Naxos

We’re on our way to Athens from Naxos. The seating area is much like an outdoor cafe. There is a yapping dog, a cat in its carrier seated across my table and a group elderly people

having a dance party on the five hour ferry. The flag is cracking like a whip while the wind rocks the ferry back and forth as it leaves a trail of turned up water. Goodbye Greek islands.

Anthony Bourdain inspired our visit to Naxos. We had only one thing to do when we arrived and that was to call Panos, a friend’s cousin. We pinged Panos, watched the sunset at dinner and re-watched the Bourdain that first evening. The next morning we met Panos for coffee and were joined by a couple other divers. It became apparent to us that Panos ran the dive shop attached to the cafe. I knew very little about scuba diving and had no intention of learning. A couple cups of coffee later, I felt a strong inclination to give it a try and approached Panos about beginner lessons. We were signed up for the next day.

There was a mixture of theory and supervised training in the water before venturing out to a nearby reef. I saw schools of fish, an octopus, vases and plastic. Through this experience, I realized how little I’ve seen under water and how much water covers our planet. My exposure was limited to aquariums and snorkeling as a child. I left our lesson feeling so excited and even more curious. We became better acquainted with Panos later that evening over dinner.

We rented a car the following day and drove around. We visited a couple villages and another beach. I couldn’t help but wonder what else was out there in the ocean. We dropped off our rental car and stopped by the dive shop to say hi to Panos on our way home. I approached him about another lesson. He made arrangements and we showed up the next day bright and early in the morning.

We took a boat out out to a shallow reef to a site of an ancient ship wreck. Chris and I were the only newbs on the boat and each had a dive instructor with us. This dive was even more spectacular than the previous. There were chunks of the 1,000 year old wooden ship scattered around the reef and pottery everywhere. I saw a starfish and a sea turtle this time! I even got to touch the pottery.

I’ve made it a goal to get scuba certified when I return. This planet just got a whole lot bigger. There is even more to see.