Sept 10

Last night we all slept like we were in the right time zone and nothing to get up early for today. Thank God. The beds are awful but when you are this tired, you don't care. I was in bed ten hours and David slept close to 12. Avi and I walked up and got a latte while he was still sleeping. The coffee here is wonderful. Smooth and reminds me of Italy. After David got up, we headed back in for food and then to Mt Zeus to hike! We stopped at the crepe shop again, quickly becoming our favorite place. The food here is really good and doesn't have a lot of pungent and strange flavors. After eating, we bought a flashlight and water to carry and headed for the trailhead, which is a few miles outside Filoti, Aria Spring. The last couple kilometers getting to the trailhead is a single lane road but it is used by cars going both ways. The drop off is steep and frightening with no guardrails. We encountered a car and the process of getting by each other was so scary for me and the woman in the other car, I felt like I was going to throw up. David and Avi were talking and laughing and I felt sick. But we did make is safely to the trailhead and started our trek. The hike to the cave started with a very straightforward and well maintained trail but that ended. We then begin scrambling, hands and feet, over rocks up to the cave. The cave was, well, a cave. But it was supposed to be the birthplace of Zeus, so that brought a bit of ceremony. Our intent was to summit Mt. Zeus (or Zas) from here but weather had moved in with rain and clouds and people coming down told us it was dangerous with hail falling at the top, and the cloud cover made it impossible to see anything. It was hard for us to turn back but we did. Especially Avi, he really wanted to keep going. But we did not give up. We drove to the other side where you could summit on a slightly safer trail. It was a tough climb with rocks and boulders that were sharp and the last mile up was brutal. Very difficult. But we persevered and by the time we made it to the top, the weather had cleared a bit and we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the entire island. The Cyclades are unusual islands and quite arid but this area is more green and filled with olive trees. It is unique and beautiful. After enjoying the summit, we started our trek down. Down was much easier than up, although knees, ankles and feet were getting very weary of the rocks. We finally did safely get off the mountain and the weather, thank God, was warmer and less windy at the bottom. We drove back to Naxos, about 30 minutes, washed our faces and headed in for dinner. All of us were starving by now and ready to eat. David won the vote of the location tonight and we ended up at authentic Greek cuisine. It was delicious but not really what Avi and I love. But we managed with strange lamb dishes that were cooked in a claypot and stuffed zucchini. Of course, following dinner, we headed back to the crepe stand where Avi had yet another crepe that was completely over the top - chocolate, bananas, coconut and ice cream on the side. David got another smoothie bowl which was yogurt and fresh fruit. Wonderful. I watched. I just really have no interest in all that sugar. I've changed.

Headed to Santorini tomorrow.