One of the most famous churches in all the Greek islands, Panagia Ekatontapiliani in the Paros port town of Parikia is more popularly known as the “Church of the 100 doors” (probably because most tourists can’t pronounce the tongue-twisting Greek name.) But depending upon where you stand when you behold this beautiful building (it was constructed during the 4th Century), you will probably see more sections of stone walls and tiled roofs than doors.
A view of fishing boats docked near the Venetian fortress at Naoussa harbour just as sunshine begins breaking through thick morning stormclouds
[This is the third and final instalment of my report on my May 2012 visit to Paros. The first part included photos from my arrival day on the island, while the second segment featured extensive photos and information about a day I spent exploring the town of Naoussa, where I was staying.]
Thursday May 24 2012
Sudden storms: Much to my chagrin, the weird weather pattern I had experienced on Mykonos — no more than two consecutive days of sunshine — continued on Paros. After two beautiful bright clear days, clouds had rolled in and completely filled the sky.
I should not have been surprised to see the grey sky and dull light when I opened the curtains in my room. After all, stormclouds had moved in during the previous evening, and it looked like Paros was going to get a downpour at some point. But the stone floor of my terrace was dry, suggesting there had not been any overnight rain (I doubt I would have heard rain in any event; I had been so tired from all my walking on Wednesday that I slept like a log, and probably would have snored through a hurricane).
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
This old windmill in Naoussa might be a cute studio residence, but I didn’t notice any sign indicating if it’s available as rental accommodations
[This is the second instalment of a multi-part report on my May 2012 visit to Naoussa village on Paros island. The first part of my report described my arrival at Paros and the first evening I spent in the town of Naoussa following an 8-day visit to Mykonos.]
Wednesday May 23 2012
First full day: My room at Hotel Manos was so dark and quiet, I got a good night’s sleep and woke feeling refreshed and eager to get to know Naoussa better.
I got a bit of a surprise when I went into the bathroom to shave — no hot water came out of the sink faucet, even after I let it run a considerable time. No chance for a smooth shave today! Fortunately, there was plenty of hot water — very hot water, in fact — in the shower. Then, before I went downstairs for breakfast, I booted up my laptop so I could check my email. Although the receptionist had assured me that there was wi-fi access throughout the hotel, I could not obtain a signal in my room. I did get a weak connection from the terrace, and managed to briefly get online, but the signal repeatedly cut out and eventually I had no luck getting back on. I took the laptop with me when I went to breakfast, hoping I would have better luck in the main hotel building.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
I got this great late afternoon view of Naoussa bay and Piperi beach just by walking a very short distance down the road from Hotel Manos after my arrival on Paros
[This is the latest segment of a report about my 2012 holiday in Greece. Previous reports described my 8-day vacation on Mykonos. You can access those reports by clicking here.]
Tuesday, May 22 2012
Second chance: After eight fun days on Mykonos, I “hopped” over to Paros, the second island destination of my 2012 Greek holiday. Paros actually was supposed to be my third island, after visiting Ios for a few days, but Anna and some of the guests at Hotel Tagoo had persuaded me to drop Ios from my itinerary and spend more time on Mykonos instead. (I’d been having such a good time on Mykonos, they didn’t have any trouble twisting my arm. In fact, I would have stayed on Mykonos the entire time had it not been for the fact I already had bought a non-refundable flight from Paros to Athens.)
I travelled to Paros on the 14:55 Flyingcat 4, which was almost completely booked for the second year in a row. In 2011, we had waited until we arrived on Mykonos to buy tickets for our ferry trip to Ios (the next stop on the route, after Paros) and, to our chagrin, discovered that economy class was sold out with only two seats remaining in business class (which of course we booked on the spot). This time I made certain I booked my Paros ticket online well in advance. I was glad I did because, once again, economy was sold out and only a handful of seats remained in business class. The SeaJet2, which departed the Mykonos Old Port 10 minutes before us, was nearly full, too. The Flyingcat4 left Mykonos a few minutes behind schedule, but gave us a smooth ride to Paros and arrived at Parikia port nearly on time around 16:00.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Looking toward the town of Naoussa from a hillside near Kolimbithres beach on Paros. Agia Kali island, with its blue-domed church of the same name, takes center stage, while mountains on Naxos island provide a backdrop to the scene.
Spring scenes: Now that we’ve been on Daylight Savings Time for a few days, I’m anxious for spring flowers to start blooming. It has been a long winter of cold and snow, so I’m eager to see leaves, green grass and flower-filled gardens bring life and colour back to my neighbourhood.
Since I will probably have to wait a few more weeks before that starts happening, I have been making do in the meantime by looking at our photos of flowers and other spring scenes from our two separate visits to Paros. Here’s a selection for you to enjoy, too. There’s a link at the end of the series to my Springtime in Paros album on Flickr, where you can view full-size versions of all these photos and many more.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
A yummy Greek salad and an ice-cold bottle of Mythos beer
Favourite snack: When I was grocery shopping one day last week, I got a sudden craving for a crisp Greek salad — our favourite lunchtime “snack” and dinnertime starter when we’re in Greece. So I picked up some feta, cucumber, olives, green peppers, tomatoes and a red onion. The salad I assembled back home looked appetizing enough, but was a huge disappointment to eat. The vegetables were crunchy but bitter (the onion actually gave me severe heartburn), while the tomatoes were tasteless and had the texture of soggy cardboard. The feta felt almost spongy, and had a sharp, slightly sour flavour, while the olives also seemed spongy, and tasted bitter and salty. Major letdown!
I should have known better — the taste and texture of our vegetables, even at the best of times, is never even remotely comparable to their flavour-packed counterparts in Greece. And now that we’re heading into winter, our vegetables will be even more dreadful. So no more Greek salads until next spring. With luck, we’ll make it back to Greece at that time … and if we do, you can be certain we’ll enjoy an authentic, tasty Greek salad with nearly every meal.
Until then, I’ll try to satisfy my cravings by pretending I’m back at Taverna Glafkos in Naoussa, on Paros, enjoying the delicious Greek salad pictured above that I enjoyed for lunch one day last May.
Geese swim in the water below the stone bridge near the Naoussa harbourfront
Giggles and gaggles: The circular Venetian-era stone fort, the picturesque fishing harbours and the colourful sailboat and motorboat marinas are among the top attractions that draw tourists to the waterfront at Naoussa, the second-largest town on Paros. But there are a few natural wildlife attractions that get their fair share of attention down by the seaside, too.
If you head over to the stone bridge and the little tree-shaded parkette near the excursion boat quay, you could wind up having a close encounter with some gaggles of gregarious geese that like to hang out in the general vicinity.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
