Paros 31st July – 4th August

Paros is a larger island, about 7 miles by 7 miles, with a population of 13,000. It is the main ferry hub for onward travel to other islands in the Aegean, and so its port is busy. It is quite hilly with the central high point of Mt Profitis Ilias (770m). White marble made Paros prosperous from the early Cycladic period onwards.

We anchored in the bay of the busy main town of Parikia, a lively colourful town with a long straggling waterfront crammed with tavernas, bars and cafes. I was first here 30 years ago, backpacking around the islands with Helen – things have changed a lot since then (and so have we!!)



We spent time exploring the town and enjoying the beach. One day we all rented a car and drove all around the island. Despite the size of the island, we managed to drive about 80 miles, including dirt tracks!



We saw some ancient ruins. We came across one beach, on the opposite side of the island, that was packed with people a lot younger than us!! And saw later in the book it was described as an all day clubbing venue. We saw a few nightclubs that would not start to get full until a long time after we fell asleep! (and probably emptied out not long before we woke up!!)

We took a 4 hour ferry from Paros back to the mainland, Piraeus. The ferries were big and all packed! At about $50 or more a ticket, this should be making some dent in the Greek deficit! From Piraeus we headed out to Athens airport to fly back to London, and our darling Charlotte!



We had a great, relaxing time in the Greek Islands - our thanks to Philip and Cosi.
A few of our observations on the Greek Islands:
- There are loads of Greek islands
- Throughout the day, many large ferries are stopping to drop off and pick up numerous passengers
- There are churches everywhere, each with the white washed walls and blue circular roof, some very tiny.
- Jimmy’s new beach drink was the local Ouzo
- Every restaurant has the same menu
- The winds are very changeable – one minute no wind and then, when the meltini blows through, winds are over 30 knots for a week straight
- The towns are made up of little rambling alleyways, and often the shops are in, what looks like, the front of people’s houses
- All the buildings are whitewashed (with some blue trimmings, in line with the colours of their flag) – they must get bulk discount on white paint!!
- The night life seems to go on til dawn (and start well after we had gone to bed) – oh to be 20 again!
- There are lots of “Rooms for Rent” everywhere, as opposed to large hotels