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Published: April 30th 2009
Looking up the steps to our Dreams Pension,Samos,Greek Islands
Gretchen had fun lugging her suitcase up the steps.Fortunately a kind Greek man helped her most of the way.I was struggling on my own !!Tuesday 28th April
A life on the ocean wave - Samos to Paros
Another peaceful night with a great sleep in the Dreams pension has readied us for an afternoon at sea as we head for Paros.It was different waking up to the chirping of birds rather than the wailing of the Iman calling people to prayer that occurred every morning in Turkey.
A hearty breakfast of our own making at under €3 for both of us and we thought a wander through the streets we didn’t see yesterday would be a good idea with the aim to arrive at the deliously smelling bakery we passed yesterday afternoon to buy bread for lunch.
We noticed more people on the streets this morning but it was only when we walked through to the seafront that we saw the 2 ferries tied up in port that obviously had brought in more tourists.One of the ferries,the Nissos Mykonos,was to take us to Paros in the early afternoon.Looking at the other ferry we were glad we had chosen Hellenic Seaways as the Kallistic Ferry boat looked like a rust bucket !!
We purchased cheese bread fingers and a small breadstick that looked like it was
Samos town
Walking was easy and there were different views around every corner half chocolate.Being unable to pass chocolate when it was on offer we added a couple of those each to our lunch menu.We are now getting really cheap with food as lunch came in under €1.50 for the two of us !!
The weather was fine and the wind of yesterday gone leaving the harbour looking like a millpond.The temperature was probably in the low 20’s and very pleasant for strolling the waterfront admiring again the way the white and terracotta coloured houses tumbled down the hillside and jammed packed into the area before where the hills rose too steeply to support them.
As we headed back up the alley to our pension we met up with Michael and Linda who had been on our ANZAC tour and had come across from Kusasadi for the day.Michael’s father owns Gartshores in Tauranga and lives in Dubai working in English law while Linda is in a teaching admin job.His jandals had given up on him and he was shopping for replacements.We passed a few minutes talking with them about the ANZAC experience and left them to barter for a price on the new jandals.
Packed and ready to head down to the port
Street scene Samos town,Greek Islands
This was one of the wider streets.In other parts there was just enough room for a Smart car and two bodies squashed against a wall !! we had the 50 odd steps of various sizes and shapes to negotiate with our suitcases.There was the alternative of a road up behind the pension but the surface was rough and we need to take care of the wheels of the suitcases as much as possible or we will end up carrying them not wheeling them.This time there awsnt a friendly Greek man to help Gretchen so I did the right thing by offering to help.Initially she was determined to do it on her own but half way down she saw my offer of help as being too much to turn down again.She reckoned that her arms weren’t long enough to lift the suitcase above hitting the back of the step and this made transporting it more difficult.
We found a seat on the waterfront and passed the time watching out over the harbour until our body clocks told us it was time to lunch.We are finding all the new food so tasty although of course one should expect this as it is quite different from home.We finished off the oranges we purchased yesterday.Nothing can compare to local Greek oranges for size and juicyness.
We strolled down to where they were loading the ship with trucks and cars and waited for the passengers turn.The ship was a roll on roll off with a huge stern door the width of the ship itself.Passengers boarded by a rear gangway and inside the ship was an escalator to ride up to where the baggage was stowed in cages pertaining to where your destination was.We hadn’t realised but we had assigned seats in the economy section of the ship.These turned out to be in a corner where it was impossible to see out the window.So as there weren’t many people on the ship which could carry about 1500 passengers we moved to an unoccupied window seat.Strange how computers randomly allocate seats !!
We were soon underway but it was only 45 minutes before the ship pulled into another port on Samos and with careful manouvering backed into a berth,dropped the stern door and gangway and proceeded to take on more cars,trucks and people.10 minutes went by and we were on our way again.This port was protected by a small breakwater so one can see why the ships can be cancelled by rough weather as it would be unsafe to negotiate such a large ship(a bit bigger then the size of the Cook Strait ferry)in such a small area.
The next stop was the island of Ikaria about 75 mins further on.Another port protected by a small breakwater.Here the numbers getting on increased and we were stopped for about 20 mins.We had at one time thought of staying here but it may have been best we decided not to as the town seemed very small and there may not have been the accommodation options we expected in Paros.
The ship then headed over more open water and although there was little wind it was still cool to be out on the open deck for too long dressed for summer.
The next stop was Naxos.After cruising down the side of the island the ship reached the town at the western end.Here too there was great activity after we docked with two huge trucks carrying massive blocks of white marble,for which the island is famous for,to be loaded.The whole thing is very much a military type operation with the ship backed up against the jetty and engines running astern the ship is held there by the engines and a couple of stern ropes which vehicles and people unload and load.Naxos town looked very inviting with houses and shops spread out over the flat land surrounding the port and the hills some way distant.
All too soon we were off again and this time only an hour and a bit away we arrived into Paros.All in all the journey had taken just over 5 and a half hours.
This time there were about half a dozen people with signs offering accommodation.Gretchen sorted one out and we were off with Yannis to his Franciscon Hotel just 400 mtrs up the beach road and one street back from the small sandy beach.He seemed keen to tell us our room would have a view and that his hotel was only one street back from the beach not that it worried us.
The room was clean and a good size with fridge and this time the shower was on its own in the toilet.And all for €30 which we thought OK as we were still within our budget and gaining credit all the time at this rate.
He referred us to a local restaurant where the owner would greet us with a free ouzo.And so it turned out to be true!!We dined on Moussaka and Mushroom Pita and finished off with another free drink of a name I cannot recall but made locally.
We were ready for bed as we walked home the short distance to our hotel under a clear sky with that sliver of moon overhead.
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Erin
non-member comment
Ah Paros...
I recall having a much more enjoyable time on Paros than on Naxos, for the simple reason that my dodgy guys had sorted itself out by the time we got there :-P Hopefully you managed to see an amazing sunset that Paros is so memorable for me for. Paros was where Brent and I took the bus to the next town over, drank a litre of wine at lunch and fell asleep on the beach in the sun - not so fun :-P