Wednesday, May 1, 2002 12:17
Weather: Hot, partly cloudy, windy.
Location: On top of a hill, on a rock by the Moni Agiou Antoniou (monastery).

The ferry was a bit late arriving, but Mike was still there, waiting to greet me. He drove us the short distance to the second of his two hostels, and pointed out some of the sights of Parikia, the main town of Paros. The rrom was excellent, with a double bed, balcony, fridge and bathroom for only 15 euros per night. I dumped my stuff and headed out to check out the town. The main north-south road ran along the waterfront, and I walked south past the ferry dock and innumerable newspaper stands, cafes and bars. The sun was setting, providing a striking view across the water where a lone fisherman was sitting in his boat.

Further down I turned into a side street and wandered back northwards through the old town, whose narrow stone streets were lined with whitewashed houses, wooden doors and windows painted in the traditional blue. I passed a little church, from whose doors the sound of singing emerged to fill the street: an orthodox holy week service.

In the north part of town I stopped in the Internet cafe around the corner from the hostel, then continued on past an ancient graveyard to another section of restaurants, where I had dinner.

Back at the hostel, I did some laundry and was hanging it up to dry when I heard my neighbours on the balcony next to mine, two Australian women. I said hello and we chatted for a little while, but I was feeling very tired from the long day and soon went to bed.

This morning I got up to another sunny day, showered, and went out for a capuccino and a ham & cheese crossant. Then I stopped in a supermarket and put together a picnic lunch. The bus stop was nearby, and I climbed onto a bus heading across the island to the village of Marpissa.

The bus wound its way over, climbing and descending the many hills en route, and I soon gave up on my original idea of walking all the way back. The hills were mostly covered in rugged-looking little farms and orchards, but it was pretty clear that the main income for the island at the moment is probably tourism, as the farms didn't look especially prosperous.

At Marpissa I got off and headed uphill to the monastery of St. Anthony, perched high above the surrounding villages with a view across the water to Naxos. The road wound upwards, past a couple of poor donkeys, their legs tied to prevent them from running or escaping their field. There were a lot of flies buzzing about, and it was quite warm, but once I got to the top, up a path lined with wild flowers, the wind from the northeast blew the flies away and cooled me down. I found a good rock to sit on, and am now admiring the view.

A quick lunch, and I'll make my way back down. At 1:15 the bus will head back, and I'll hop off part way and do some more walking.
posted by Tom at 12:25 PM | link |