One of the top things on my list of things to do in Paros was to visit the picturesque village of Lefkes. After coffee on the veranda of our sweet apartment, into the Little Spark and off we went.
Even the drive – much less stress-inducing this morning – is lovely and gives you information on this stunning island. It is dry here and brown and arid and mountainous. I didn’t expect that. And all of the architecture follows what you think of when you imagine Greece. Everything is white, white, white. Against the backdrop of dry and brown, it is a site! Twisting roads and white crowded small villages pop up in the most unexpected place.
We made our way safely to the village of Lefkes. Lefkes was the first capital of Paros back in the Middle Ages and is full of all you think of traditional Greece – whitewashed houses, quaint alleyways bursting with bougainvilla, bright blue doors and window shutters. And a new treat around every bend. It is high on a hill which makes the views from the village breathtaking. You can see the neighboring island of Naxos from there.
I’d read that it wasn’t a touristy town and that there is a nice, easy hike from the town to an even smaller, more classic village of Podromos. It is called the Byzantine Road and it’s the oldest trail on the island and dates back to the Byzantine era – around 1000 AD. According to my research it is an easy 2+ mile downhill hike to Podromos. For anyone reading this, it is not the case. It is NOT a hard hike but there are hills and valleys and lots of loose stones. However, it is totally worth it! The road was originally built to cross Paros and connect Parikia to Piso Lavadi at a time when the coasts were dangerous due to pirates. It is lined by olive trees and “paved” by Parian marble. Just lovely. And the day was beautiful with a clear blue sky and we had the trail to ourselves. We chatted, we sweated, we were silent, we ogled the view…it was a nice way to spend the morning.
Needless to say when we got back to Lefkes the village was alive. It was lunchtime after all. We didn’t do a ton of exploring but managed to have a very nice lunch at Lefkiano – a traditional Greek taverna right on the main road where you could watch the world go by – including the hikers just returning from the Byzantine Road. It was here that we tried our first local beer. Called Mamos, it was just what was needed on a hot day after a hike.
After a nice rest in our sweet little apartment we decided to again check out the town of Naousa. During the daylight this time and much less crowded, we window shopped and explored the marina and the Fort of Naousa. The fort is a part of a small Venetian castle which was built in the 15th century to protect the port of Naousa. The only remaining part of the castle is the fort itself. The rest of the walls have crumbled into the sea – some of which you can see in the clear blue-green water on either side. And the view from there back to the pretty port itself is gorgeous!
Naousa is not known for its sunsets as the sun drops below the rocky hills opposite the port. However we were able to snag a small table right on the water. And I mean right on the water – probably 15 feet away. I had a lovely glass of Parian white and John tried a traditional Greek drink call Souma. It is made from figs which are collected in August each year and set on the roofs of mastics villages to dry. There are no companies and no factories to produce this drink – it is made by individuals. So everywhere you get it will be different – and uniquely homemade. It has 45% alcohol and has been compared to Ouzo and Grappa. The look on John’s face when he tried it was priceless! I think he ended up drinking 3 sips. Me – 1. And I thought I could breathe fire afterwards.
We got smart last night! We made a reservation at a local restaurant that had been recommended by 4 different people – two of them Americans who had recently traveled to Paros. It is called Kapari and was one we had tried to get into last night. It did not disappoint. The reservation was under Max and we got a table up on the restaurant’s porch where we could again watch the world go by. More local white wine for both of us. A dish of sea brine for John. For me, revitada – a dish of roasted chickpeas in a clay pot and kolokithokeftedes – Greek zucchini balls for me. These things are amazing!
The meal would not be complete without a shot of souma from the restaurant. As said earlier, they’re all different! Well, this one I really enjoyed! Don’t get me wrong, I still felt like I could breathe fire but this time I wanted to!
