68. Naoussa and Parikia

Naoussa is the second big city on Paros. It has a big port and a high share of tourism during the summer month. It’s a bit more fancy and high end than the capital Parikia. The bay of Naoussa is also a perfect place for starting on a sailing turn.

A very prominent landmark is the Panagia, the main church of Naoussa, named after Virgin Mary. Naoussa is quite familiar for me as I spent the winter and spring of 2014 in this area of Paros.

There are two ports: The old one and the new one. The new one is rather busy with lots of Cafes and Tavernas. I prefer the old one which is quaint and quiet. The pub in the middle is one of the oldest in Naoussa, frequented mostly by locals.

The big restaurants are mainly at the seafront while inside in the narrow passages there nice shops – like the one in the middle which sells curious - and some nice places to relax, like the Music Café on the right. It is run by natives which have studied at the Music Conservatory in Athens and for which it is difficult nowadays to find jobs. Quite often there is very good life music in the evenings.

On a hill opposite from the big church there is a number of nice old hotels and pensions with a very nice view over the bay of Naoussa. Contrary to the village where I am now living Naoussa is full of live in summer but rather dead in winter when two thirds of all the businesses are closed.

Aside from being a familiar place for me, the reason for going there is my friend Christine, my neighbor from my last stay and the fact that I could organize a bicycle. Just look at the beauty in the middle. John, a guy from England who came to Paros sometime in the eighties, fixed it up for me. Naoussa does have some fancier foodstuffs [like organic oat flakes and genuine Italian Mortadella] and is more or less flat country to ride the bike. So it is more convenient to go there as compared to go to Parikia over the hills. To the right and left are some nostalgic shots from the area where I have lived before.

This sequence shows more nostalgic shots and a creation of mine, embellishing the house where I used to live. They are shutters made of scrap wood which I found in the Apotiki, the Greek word for a kind of box room. It feels a little said looking at them. The Belgian owners of the house which decided not to rent it out any longer are not taking care of it. Much of what I have planted during my last stay is all dried up and even some very old and very beautiful rose bushes have died. But alas, life is for moving on and not for clinging.

Parikia is the capital of Paros and the big ferry port connecting the island to Athens and Piraeus and to all the other Cycladic islands.

During the winter month Blue Star Ferries is the only carrier serving Paros but in summer there is about half a dozen. A cruise ship is rather a rare sight. A big one couldn’t enter the port but this is a small one and looks rather cute. I don’t know if I would ever go on a cruise but this ship might make a difference. It’s more on my scale.

Parikia has a very nice little farmers market on the waterfront at the edge of a little park. It’s fun to be able to find the major staple vegetables all year round. And it’s all local. and incredible cheap. It takes never more than a few Euros to fill my rucksack.

I like to stroll around in the narrow streets. As there are only a few buses a day during the winter month, I normally have plenty of time to do it. On the left you can see the Café Micro, meaning small, a hangout for foreigners which is closes down after Christmas. On the right there is a famous pastry shop deserving the name Patisserie and luckily it is open all year.

The old town is the biggest on the island and there is even a section called ancient town with the remnants of a Frankish fortress in the middle. These pictures could also be taken in other villages on the island, except that in Parikia everything is a little bigger. The passages are wider and there are some Palace like buildings.

Browsing the narrow streets, I am always happy when I discover some small things, like the well preserved well on the left, the leftover Xmas decoration in the middle and the big fat tomcat on the right.

Or the old man enjoying the morning sun, the Begonias, flowers which I never really liked until living during winter in Greece, and these beautiful filled Camellias in front of one of the Palaces I have mentioned before.

One of the sights in Parikia is the Panagia Ekatontapiliani, meaning the church and cloister with the hundred doors. Some people, who have counted them, did find however that there are only 99 doors. The legends says, the one hundredth door will be found only, when Constantinople is again the center of orthodox Christianity.

I don't know if Mr. Erdogan of Turkey will cherish this idea one day but it’s a very nice place to visit and walk around. Being next door to the archeological museum there is also lots of old stuff around, mainly from the Hellenic period of ancient history.