Greek Island Adventure - Part 7 Final Chapter - Paros

Rest stop along our walk in to town

We arrived in Paros early evening and made our way to the Akrotiri Hotel, our final stop on this incredible Greek Adventure.  We were both tired and CS had a bit of a headache (heat & travel) so we had a lite bite at the hotel, showered & hit the hay early.  The next morning we got up and went down to breakfast.  We met two ladies that had been in Paros for a week.  We chatted and got great tips from them about Paros.  Based on our conversation with them, we walked in to Parikia (main town on Paros) .  It was about a 25 minute walk, but mostly down hill from the hotel (coming back would be all up hill, but that would be much later!)  Based on our conversation with the two gals at breakfast, we decided to take the bus in to Naoussa.  The bus system here is very basic and easy to access.  From Parikia to Naoussa cost 1.80 euro.  We had read that Naoussa is one of the prettiest & most authentic villages in the Cyclades, so of course we wanted to see it!

Port of Naoussa

Naoussa is built around a tiny picturesque port where colorful fishing boats call 'caiques' moor and the remains of a Venetian castle are still there to be seen.   There are small taverns & ouzeries boarding the port creating a friendly and fun atmosphere. The bus dropped us off at the end of the block where the main square is.

We wandered a bit around the shopping area, which is made up of a labyrinth-like narrow winding streets,  white washed buildings, and tiny churches.  Charming !

We were starting to get a bit hungry and looked for the nearest place to grab a bite.  CS had a guide book page on the village of Naoussa and one of the food recommendations was for a place called 'Ragoussis Bakery & Eatery'. (https://ragoussisbakery.com)


We were reading this as we walked along the port - looked up and we where almost right in front of the place!  Seemed like a sign, so in we went!  Oh, and how happy we were that we did!!  This bakery has been in business since 1912.  Yes it is the most amazing bakery but also has a salad bar and hot food bar that is phenomenal!  We ended up eating Lunch & Dinner there and came back again the next day!  Love, Love, Love this place and the people working there are so pleasant and hospitable.
We spent the rest of our afternoon exploring this charming town before taking a bus back to Parikia and then walking back to our hotel.  A very enjoyable day.

water taxi to Antiparos

On our second full day in Paros we make an excursion to Antiparos, a short ferry ride across the bay.

The beach at Antiparos

You step off the ferry at the village of Antiparos, a traditional cycladic village of whitewashed buildings and narrow paved streets.  We strolled around the village enjoying the sites and sounds.  We stopped by the bakery to pick up a nosh, then jumped on a bus to head to the beach.  This island is famous for its beaches & crystal clear water.  There is a bus that does a loop out to all the beaches.  It is bright red - get your tickets on the main drag in town at the travel center that sells tickets to tours and attractions.  The bus drivers are very friendly and helpful, just ask them if you are not sure where you are going.

There are two ways to get to Antiparos - there is a small water-taxi that charges 5 euro to take you across - 7 to 10 minutes.  But it is only available based on the wind.  The larger ferry, the one that transports cars & cargo is big enough to go in pretty much any wind.  We were able to catch the water taxi over, but had to catch the ferry coming back.  As we headed back to Paros at the end of the day, we saw many kite boarders enjoying the wind.  I must have counted a dozen or more.  Since we had to take the ferry back to Paros, it lands at a different spot in the town of Pounda, we had to catch a bus back in to town.  Its a short 15 minute hop, no big deal.

For our final day before we had to start our journey back to the USA, we decided that it should be a relaxing beach day.  Since we had not rented a car on this island, we would have to take the bus to where we wanted to be.  We had not yet been to the beach at Santa Maria, which we had read was a lovely beach.  We found that we could take the bus to Naoussa then transfer to another bus that would take us to Santa Maria.

our private cove at Santa Maria

Santa Maria Beach is in Plastira Bay and is a long coastline divided in two soft sandy beaches. The water is crystal clear with a view of Naxos.  There are plenty of sun beds, umbrellas and water sport facilities for windsurfing, diving, paddle boats, etc.  A par of sunbeds with umbrella is $20.  There is a bar/restaurant for beverages & snacks.

We walked past the first beach and explored all the way down the shore.  We found a beautiful quiet spot to hang out and have lunch, which we had packed and brought with us.  There were some beach chairs in the cove that were left there by who knows, but we enjoyed them :-)

CS on Santa Maria Beach - No Filter!

After lunch we headed back to the main beach and enjoyed our last hour playing in the amazing clear blue water.

Santa Maria Surf Beach - no I am not standing in a pool!

Pano of Santa Maria Beach, just so amazingly clear water

Around 4:30 it was time to catch our buses back to Parika and to our hotel to start the painful process of packing up to begin the long journey home.

FYI, Paros does have a small airport, so we flew Paros to Athens, then on to London.  We spent the night in London and then headed back to the good ole USA.

This was the most amazing Greek Adventure and I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip.  If you are planning a trip to Greece and have questions - please don't hesitate to reach out and ask.  I did so much research and learned so much during this trip that I feel qualified to answer questions about Greek Islands travel. :-)

Until Next time, Travel Safe
Susan

Greek Island Adventure - Part 6 - Ios & Naxos

Ios 

Ios is a Cycaladic Island that is popular a party Island, due to the vigorous night life.  But during the day it is a completely different place. Beautiful tiny whitewashed housed, narrow cobblestone alleys, picturesque cliff top villages and of course, mesmerizing beaches.

the view from our room 

We have left the beautiful Christianna and are now on our own in Ios (pronounced E-os).  We are staying at the amazing Ios Palace Hotel.  This property is a Tresor Hotel.  It has 60 rooms decorated minimally in the greek tradition.  The hotel overlooks Mylopotas Bay, one of the most popular beaches.  It is a lovely hotel that I can confidently recommend.

Ios Palace

Our room 

 balcony in our room 

 The hotel offers pick up from the port.  It was 9 am when we left Christianna, Captain Steve & the gang.  Our room was not ready yet so we headed back out for some exploration.  We found out that we could catch a bus in to town at the top of the hill from the hotel.  So off we went.

one of 365 churches

charming courtyard restaurant 

at Casa Del Mar 

We enjoyed Ios Chora (Old Town).  As we had gotten used to, going in to town meant climbing lots of stairs! Also lots of churches - there are 3,000 permanent residents of Ios and 365 church! We strolled around town, enjoyed some lunch, climbed up to the top of Chora where there were 3 churches!

more stairs

After lunch & hiking we headed back to the hotel, changed in to our swimsuits and headed to the beach - which was right in front of the hotel.  We found a nice cafe right across from the beach for dinner - Casa Del Mar

Afternoon at Mylopotas

we ordered Slovaki!  

view from Casa Del Mar

Manganri Beach 

A wonderful day 1 in Ios.  For our second day we rented a car and went off to find more great beaches and a hike or two.  We drove to Manganri Beach - beautiful, isolated, clean clear water & sandy beach.  The beach was almost completely deserted!  There were chairs and umbrellas and maybe 5 other people on the beach.  A gentleman came out from Antonio's Restaurant and told us the beach chairs were free to customers.  So we camped out, and spent the morning there and then walked over to Antonio's for lunch.  This was a beautiful beach stop - a bit windy, but the water was warm & clear as can be.

 After lunch we set out to find the Palaiokastro ruins, located on the islands highest hill.  The area is completely isolated and a castle was built here to protect the local population from frequent pirate attacks.   Its a steep climb but the view is worth it!

that's me circled in red

CS about 1/2 way 

After a lovely day exploring, swimming and hiking we headed back to the hotel to clean up and figure out dinner.  Spending 3 weeks in Greece is wonderful but I was starting to want some other type of food other than greek!  lol  A couple we met on another island told us about a Thai restaurant that they had been to on Ios.  We thought 'hmm a Thai place in Greece?' But we had seen the sign for it while we were in Chora so what the heck, let's give it a try.
The name is Thai Smile and it was fantastic!  Highly recommend this restaurant if you are in Ios!

our private patio 

Monday June 10 - time to head to Naxos via the Ferry.  We got a ride from Ios Palace down to the port.  We arrived in time to say good bye again to our new friends on Poseidon Charters.  They were getting ready to start the second week of sailing.  We caught our ferry and made it to Naxos in easy time.  Our hotel on this island was Nastasia Village.  What a charming little place!  We loved our stay here.  Nastiasia Village is a completely renovated boutique hotel.  It has 18 spacious & comfortable rooms with lovely patios in front of each room.  The hotel is located in a quiet neighborhood within easy walking distance of St. George Beach and Naxos Old Town.

You could eat your breakfast out her or in the dinning room 

After checking it we headed out to see the unfinished temple to Apollo,  one of the architectural sites on the island.  

Naxos’ Temple of Apollo – Portara, a huge marble gate and the single remaining part of an unfinished temple of Apollo of 530 BC, is the island’s emblem and main landmark.

Standing on the islet of Palatia, at the entrance to Naxos harbor, it comprises four marble parts weighing about 20 tons each. Fantastic sunsets from here!

view of Naxos Town from Apollo's arch

While we were strolling around Old Town, we saw a flyer for a Bouzouki concert with dancers to be held that night at 9 pm.  So we went and found a place for dinner then headed out to find this concert.  (if you are in Naxos they have concerts at the Venetian Castle almost nightly)
 



Really enjoyed the concert. Bouzouki, is long-necked plucked lute of Greece. Resembling a mandolin, the bouzouki has a round wooden body, with metal strings arranged in three or four double courses over a fretted fingerboard. The musician plucks the strings over the soundhole with a plectrum held in the right hand, while pressing on the strings on the fingerboard with the fingers of the left hand.

Bouzouki was traditionally used for dancing and entertainment at social gatherings.  Since gaining a wider audience, the bouzouki has become the major popular-music instrument of Greece.  (Thanks Encyclopaedia Britannica)

We enjoyed the concert, it was fun to see some traditional music and dance.  Great first day in Naxos!

Agia Anna Bea

Naxos, Day 2 - Morning shopping and strolling in old town and Agia Anna Beach.  We loved the old town of Naxos!  Fun shopping, charming town and of course, lots of stairs!  We wanted to go to the beach in the afternoon but decided to call a taxi rather that take the bus.  This ended up being a great choice as we got the best taxi driver, Maria, who gave us a bunch of tips when we told her we were renting a car the next day.  She outlined a route for us on a map that would take us to 5 small towns inland.  But for this day - it was relax at the beach time!

After a lovely afternoon at the beach, back to the hotel for a shower then out to dinner in Old Town.  So many little restaurants to choose from.  Almost all of the tables are outside.  Lovely

Naxos - Day 3 - Rental Car & we are off to explore the interior of Naxos!  Based on Taxi Driver Maria's instructions we were off to find And Sagri to see the ruins of the Temple of Dimitra, then the small towns of Chalki, Filoti, Aperanthos & Kouros.  This was going to be an all day adventure.  A note about renting a car - its helpful to have an International Drivers License - you can get one at AAA.

Kontosouvli Pork 

Giannis Taverna

I was challenging driving, but we were greatly rewarded for our efforts at lunch time. We were in Chalki and smelled something amazing.  We followed our noses to Giannis Taverna and found pork roasting on a spit.  Well we were sold based on the smells! It was outside seating as 96% of all restaurants here are.  We got one of the last two tables available.  We asked our server what was roasting on the spit and she said it was Kontosouvli Pork.  We order one plate of that and one salad and we shared both.  OMG sooooooo good!  We enjoyed our lunch and the rest of our afternoon exploration of the small towns.

 I mentioned above that driving was a bit of a challenge.  Signage is not that great in Greece.  We were hot and tired at the end of our driving adventure and decided to go back to Agia Anna before returning the car.  We got to the beach just fine, but trying to find our way back to the hotel was crazy.  It was only 15 minutes away from the beach and I felt fairly confident in the route but we must have taken a wrong turn because it took us over an hour to get back to the hotel - ugh!  Time for a lite bite and then bed!

Day 3 - Naxos in the morning - Ferry to Paros in the late afternoon.   In the morning we went back to Old Town to purchase a couple of souvenirs that we had been looking at.  We arranged for the lovely Maria to pick us up at the hotel and take us to the port to catch our ferry -- On to Paros!

Paros will be the final chapter in the Greek Adventure - I hope you'll come back and read the finish of this fabulous trip
Until next time, Safe Travels
Susan

Greek Islands - Part 5 - A Week of Sailing on Christianna VII - Days 6-7

Welcome back to Greece!  Today is day six of our sail and we are sailing from Milos to Folegrandos.  We sailed & motor-sailed all day with some swim stops along the way. Here is Poseidon's description of our day : 

Distance and sailing conditions: 37 miles -  Motor-sail out of Milos' volcanic caldera followed by raising sail and motor sailing between Kimolos and Milos with great views of volcanic landforms. A swim stop is made at a glorious bay with private uninhabited beach at Poliegos, and a look at the 'Blue Lagoon' on the way to Folegandros which is typically a nice 2-3hr SE beam reach

Its very hard to describe how beautiful our sail was today, so I am just going to post some of the best CS Photos.

Folegrandos 

We arrived in Folegrandos late in the afternoon.  We were unable moor at this small port so we had to dingy in. In the tiny rustic port of Folegandros a bus ride takes you up to to see the magical hilltop 'Chora' village, with incredible drop-off views of the coastline and Cycladic islands.  


Upon arriving at Chora, we all decided to go further and hike up another hill to a monastery, where the view was amazing.

Yes, this is what we had to climb to get to the Monastery

after the hike

After our hike, we went to dinner followed by a wander around the charming town.

Dinner outside in Folegrandros

Ios Harbor

 Day 7 - All good things come to an end they say.   Today we sail for Ios (pronounced E-os).  Our final stop with Captain Steve and our new friends on Christianna & Santorini.  We had a lovely morning sail to Ios.  For this stop we had the opportunity to hang out at Liostasi  hotel & spa in the afternoon.  It was a chance to get a spa treatment, lay around the beautiful pool, take a real shower!!  And this was also where we were to have our final dinner together.

Dave at the Helm

Motley crew of Christianna 

Simply the best charter company in Greece

the view from the pool deck of Liostasi

poolside sculpture 

Caressed by the golden sun of the Cyclades, this dreamy luxury hotel in Ios, welcomes guests to enjoy the finest luxury accommodation in Ios Island along with the most astonishing views to the azure sea. Set in an enviable location in Ios Island this luxury sea view hotel offers the ideal choice for those seeking a relaxing getaway in this vibrant island of the Cyclades. 

New friends at our final night dinner

 Day 8 - Time to depart our fabulous Yacht !  We had breakfast and said our goodbyes.  So sad to leave Christianna & Santorini and all our new friends.  But it was time to get back to our solo free-style Greek Islands adventure .  CS & I still had Ios, Naxos & Paros to visit on our own.

Thanks Captain Steve!  It was a magical adventure with Poseidon Charters!

 Are you still reading my friends?  We there are 3 more Islands to go and I hope you will come back and check out the wrap up to this Greek Island adventure!

Until Next time, Safe Travels
Susan