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Published: August 4th 2021
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And now we come to Paros. Paros is one of the more popular islands and it was nice. Why just nice? Because the three days we spent there was in a heatwave -- they said that the weather hadn't been so hot on the islands for 5 years. As a result we stayed mostly around the main port city of Parikia at our extremely comfortable airbnb. The sky was a hazy grey color most of the time and because of the clouds on the horizon we didn't get to experience any of those famous Paros sunsets.
There is not much to do on Paros. There is of course, the very popular village of Naoussa. We spent a morning wandering around the streets and the Venetian fort guarding the town. In normal weather we would have come back in the evening to eat dinner by the water but everywhere we went -- except for the beach -- had a similar effect on me -- "Oh, that's nice. Now let's get back in the air-conditioned car."
Unfortunately, Lefkes suffered the same fate. We didn't go to Anti-Paros either. So what did we do? I'm not sure but the time passed very
pleasantly. Mostly thanks to our airbnb apartment. 10 minutes from the port, on a pretty square in the old town, with a small balcony next to the water, was our little studio that was so comfortable -- including the bed -- finally, Yay! The apartment was equipped with just about everything we could possibly need, beautifully decorated, so thoughtful. There was also complimentary water, wine, biscuits and the basics in the kitchen. There was, of course, one little problem. This was another steep ladder up to a sleeping gallery sort of place. This time the ceiling was only 1.40 meters. We couldn't stand up without bumping our heads on a wooden beam. Not for tall people, or for old people or for infirm people, not for drinkers and not for the clumsy -- luckily we are none of those things, yet. Now that I think about it, we are gaining fast on old and I'm also quite clumsy. Well, anyway, we survived our stay.
The maze of little streets in the port can be a bit confusing. There are a lot of twisting, narrow lanes that go in one direction and then switch to another, loop back around to
the same place or lead to a dead end. This was on purpose, to confuse the pirates that would regularly attack the island. We weren't too confused and had lots of walks in the flower filled streets and I came out at 6 in the morning to beat the heat -- but the little streets didn't just trap the pirates, they also trapped the heat and never really cooled down. On the port, there was a lovely breeze every evening and we had some very nice meals there.
The Venetian castle in the Kastro neighborhood was built in 1260 and some walls and a tower still remain. The marble blocks and columns that form the remaining wall were taken from other ancient edifices. After the castle's collapse, the locals also used the stones to build their own homes. Also worth a visit is The Church of a Hundred Doors that dates to the 4th century.
It seems incredible to me, but little Paros, where it only takes one hour to drive around the whole island, was also invaded in modern times. The Germans occupied the island in World War II with the aim of building an airfield. After
a British commando raid where a German officer was badly injured and two soldiers killed, the German command ordered the rounding up and execution of 125 young men.
Follow this link to read the story of how they came to be spared after a secret meeting between Major Georg Graf (Count) von Merenberg and the Abbot of Longovardas Monastery.
It takes about an hour to drive around the island and we visited quite a few of the beaches -- some better known and some unmarked. We spent two afternoons just sitting in the water of a nearby beach. The water is calm and quite shallow, so it's not freezing cold, like it was on Santorini and Naxos. We swam at Kolymbithres Beach and at the resort of Piso Livadi too. The beaches have very blue and calm water and are perfect for children.
After three days, we took the ferry back to Santorini, getting one last glimpse of Naxos at a stop on the way.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Greek Isles
Always so beautiful.