Monday, October 27, 2008

The Greek Island Paros




We took a boat from the Athens port to the island Paros, which was a 5 hour boat ride. It was close to 100 degrees in Athens and we were tired after waiting several hours in the heat for our boat to take off.



Yassou, good-bye, Athens! Here we come Paros!








We grabbed a seat on the top deck as we wanted the wind in our hair, but unfortunately this came at a cost. All the chain smokers hang out there as well, and we could not escape the constant smell of cigarettes.


One old Greek man in front of us stood the whole time with his one cup of coffee (that never seemed to end) and his ten thousand cigarettes as he smoked one cigarette after another, after another. I thought he would surely catch lung cancer and drop dead right there in front of me, but he must of been a hearty man because he didn't stop and didn't cough the whole time .


Here Greg is toughing it out in a cloud of smoke



We were able to see some beauty through the smoke rings, as we watched the sun set from our seats, 6 hours later. Yes, you read that right 6 hours instead of 5. You see, nothing in Greece runs on time as we quickly learned.









We arrived in the cute port of Paros and made our way to our little hotel, that only cost us 45 Euros a night, Hotel Dina. It actually was a cute little place run by a real sweet lady, named Dina, which is the name of her hotel. She stayed up late to greet us and showed us to our room which was cute, clean and had bottle water waiting for us. It was perfect!

Two things to note about the Greek Islands. One is most of the tap water is just plain nasty, so you have to drink all of your water from bottles.

The good thing about drinking bottled water is that the price is regulated by the government and so it cannot be over 50 cents, for a small bottle.


The second thing to note is that the plumbing is bad on the Greek Islands and so you cannot put any toilet paper in there. Yep, that is right. All toilet paper must be put in the bathroom trash can.


Ugh very gross, but as you can see from the sign on the toilets, very true
















We stayed in the main city, Parikia, which was a cute little city.




















It had a nice beach, cute little shops, and windmills every where.




















The next day we got up early had some breakfast.


This place soon became our favorite place to have breakfast. As it was just a few steps from our hotel, the food was good and a coffee was always included. The great view of the water didn't hurt either

Greg would get a cappucino and I would always get the iced coffee which was to die for.


I then saw that it was truly to die for, as they would pour tons of half-n-half in the drink and then put some chocolate sprinkles on top!


Oh well, I was on vacation and enjoyed every sip that put 10 pounds on me in an instant.


The great thing about being on the islands was that the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and so it was in the 80'sand was perfect for walking around outside enjoying the sun!


Another thing I liked about this island was the look of the traditional Cycladic styles houses, white washed with blue doors, window frames, and shutters.







I love this picture as it shows a little church with a blue dome in the background. There were churches around every street corner and it was really cute seeing blue and white everywhere you looked.






















Speaking of dogs, remember how there were dogs everywhere in Athens. Well, on the islands it seems it is cats!


All right, my dreams had come true;

Sun, good food and cats everwhere!


Here is our little friend who joined us for lunch. I thought he was adorable















One day we decided that we have had enough of lounging around Parikia and wanted to see some of the other cities Paros had to offer. I had read that Naoussa was a beautiful fishing village and so we decided to get there by renting a 4-wheeler instead of the bus.


YEA! I am so glad Greg came up with the idea because it really was a lot of fun and I haven't been on one of these things in a long long time. So we grabbed some supplies and headed out towards Naoussa.















I was driving Greg crazy by taking pictures as we were riding along. Little did I know that he was scared because every time I turned to the right or left I was putting us off balance.

Opps, sorry honey. But look, I got some good shots :-)

Click the video above to see our 4-wheeling adventure.


Naoussa was a pretty village, but it was really touristy. Oh well, I guess that is why it looked so cute. We were a little bit hungry and decided to case the joint looking for an ideal place to grab a bite.





















We walked around a corner and boom, we found it, the perfect place to eat lunch. The water came up just a few inches from our feet and the view of the waves coming in was so relaxing.

The food was wonderful too! We both got a Greek salad, and a pasta. We quickly learned a couple of things. One is that we could easily share 1 Greek salad between both of us and the other was to tell the Greeks to hold the olive oil.


Don't get me wrong, I love a little oil on my salad but olives must flow like water around here and they would drench your salad in about a cup full of oil.








Greg didn't like the oil and he didn't like the Greek olives either. What is wrong with this boy! Not liking Greek olives! That is what makes the Greek Salad along with the feta cheese, you have to have olives! Oh well, I guess that leaves more for me.



We also had a wonderful pasta dish, better than anything we have had in Italy.



After lunch, Greg decided to beat the heat with a quick dip in the water, since it was right there. So he jumped up and took off towards the water.




After Greg dried off, we decided to see some other areas and beaches around.


The first on our list was Kolimbithres, which was about a 10-minute moped ride west from Naoussa. It has smooth giant rocks, and was a pretty unique looking "beach".





We came across the town, Lefkes, which was built inland, on the island's mountains. This village seemed preserved and untouched by time and progress. We parked our 4-wheeler and walked around town to get a feel for it.














ahh the sound of summer. Living in Finland I tend to forget what summer looks and feels like (except for the 2 weeks it is "warm" here. Click on the video to hear what summer sounds like to me and reminds me of summer back in Texas.



Greg noticed a lemon tree in one of the fields below and so I started singing the Lemon Tree song that my dad used to play when I was a kid.

I guess Greg's dad wasn't a fan of Peter, Paul and Mary because Greg was laughing at me when I started to sing and thought I was kidding that a song about a lemon tree even exsisted.


See Greg isn't always the one teaching about new cultures and such, sometimes I can impart some of my experience and wisdom on him as well. HA!

Click to play the lemon tree song.


After a walk around this town we got back on the 4-wheeler and checked out another beach, called Golden Beach. It really was a pretty beach, with golden sand and warm blue water all around.


Ok, so maybe it wasn't that warm after all but it sure was pretty.








We spent some time here enjoying the view and water but soon the sun started to set and Greg decided at the last minute that he wanted to go back to the first town we visited, Naoussa, for dinner.


We quickly hopped on our 4-wheeler and headed off to Naoussa. We tried to find a place with a view outside to eat, but we couldn't find an empty seat anywhere. We even went back to the place where we had lunch but it was packed full too!


The only place that had seats available was a cocktail place. So Greg ordered a beer and I asked for a drink menu.


Greg will never order a beer at a fancy cocktail place again without looking at the menu, as he had to pay 10 Euros for a bottle beer that usually cost us 2 Euros at other restaurants!


I on the other hand got a fresh strawberry mojito and enjoyed every sip along with munching on the fresh strawberries and mint. It was definately worth 10 Euros for my drink!

Poor Greg, here is a shot of the 10 Euro beer Greg didn't let the fact that we got ripped off ruin our sunset and we sat back an enjoyed the view. It really was beautiful.













On our last day we wandered around Parikia, doing some more shopping and taking it all in before we got back on the boat that would take us back to Athens.