biker babes

We have officially arrived in Paros, one of the smaller islands a bit closer to Athens. After spending the last 6 hours we had in Santorini frantically trying to call places to see if they had room openings and obsessively checking our airbnb account for requests we had sent in, we finally got a room literally as we were standing on the ferry's deck pulling out of the harbor. Whew. That was close.

So now that we are here it is all about figuring out what to do. I wanted to come to this island because the architect/city planner from my original research proposal did work reconstructing the Greek islands after WWII. However, since my proposal was altered (many times! argh!) by the school, it is less about him and his work these days, yet the trip destinations still remain. Oh well, guess we'll just have to make do on this beautiful island surrounded by water that redefines the word "blue". However will we entertain ourselves?

We had a breakfast of yogurt, peaches and honey on our little hotel balcony and set off in search of yet another moped. Honestly, it's the only way to see the island in style. However, on Santorini the roads were small but filled with mopeds. The island was small so scooter-ing was quick (unless of course you were driving without a headlight on a dark road with no name!). Here the roads traverse much greater distances and are not as frequently travelled by mopeds. Most tourist here pick a beach, bring their family, and stay for a few weeks in one place.

Oh no no no, brother! Not us!

We demand to see the island in all its glory in one-go-round!

On our moped!

We were given helmets with enough padding to sustain a plane crash and handed a map of the island. What do you know?! No road names. We put on our helmets (which I immediately took off again and strapped to the back of the bike-- how the heck are you supposed to wear these ridiculous padded monstrosities and sunglasses?! I opted for risking crashing but guaranteed headache avoidance.) We drove for about 45 minutes before reaching something that we thought we'd like to see on the map. Here you can always see the water, but the roads are a bit further up the mountain so you can't see the beaches in front of them. It is very easy to pass the town you wanted to visit without actually realizing you had already gone through it!

We took a break at an area called Golden Beach that had beautiful waters, families on the beach and more wind surfers than I have ever seen in my life. They were all going top speed on the water-- literally it was frighting to watch because I was sure they were going to run straight into each other. They would start out near the beach, race to an island further out, turn around and race back in, turn around race back out, turn around race back in... Sounds repetitive but with the speeds they were reaching, I'm sure it was not tedious in the least!

We had lunch and when we were sure we were full enough to float, crept down the side of the rock and slid into the water. The water was amazing. Amazing doesn't cover it actually. Not sure what to say about it other than I knew I didn't want to get out.

lost again!

We finally pulled ourselves out of the splendor with the promise that we'd stop again further down the road. We had roughly sketched out our trip around the island and decided that there were a few towns in the middle that we would save until tomorrow. Today's ride was all about the beaches.

We rode and rode. Somewhere into the trip I took out my camera and took pictures from my back seat (mainly because Mom almost tipped the moped over every time we stopped and it was just easier-- and safer!-- to  have the camera readily available). At one point or another we stopped to see where we were and figured out that we had already passed through every town we had "saved" for tomorrow. Stupid no name roads. Weeeeeeell, guess we can check those off our list!

We passed by a few more beaches. Hopped off to get wet and then got back on. Mom finally succumbed to the inevitable headache and gave up on her helmet, resulting in two strapped behind me on the seat, leaving me with one cheek on the seat, one cheek on a helmet. Very comfortable.

We made it home with a thick new skin comprised of road dust and sweat and quickly headed to the shower to rinse off. Did some research of where to eat dinner (while eating Pringles in our hotel room) and decided to wander around the town a bit looking for one of the restaurants we found in our guide book. That turned out to be the best decision of the day. Delicious!

The place was an outdoor garden terrace but felt like an inside room because a 100+ year old grape vine not only sprouted from the flagstone patio but covered the entire place with grape leaves so thick that I'm sure you could sit out there even if it was raining. The food was just as sensational as the vine that sheltered it.

We started with beetroot salad that was lightly covered in a yogurt sauce, drizzled with orange juice and sprinkled with raisins and walnuts. Mom had the lightest fish ever cooked and my leek and orange risotto and herb crusted prawns were definitely Top 3 meal material. Of course I forgot the camera so records of these feast are a bit grainy thanks to the poor quality of the iphone 3G.... A piping hot chocolate mocha souffle (more like a bubbling lava cake!) completed the menu just in case we weren't yet ready to burst.

A walk along the harbor resettled our stomachs and then it was off to bed to sleep to catch as much shuteye as we could. Tomorrow's an all-night ferry ride starting at 1.30 am. Too bad we can't moped over to Athens...