With my ticket (well, it worked!)
I boarded and watched the neighboring ships
as we pulled out of Pieraes
and started to leave a large wake
as we sailed past islands
at a reasonable speed
even as Shirley and Dimitri spoke
and we passed rocks
and islands in the distance
and small boats
which must have enjoyed our wake
even as we continued along the way repeating scenery and conversation
until we approached Paros
and saw the people waiting on shore
and the island view
as we sailed on
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until we arrived at Naxos
and caught views of the island
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as we disembarked
saw the people on the shore
and caught our first views of the door-like structure that makes Naxos special in the eyes of the gods.
After we disembarked, we walked towards the bus station
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where the group gathered for photos first with Constantinus our guide
and then with the photo he took.
This structure was too important to miss
and so we walked across the land bridge
looking back at the city
and tracing our path
until we took numerous photos of the temple and of our group at the temple. A truly remarkable sight.
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before we headed back to town where this gentleman was amused by my photography and so I took his picture
as we observed the monument
and made our way past street scenes
and heard the story of the early ruins of the city
as we made our way to ancient buildings
and churches with multiple belfries
not to mention the beautiful flowers
and pottery
as we looked into the archaeological site
and then emerged
and moved through narrow passageways
led by Constantinus
as we observed the roof construction
while Margaret and Suzanne paused
and Dimitri caught the sight
as we passed by octopus hung out to dry for someone's dinner
and the fruit
and vegetable markets
as we went under an arch
to another street
Passing the folk museum
noting the rosaries
and a local house
as we read the tale of the rosary and then headed on
to the Temple of Demeter
where we walked through beautiful flowers
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and a few trees
until the temple came in view
along with the neighboring territory.
We viewed the temple from all sides noting its history as both a temple and a church at different times in its history.
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and then began the trek back down
as Dimitri and Clayton
and Suzanne
traversed the path
so that we could resolve the question of lunch first or swim first by ordering our meal
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while admiring the scenery
and then ordering french fries to complement the experience
before we drove on to these gardens
and headed to our rooms at the hotel.
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