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Published: July 11th 2007
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Naoussa, Paros
We stumbled upon Naoussa and had a fantastic time walking to town from our hotel. Pure Greece magic!! Greetings from Paros everyone. We left behind the big city feeling of Athens (we enjoyed our time but we were ready to move on) for the “real Greek” feeling of the islands. “This is what I thought Greece was going to be like” (to quote more than one Connor child). Up at 5am, walking 5 blocks heavy laden with packs (one on front and one on the back - the kids received more than their share of smiles from bleary eyed Greek business commuters and yes Carol B we have to take lessons from you on packing lighter!!), we made our way by Metro to the port of Pireaus. Unlike B.C. ferries, there are 8 or 10 large ferries simply backed onto a slab of concrete serving as a port with a cars and passengers criss-crossing in apparent mayhem rivaled only by Athens traffic. We had pre-booked our tickets but needed to pick them up at Giovanti travel. Twenty minutes of Trevor running up and down the street did not produce Giovanti travel but did get someone finally pointing us in the right direction. With visions of having been e-scammed, we actually did track down the Ferry company (no mention
Sunset in Naoussa
This seaside town lights up as the sun goes down. of Giovanti travel anywhere) and secured our ticket with 15 minutes to spare. The 4 hour ferry ride was filled with cards and lots of reading (we did wonder whether there were enough life jackets in the event of the boat sinking but relieved ourselves with the knowledge that this wasn’t the Titanic and there were no icebergs in sight). The end of the trip brought Marla and Trevor back to another honeymoon replay. In Greek and then in very Greek laden English, the loudspeaker called out a number of times asking for a doctor on the boat to report to the information desk. Marla ended up spending 45 minutes with a very scared family whose 5 year old daughter had just had a severe epileptic attack (a similar incident happened on the plane when we were on our honeymoon only it was a potential heart attack and Marla was a student). The young girl had a similar attack 6 months previous and the mother had administered the proper relaxing drugs. Marla was a very comforting presence for them although there wasn’t much that could be done except to wait for the girl to wake up. We tried to follow
Surfs up
This beach was 100 metres from our hotel and was our favourite on the whole island. up with them at the medical clinic in Paros but were not able.
Our adventure truly began as we got off the boat and the first 4 people we talked to had no idea where our hotel was. We had our confirmation and everything but for some reason had not copied the phone number (we weren’t even sure where on the island it was). As has been typical of our travel so far, a kind gentleman said, “oh, that is in Naoussa and you catch the bus over there.” We proceed across the crowded street where a couple of hundred people are vying for taxis and buses (with another boat just unloading). We immediately see a bus turn on its Naoussa sign and instantly throw our packs aboard. Upon arriving in Naoussa 20 minutes later, the first gentleman (he owned a local gift store) that Marla talks to about our hotel offers up his father to drive us there. We pile into his small car and with typical (at least as far as we have seen so far) Greek charm, he takes us 5 minutes down the road and we are dropped off in what is to become our
Decadence
Our room, the whole hotel, the food: this was our most extravagent place in our whole trip. Not sure if this will spoil us or not!! own personal paradise for the next three days. We have spent the last 3 days basking in the amazing ambiance of this wonderfully peaceful and quaint Greek island. We look out of our balcony onto a beach which is across the road. Our door opens back onto a courtyard and pool. Breakfast has been incredible with an assortment of delicious fruit, eggs, bacon, pastries, juices, croissants, and more (the chocolate filled danishes were a big hit). We have told the kids to store up as the dry bread, cheese and olive breakfasts will be coming soon. It is a 10 minute walk back into Naoussa which is a peaceful, quiet town filled with a labyrinth of many exclusive shops, and restaurants in typical Greek white and blue stucco. We have dined on the water as well as taken our own dinner to a secluded beach at the end of the island. We rented a car today which allowed us to get a better feel for the island. You can drive around the whole island in approximately 2 hours. Most roads are 1 ½ lanes wide so you have to keep you eyes open and your wits about you. This friendly game of chicken hasn’t resulted in any angry outbursts that we have seen (we could learn something from this in Vancouver). We are heading to Naxos tomorrow (30 minute ferry) which is just across a narrow passage (almost like the distant between Mayne and Pender Island). We will be hard pressed to top this hotel in the rest of our travels but it has been a great place to catch our wind.
To finish up, we will be starting a new feature:
Connor Kids Corner
Favourite part of the island:
Beaches (everyone), playing in the water (it is so blue), making sand castles, exploring the island with the car, exploring what they eat and the culture (Courtney), oh yeah and the POOL, the hotel and the breakfasts. Note: we have developed a budding animal right activist (Sydney) who wants to save all the stray dogs (trust me, she has her work cut out for her). Their closing comment: We love it all!!!!
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The Georges
non-member comment
Looks Fun!
Sounds like your having fun. Keep the blogs coming and lots of pictures. One of the guys in my training class was from Greece. He said the Ilands are really beautiful. Enjoy!