The sun
always shines with its comforting warmth, the beaches bask in its bright glow and the
people are so tan they appear almost golden. This is Paros in the summer time. It is a
beautiful moderate sized island located south of Athens among many of the other Greek
islands.
The nearest islands are Antiparos, and Naxos. Paros (population about 10,000) is
your quintessential Greek island, from
the white washed walls with the blue tiled domes, to the barren upper portions of the
island, to the crystal clear blue aquamarine waters. Paros is a vacation
summer paradise.
Parikia is the heart of the island and is
the largest city. This is an excellent location for enjoying many
various activities.
People watching is a pastime of many of the tourists
and locals along the harbor front. However, there are better times than others for this.
The best times are midday when the ferries arrive and in the evening around sunset when
the town becomes more active.
Ferries and hydrofoils are a great way to get around between the Greek Islands. The
ferries are a bit cheaper than the hydrofoils but also a bit slower. For his money, Dave
takes the hydrofoils.
Dave left the waterfront at Athens in the early morning during the "golden hour"
for photographers. He was on a heavily loaded ferry with many people and lots of cars in
the hold. He promptly made a beeline for the top deck in order to be in the sun and breath
in the fresh salty air of southern Greece.
He spent an hour reading some of the tour books about the Greek Islands. Every so often he
would glance up and make small conversation with fellow travelers. The water was crystal
blue aquamarine. He popped out his small portable travel radio for some added enjoyment
and caught the end of an English newscast that said the Onassis clan was sailing in the
southern waters of Greece.
The Greek islands are a stark contrast to the
blue surrounding oceans. They are often whitish and bare ground is abundant
on the unsettled ones. Very few trees were present.
When first arriving on Paros in Parikia by ferry you can see from several
miles away crowds of people. They are swarming around the harbor area like
ants on an ant hill. Soon they come into focus and you are able to see many
of them holding up signs advertising lodging, restaurants, and
transportation.
As soon as you step off of the ferry you will be surrounded by
enterprising young people. Chances are you will need lodging but you
probably won't have any recommendations, and tens
of choices are walking around with signs in
their hands. I was able to get extremely nice lodging for a very low price.
I stayed away from the younger men carrying signs and those that looked a
bit unkempt and went for the families or at least what seemed to be parents
and children. If you are staying on the north west side of the island try to
get lodging that is within walking distance of Parikia. I like to settle my
lodging first, unpack, get mentally prepared for the normal challenges of a
new town, and then venture out.
If you are willing to try a motor scooter, they are an excellent means of
getting around the island. I highly recommend renting one. I rented a nice
motor scooter for a week. I think I paid around $8 to $10 US per day which
is very very reasonable. They don't take much gas, very little oil and are
all you need for getting around the island. They are ideal for zipping in
and out of traffic in Parikia especially around the extremely busy time when
the ferries arrive. They allow you to bypass the terrible traffic jams that
form around the harbor front. Fortunately these traffic jams don't last for
more than 20 or 30 minutes and then voila the streets are completely empty
again! Note: these scooters handle quite differently on the dirt than on the
paved roads. They don't respond quite as easily and it is much easier to
spin out or fall over especially when cornering.
It takes about an hour and 15 minutes to traverse the entire island by a
motor scooter. This is if you are doing between 50 and 55 mph most of the
way and you do not stop anywhere.
Two outlets that I recommend for renting motorcycles, dirt bikes (there are
a lot of excellent off roading opportunities for those off road
enthusiasts), and scooters are Parai Rent-a-Car-Motorcycle at PHONE NUMBER
21 1771. They can be found along the waterfront towards the south of town.
Paros Rent-a-Car is found north of town and can be reached at PHONE NUMBER
24 408.
The mopeds allowed me to explore all parts of the island. I was able to
access parts of the islands that very few tourists every get to. They were
ideal for getting to isolated beaches, tops of mountains, and were good on
paved and dirt roads. There were some good off roading across from Parikia
on the Cape Agios Fokas.
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Dave's Pick