Paros is correclty known as the
Grand Central Station
of the
Aegean. Most boats stop here and you can make connections to the
Dodecanese
and even
Samos. The town is full of foreigners and
bars and also
internet
cafes, which is a
plus. Head for the smaller villages or
Antiparos if it
is quiet you seek. If you like to party then
Parakia and
Naoussa will suit
you just fine. The tiny idealic fishing village of
Naousa is so crowded in the
summer that you have to stand in line to walk past the
cafes that surround the
port but it's a great scene and worth going for
Mykonos-like action without
Mykonos prices. The beaches of
Paros, though popular, are also quite nice,
and
Paros is known as the wind-surfing capital of
Greece. Plenty of
camping
too. The ferry trip is about 6 hours from
Athens and stops at
Syros sometimes.
There are daily connections to
Mykonos,
Ios and
Santorini and
Sifnos in
the summer. There are also less frequent connections to
Crete, the
Dodekanese,
Ikaria,
Samos,
Amorgos, the small
Cyclades islands,
Skiathos,
Crete
and
Thessaloniki. There are also
Hydrofoils,
Catamans, sea-jets and other
strange and speedy craft that stop at just about every island around. The travel
agencies in the port list the daily boats and this is about the only
accurate
way to keep track of them all.
Paros can be really fun, and, like
Ios and
Mykonos,
it caters to a
younger crowd. I used to go a lot in
high-school, as it was
fairly close, and really fun. The bars are open late, and people just wander from
place to place all night, enjoying the weather and the
good spirits. The swimming
is typical island swimming (
good). The farther you go from the main cities,
the better, and more
secluded, the beaches get, so it's worth the walk if you
want less crowded beaches, or if you want to be
alone with someone.
As for
ThePope's ferry incident...um..well..we like
our
football (
soccer). This is not typical, but things like this happen
once
in a blue moon. I remember one
ferry that
cast off with one of the
main
hold doors open, and water started pouring in. I love
Greece;
keeps life interesting
:)
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