We wanted to go to Santorini but didn't want to take the boat so our next stop was 42 miles away on Paros where there is a fairly new marina where we could leave Matilda safely.

The main port on Paros is Paroikia on the East side of the island and is an incredibly busy place with lots of ferries coming from Piraeus and going on to Naxos, Ios, and Santorini. The marina is in the north at Naoussa and is in a large indented bay with clear blue and turquoise water. It used to be a small fishing village but is now very touristy with dozens of quite up-market tavernas and trendy clothes and jewellery shops. Lots of the tavernas advertise fresh fish and seafood but when I tried to find the fish market today, I was told only where I could get frozen fish. There are dozens of fishing boats here so no idea where their fish goes.


Our new best friend in the giros shop (cruisers on a budget love giros at 2 euros each!) told us that most of the tavernas are closed for winter and had only recently opened. They have all been newly painted and look spick and span for the coming season. His restaurant is one of the few open all year round. We asked him who ate in there in the winter. "All the widows in black" he said.