Nachos on Naxos

 We planned to visit the island of Paros between staying on Mykonos and going to Santorini, so that we could see one of the less touristic islands. I also chose it because the ferry trip between Mykonos and Paros was only an hour. For the last two weeks of our trip, visiting the Greek Cyclades islands, I planned our itinerary so that on travel days we could get to the next stop in four hours or less. That way, with a two-night stay, we got a full day and a half at our destination.

The one thing I couldn't do before leaving though, was buy the ferry tickets. When I went to buy them, the lady told me "No tickets. The season is over. You can go to Naxos and catch the 6:00 PM ferry from there." So, Wednesday morning we said goodbye to Mykonos and got in line for the 10:30 AM Sea Jet 2 ferry to Naxos, an island we hadn't intended to visit.

It all turned out perfectly, though. The trip to Naxos took only 45 minutes on the high-speed ferry. It almost flies over the water. When we got there, we checked our bags at the port and went out to explore the old part of the city. It was different than Mykonos, but just as charming in its own way. There were certainly a lot fewer tourists.

Speaking of tourists, on our last day in Mykonos, there was only one cruise ship in port, so many of the businesses closed. When we went to dinner at a popular and recommended restaurant, we were the only customers. It was really kind of strange. The day we left, there were two cruise ships in port, and the shops again were open.

Naxos is a lest touristic city, and the architecture is a little more varied, but it still looks like a Greek island with all of the narrow twisty lanes. The lanes, however, are not generally filled with designer boutiques.

After a few hours climbing up and down, we were pretty tired out, so we found a cafe open down by the waterfront and spent most of the afternoon reading and enjoying coffee and Greek nachos.

Just before sunset, the clouds rolled in and it got pretty stormy looking. We kept thinking it was going to rain, but it didn't. It was pretty humid, though. At the end of town, there was a causeway to a small island containing the original Delian Sanctuary of Apollos on Naxos. Kathy and I walked out there, with Kathy looking for potsherds.

As we walked out on the causeway, we passed this little old lady, who looked to be about 90, with a cane and a bag. When we looked back, we saw that she had walked down the steps on the causeway, taken off her dress covering her bathing suit, and was now swimming in the bay, which was so clear you could see the bottom

After walking around what is left of the Delian sanctuary, we headed back to join the trucks and hordes of ferry commuters getting on the regular, slower, Blue Star ferry. On the Blue Star, the ride from Naxos to Paros took 45 minutes. If the Sea Jet had been running, it would have taken 15 minutes. However, the Blue Star ferries are so big (about the same size as a cruise ship), that we really didn't feel any sea-sickness at all. On the Sea Jets, you roll a bit, so we both took Dramamine.

We got into Paros at about 7:00 PM, and the owner of Sofia's Pension, where we are staying for two nights, met us at the dock. Because we were coming in later than planned, I had called ahead to let them know, and Sofia volunteered to send her husband down to pick us up. We really appreciated it.

Thursday and our 43^rd Anniversary in Paros

Today, October 22nd is Kathy and my 43rd wedding anniversary. If I had planned better, we'd be overlooking the caldera in Santorini, but Paros is wonderful too. Because Paros is not really an international cruise-ship destination, the atmosphere of the town is different. Definitely more laid-back. The accommodations are much less expensive as well. Our room was a little smaller than what we had in Mykonos, but not by much. It was very nice.

In the morning, we went walking as usual, and found this beautiful secluded cove just outside of town. We would have continued walking around the point, but a landslide had closed the seaside path.

On the way back, we found some windmills. Unlike the windmills in Mykonos, these all have sails that can be furled and unfurled. It looks like they are actual working windmills, although I can't think about what they would be used for. They are all in tip-top shape, though. We had a leisurely two hour lunch and reading break at a beautiful little restaurant under a huge spreading laurel tree. The cats kept jumping up on the seats trying to share them with us.

 Afterwards, we climbed up to the Frankish castle built by a Venetian Duke around 1260 AD. What is really interesting about the castle is that the building materials they used were all scavenged from the ancient Greek temples at the site.

 Instead of a siesta, I talked Kathy into walking back to the cove we saw that morning and taking a swim. The water was so refreshing.

I should mention that the Weather app on our iPhone forecast thunderstorms and rain today. It was quite windy, but, as you can see, it was beautiful. Tomorrow we head out for two nights on Santorini, where they are still predicting rain. We'll see; so far the Weather app has been wrong almost every day.