The Island of Parós

Well the winds didnt let up in Naxos for 2 days, no one ventured out of their safe spot in the harbour and as we didnt fancy getting soaking wet going ashore via dinghy, we decided to visit Naxos on our return to the Eastern Cyclades later in the month, and head for Parós to hopefully catch up some more with Emma.

That was not before having a giggle at some other yachts who wanted to share our safe anchorage, but were not aware of the turning circles of the ferries. As they anchored we did try to get their attention via the VHF and old fashioned whistling to get their attention and warn them, but to now avail. It was highly entertaining to watch them scatter as the ferry came in, blasting its horn at them, all before a gorgeous sunset.

On Wednesday 21st June, we finally set sail for the next island Parós, in the heart of the Cyclades,  intending on going to the main town Paroika on the West Coast. However as we were just about to pass a northerly bay and the town of Naousa, I received a text from Emma saying that they were headed there, so after a quick adjustment of our sails we did a 90 degree turn and headed to Naousa. Having not had significant winds for a while over here, I think we got a little complacent, as in the middle of some reasonable swell and winds on the way over, there was a loud bang from the galley area, looking down into it, I could see the Nespresso coffee machine on its side, and the only thing stopping it from flying across the floor was the plug, fortunately it still works, but we put it away now before we sail.

I am so glad we did the turn, otherwise we might have missed the fabulous old fishing port of Naousa, with so much character, winding streets to get lost in, shops, bars, restaurants and lots of life generally!

Emma, Ryan and family arrived later that evening and we joined them for a bite to eat at a neighbourly taverna. It was great to catch up with Emma and meet Ryan and his family, we had a evening of not so great food, but fab wine and even better company!

The following morning was a bit of a bonus, Emma popped over for a coffee at 9am and I thought their skipper would want to set sail fairly quickly, but thankfully no!. We managed to have a girly wander around the shops and general overall catch up. Given the distance we live apart, this was just brill!

The following day, we decided to take the bus to go and visit Paroika, rather than sail. It was an interesting place, its most notable feature being the ” Church of 100 Gates”, not that we found 100 gates! One can only wonder at the fact that it was only a 10 minute bus journey between the two towns, but in that time, excluding the ones in the towns themselves, we counted no less than 18 churches en-route, probably enough pews between them to accommodate the entire island.

The rest of the town was quaint, but not our favorite on Parós, Naoussa had stolen that spot already!

The other significant fact after ordering probably 60 or so coffees in the 6 weeks we have been back in Greece, is that we found a coffee shop, that actually managed to get an order right, just as we both like it, we offered to bring the Barista with us on our travels, but she sadly declined. The other bonus was that we managed to procure a new wallet, given the one we have been using in Greece, was pink and light green with embroidery all over it, I (David) used to cringe every time I had to buy something, just in case they thought it was mine.

So we made our way back to Naoussa to watch the sunset and enjoy a glass of vino or two, whilst planning our next adventure over to Serifos!