've got to suck it up and play the game. Wanna turn at a 5 way intersection with no road signals? Just do it and make the other drivers stop for you. So, my mastery (and I use that term very loosely) of Greek driving brought us close enough to our prized tickets, waiting for us at Pelican Travel. Of course I had to get lost, ask for help, get lost again, as for more help, buy band-aids for the blister on my foot, and get distracted by a really cool stone mosaic before we finally picked them up. Tickets in hand, we made a mad dash for the port.

I've not been on many large boats in my life. I'm not a cruise ship person or a water person in general. So I was surprised by the size of the ship we took to Naxos. There were several floors dedicated to high class travel, all of them pretty much empty. All the action was on the economy deck where we found ourselves. It was pretty a pretty comfortable ride and our fellow passengers were an interesting lot to observe. I was especially interested in the German couple sitting close to us who had two young children. It was interesting to observe the difference in parenting norms from what we see in America. All this people watching kept us occupied until we landed in Naxos, disembarking via a huge, very slowly defending hatch door that reminded me of Star Wars or something.

Once on land, we met up with our host George from Hotel Panorama, who hefted my backpack and led us through our first sight of the incredible maze that is Naxos Old Town. The trip was rough on our poor American legs and lungs, but George skipped up like he did it ten times a day (turns out he does). Finally in the hotel lobby, we were given some water and a chance to cool off after our exertions. Then, we were delivered to the most spectacular view of the sea and Naxos' famous Portara (more on that when we go visit). Indeed, we were given a room with a view. The wind was whipping though the window and the sea air fresh and fragrant. It made me remember that 90s product, Sea Breeze, that was popular with the teens. I wonder if that's still around?

After a bit of rest, Alex and I headed out to find dinner among the old town maze. The narrow, convoluted streets reminded me of Venice, but with all the white wall and large stone walkways, the Mediterranean influence was alive. After a bit of searching for food, we discovered that dinner wouldn't be served until at least 6:30, so we had almost an hour to fill. I found a sweet shop filled with local goods such as soaps and spices and cheeses. Also featured was this local wine, offered in plastic water bottles for 3 Euro. On a whim, I bought one, mostly because of the humor I found in the packaging.

Alex and I sat on a staircase and sipped this moderately good wine as we discussed the trip so far, his dreams of traveling in the future and much more. Before we knew it, we'd consumed the entire bottle (size of a 16 ounce water bottle). We almost never drink, so that was enough, especially on empty stomachs, to get pretty toasted. I certainly didn't start out the day planning to get drunk, let alone get drunk with my kid, but it happened. And we had one of the most memorable moments of our trip, simply talking, sitting on the stairs, lost in Naxos.

I was pretty sure nothing could top that moment, including the excellent dinner at "the bicycle restaurant" or the successful navigation back to the hotel. But wow, we arrived at our room to see the tail end of one epic sunset. That's Naxos for you - a surprise around every corner.