Not much to report on today, which is kind of the point. Our last full day on this island and we spent it exactly where we should have: at the beach. I'm actually sad we're leaving. It feels like we're packing to go home even though we still have so much trip left. I'd come back here for a month, easy. Just maybe not July or August when everyone else has the same idea.

Lukas was basically in the water all day. Sofie is almost done with the third book of the Twilight saga, which she started yesterday. The girl's got a problem but I guess it could be worse.

We got in around 6, showered up, and went out for dinner one more time. Had to break out the new fits we picked up yesterday. My shoes were an Athens find. Real leather, 15 euro.

I woke up before everyone and slipped out to the beach. The rest of the crew was still asleep and it was perfectly calm. Good weather, quiet water. Exactly what I needed.

Around lunch we walked over to the car rental shop and picked up a little Suzuki Jeep. Manual transmission, squeaky, no power steering. The first few turns were rough but Chad got the hang of it. The plan for the day: three little villages, wander, get lost, grab a coffee or gelato somewhere.

First stop was Chalkio, about 30 minutes from the Airbnb. We had gelato and coffee. We later realized we were never charged for the gelato. Whoops. Strike one.

Five minutes down the road was Filoti. Beautiful little alleys you can genuinely get lost in. We stopped for a Margarita Pizza and a side of fried potatoes. Sounds American but it's actually a pretty standard side here, especially since the potatoes come directly from Naxos. When we finished, Chad and the kids used the bathroom and I went to wait outside so they could clear the table. They caught up with me, we piled back into the Jeep, and about 15 minutes into the drive to Apeiranthos I asked Chad if he had paid the bill. He looked at me. I looked at him. We dined and dashed. The kids were convinced we were all getting arrested.

Apeiranthos topped the other two, and that's saying a lot. The mountain views were incredible. The pictures honestly don't do any of it justice. Sofie and Lukas insisted on taking a photo together, which they called their possible last picture before getting split up by Greek authorities.

Someone we had met at the beach earlier had told us about a restaurant up in the mountains with spectacular sunset views and incredible food. We made reservations for 6:30. Lamb shank, braised pork loin, and gnocchi. The kids demolished their meat dishes and we split what was left. They're living their best life and they don't even know it. Chad also managed to squeeze in a couple hours of work meetings somewhere in the middle of all this. Part of the trade-off 😉

The sunset from up there was something else. Our beach straight ahead, Old Naxos Town just to the right, Paros across the water, and Mykonos off to the side. We sat and watched it go down.

On the drive back the GPS routed us back through Filoti. We stopped and paid the bill. They were super appreciative that we came back. The kids finally exhaled.

Kristin was out the door early for a 5k while everyone else was still asleep. By the time she got back, we were into our usual bakery and coffee run, tried a new coffee shop, grabbed some groceries, and that was basically the plan for the morning: nothing. Three full days in the sun will do that to you. We built this in on purpose. Chad and I worked, Sofie had her face in her Kobo (she's going to finish the second Twilight book in under three days, which is honestly impressive), and Lukas was deep in video games. No agenda, no bus, no sunscreen. Just the Airbnb and the AC.

We left at 5 to catch the bus into Naxos Town. First stop was the Portara, the old Apollo Temple sitting up on its little peninsula. Middle of July and when we got there around 5:30 it was practically empty. Wild. We had it almost to ourselves. By 8pm it was absolutely packed, but by then we were long gone.

From there we wandered into the Old Market. The alleys up there are genuinely maze-like, little boutique shops tucked around every corner. We did some shopping and picked up some Greek clothes, which felt like the right call.

The sunset views from up there were just too gorgeous. Impossible to capture the real thing in a photo but we tried anyway.

Then dinner near the port watching the sun go down. We were joined by some friends, specifically every cat in Naxos, who decided Sofie was the most interesting person there. Sofie does not like cats. This goes back to a babysitting job a couple years ago where apparently the family cat "bullied her." The cats of Naxos do not know or care about this history. There's a video. It's good.

At 9 we walked to the bus station and one pulled up immediately. Fifteen minutes later we were back, and yes, we finished the day with a crepe and gelato. At this point it's just tradition.

We bused into Old Town this morning for a full-day catamaran cruise around the Cyclades. Twenty people on board, two crew members who did everything including cooking lunch. We were out from 10 to 4:30.

Everyone had a different experience, and we asked each person for their review. Lukas: "It was so awesome and the best part were the waves on the way back and getting my sister soaked. It was so fun and I met so many nice people." Chad: "My body was in stress all day. Physically and mentally. I had to swim with Lukas. I was stressed because I didn't want to get sick. And I was uncomfortable because of my burn. However, experiences like this are always made by the people you spend it with and we were lucky to have great people that we had great conversations with." Sofie: "It was okay. I felt nauseous at times. The water was awesome. The way back was a bit scary with all the waves. The food was okay, the fruit was delicious. I couldn't wait to get back and read my Kobo." And me: I found it very relaxing and beautiful but spent half the day worried about Sofie and Chad not feeling well. At 11:30 I remember thinking how long they have left to go. At one point I dozed off. The ride back was a thrilling crash through waves and we got absolutely soaked.

Lunch on board was rice and mussels in tomato sauce, cooked by the crew right there on deck. The people were great. Folks from Australia, Boston, LA, Manchester, Paraguay, Brazil. We got talking to a young couple from Orange County. She works in the film industry as an editor. Her latest project is a movie called Animals, directed by Ben Affleck, coming out later this year. That was a fun conversation.

The ride back through the waves was wild. Lukas was living for it. Sofie and Chad, less so. We took the bus back to our place, showered, crashed, and ordered takeout. Nobody had the energy for anything else.

We headed back to our bargain sun loungers and asked for the same deal as yesterday. After a call to the boss, the guy gave us the thumbs up. We all got a bit burned yesterday. It's only 28 or 30 degrees but the sun here is strong, and the breeze tricks you into thinking you're fine. This morning we vowed to actually look after each other. I am seriously the worst at taking care of ginger bodies. Poor Sofie and poor Chad. We lathered up before heading out and kept reapplying at the beach. Lukas was in the water all day long, only coming ashore for sunscreen or to buy donuts from the donut dealer walking up and down the beach. Sofie read her Kobo under the umbrella.

We headed back to our place around 2:30 for lunch. Pasta and greek salad, so good. The original plan was to head into the Old Town to see the Apollo Temple at sunset, but we were all pooped. With a day out on the water tomorrow, we decided to lay low and let everyone do their thing. Sofie stayed hooked on her Kobo, Lukas played video games with his buddies from back home, I squeezed in a nap, and Chad got some work done.

After the beach we saw the damage. Chad's feet and legs were super burned. Lukas' back was burned. While Chad got ready for dinner, I ran to the pharmacy. With how much sunscreen we'd been applying, we realized the Aegean sun was just too much for our Attitude Sunscreen. I found a local brand that locals swear by. It wasn't cheap. After sun lotion, sunscreen for the catamaran tomorrow, and a tanning oil with SPF 50 for me. 70 euros later but hey, anything for my gingers.

Chad and I grabbed dinner at a Mediterranean place by another beach while the kids chilled back at the apartment. Food was great, views were great. A proper date night.

Right before bed I started organizing our stuff for tomorrow and read the labels on the Attitude sunscreen, trying to figure out how we'd all gotten so fried despite constant application. That's when I realized Chad had been using the wrong bottle on his feet all day. That explains a lot.

The beach day was finally here. The kids had been patiently waiting for this one. We walked along the pebbled beach looking for a spot to camp out. The area closest to us required you to order food and drinks from the restaurants to use the loungers, so we kept going. Found a more private section further down where you just pay for the loungers and bring your own stuff. The guy wanted 30 euro for one set in the front row but we talked him down to two sets for 40 euro. Glad we had the shade because we still walked away with some sunburned spots. On the walk down, Lukas noticed a couple of topless women tanning. He said he was terrified to see naked men. I said, "aren't you terrified to see naked women?!" He said "NO!!!" We were told it gets really busy after July 15th, so maybe we unknowingly timed it well. It didn't seem too crowded at all.

While we were set up, we noticed an English-speaking family nearby. Usually they have a British accent, but Sofie said they were too nice to be American. Turns out they were from Ottawa. Chatted it up with the mom, who had some great recommendations for our time in Naxos. We headed back to the Airbnb around 4 but grabbed lunch on the way. We had dinner plans for 6:30, which is early, but Chad had a work meeting at 8pm so we had to be back by then. This place is always lined up apparently. We nailed the timing with the early reservation. No wait, walked right in, got one of the last tables in a packed house.

Dinner was absolutely incredible. A family-run tavern with massive portions. We paid 63 euro for a traditional Greek salad, zucchini balls, lamb chops (five of them) with fried potatoes, pork souvlaki with more fried potatoes and tzatziki. They also gave us a loaf of bread, shots of moonshine at the end of the meal, and dessert. It was a lot of food. I could have done without the moonshine. The kids had a nibble of it and played it off real cool.

And yes, we topped the night off with gelato.

Started the morning the way we've been starting every morning in Athens. Coffee and baked goods at our neighbourhood spot around the corner. Met a solo traveller from New York and chatted up our favourite barista one last time. We're going to miss that place.

Back at the hotel by 9 because the kids had actually asked to do a workout. They were dressed and waiting for us when we got back. Did a whole session together, then headed right back to the cafe for a Freddo and a mango smoothie with Lukas. Two trips to the same cafe before noon. That's how you know it's good.

At noon we checked out and made our way to get Lukas his beloved lamb skewers. We waited while he enjoyed them and then hit our favourite gyro place. After lunch we went, you guessed it, to our favourite gelato place. Reminds me of the gelato my family used to make when I was growing up.

For the first time on our trip, we got some sprinkles. It was fine. We were headed to the airport anyway to catch our flight to Naxos. The locals in Athens all seem to rave about Naxos so we were ready to find out for ourselves.

We got on this tiny 18-row plane. The flight was a quick little hop, maybe 30 minutes. Super tiny airport here in Naxos. Our driver picked us up and drove us 10 minutes to the Airbnb.

The listing did not do this place justice. Absolutely beautiful, 100m walk to the beach. We grabbed groceries and a gyro, then just hung out at the Airbnb since we got in late and we both had work meetings. Also found a delicious gyro pita place right nearby where you can grab a pita for 4.50 euro. We're here until the 16th. The plan is mornings at the bakery for fresh bread before breakfast. Sounds pretty good to us.

It wasn't until 11:30am that we headed out for breakfast. The portions were massive. We could have shared two amongst the four of us. After that we hit the shops. Sofie had a few things she was hoping to buy.

Around 2 we headed back for some work meetings, then around 6 we went back out to grab lunch/dinner. Picked up some roadside sesame rings along the way. This is what our days in Athens have been like. No regrets, just going with the flow.

We also hit our favourite gelato place again. They just opened a couple of weeks ago and we've been every day. Today we each doubled up on our scoops.