After 11 days in Serifos we took a ferry to Naxos. We were sad to see Naxos go but excited to see another island.
It’s funny how I vaguely remember discussing our travel plans oh so many months ago with Randy. For example we discussed for a while way back when how to get to Naxos. There are no direct ferries from Serifos so we need to transfer in Paros, easy peasy right? Except the ferry for Paros sleave from Serifos at 7 and gets into Naxos at 11. We figured we would just go for it and hopefully both boys would sleep on the boat. It seemed easier than lugging all our stuff to a hotel to lug it back to the ferry the next morning.
After a twenty minute conversation with Randy asking why on earth he would book such a late ferry and trying to remember where I had signed up for this we packed up out stuff and headed down to the pier. We sat down for a coffee and a snack. Halfway through Adam’s jell-o (slim pickings at the pier cafe) we heard that the ferry would be two hours delayed and wouldn’t even leave Serifos until nine. After walking around the pier for two hours (thank you for dredging the pier Serifos, you made one toddler very happy) our boat arrived.
Here’s where things took a turn for the worse. When we boarded this slow, hot ferry that smelled like gasoline there were without exaggeration 400 boys ranging in age from 7 up to 11 who were returning home after a soccer tournament and were super duper excited and seemingly all hopped up on Caprice cookies and Frappes. It was a long three hours but once again both boys handled it amazing. Never underestimate the power of the Ipad and the ergo. After an hour we ventured outside and found a quiet little corner on the deck where some nice old couple squeezed over to make room for us to sit. It was heaven after being inside.
What made this boat even harder was just a couple hours before we were here. We had an hour before our ferry and we decided to just go to the beach and sit there and it was well worth it.
15 minutes before the boat docked they let us all head down below deck to gather our luggage and wait. It was super hot down there, I had Malcolm was in the ergo asleep but very sweaty and was pushing the stroller which had Adam who was hot and tired inside and whatever bags we could pile on top. Randy had the rest of our luggage, which was…alot. Even though I tried my hardest to pack light halfway through our first ferry trip I realized I should have packed even lighter. Lugging two small children, a stroller, big backpack, and way too many clothes around the islands was hard. Next time Randy, I PROMISE I will pack lighter. This was the low point of our ferry trip, waiting down there in the hull in the heat and gasoline smell. Malcolm starting to cry and Adam telling us he needed to go to the bathroom and wanting to get out of the stroller. But eventually they opened the hull and we all ran off as fast as we can. Nel Ferry lines, I promise I will never ever ever take you again.
We had to switch boats in Paros and we were beyond lucky. We would have missed the connection by an hour but they held the ferry so the soccer kids could make the boat. So I guess having every soccer player under 15 on our boat ended up working to our advantage.
Our second ferry was beyond amazing. It was the complete opposite of the first and it came not a minute too soon. had to take the elevator up because of the stroller and I think we inadvertently snuck into first class. We had comfy cushioned seats, it was air conditioned and almost empty. They were even playing the World Cup game- the one where Greece won! We all settled in and were comfy and happy for the last hour of our trip.
We finally arrived in Naxos at 1am and didn’t get to the house we had rented until 2am. We were so happy to get to the house and into bed!
And when we woke up the next morning this was our view! Hello Naxos!
bosas-from-us.com 