Today early morning, we had to say goodbye to Santorini and board another Bluestar ferry to Paros. This time it is a different one called “Blue Star Delos”, which is slightly smaller than the earlier ferry.

This time we opted for economy class, as the journey is short(3hrs). I start feeling like a kid whenever I board a ferry, with a feeling to explore the complete cruise and enjoy the breeze on the deck 🙂 This journey is no different. We stopped by in a new island called “ios” in between Santorini and Naxos. I wondered if Apple got inspired by this island and took the name of their operating system from here 😛

The ferry ride is very smooth till Naxos. As soon we reached Naxos, the ride became bumpy with lot of winds hitting us from all directions. It was my first experience of the turbulence over the ferry, wondered if there is some cyclone in the sea causing this. Naxos to Paros takes 1hr and it took longer than that today because of that. We finally landed in Paros amidst the winds.

Our hotel owner(Anixis Studios) came to pick us up and it was an amazing ride to the place where we stayed. It is not a hotel, but a studio maintained by family. It is located in Aliki, little far from the main part of the island. But we loved the place, felt more close to Greek culture and people. Unlike Santorini, here we get to see more locals than tourists. We got fresh grapes from the garden in the studio and the apartment looked fabulous with a beach view.

First thing we had to do is to hire a bike to roam around. We should have informed our hotel owner earlier to book 2-wheelers for us. At the last min, we could only get a 50cc 2-wheeler. Amidst strong winds on the island, 50cc looked like a joke. Having no other option, we had to take that.

We had Greek local food(gryos) for lunch, the vegetarian ones are made on our special request 😛 Unlike Santorini, Paros is mostly composed of plains. Hilly terrain is very less and its a perfect beach place. We took a ride from Aliki to Naoussa in a longer beach route. Stopped by in a couple of beaches in between and the ride is awesome. I loved the beaches in Paros more than Santorini. When we reached Naoussa, we could see lot of tourists there. It is a place built like a maze, to confuse and catch hold of the pirates who land up on the island. Its fun to walk across the roads of Naoussa. Lot of restaurants are there and its perfect place for nightlife in Paros.

We had our dinner there and reached Aliki late in the night. I must say today is the most adventurous day of our trip, travelling across the winds in both ocean and on land.