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Beach Life, Paros Style
By Karin Shepherd, Thu Dec 8th
Beach Life, Paros Style Paralia, Greek for “beach” is one of the reasons people come tostay in the village of Aliki. Aliki has a total of threebeaches, but the one that is the most used is found in thecentre of the village in a small bay with a few guest pensionsand homes scattered at each end. Why do I, personally love the paralia? Let me show you….
An alternative to taking my scooter to the market is to take thebeach route. I remember when living in Ireland it meant drivingto the market town and joining the never ending mad scramble tofind a parking spot. Well, here in Aliki, I just slowly saunteralong the sandy beach, sometimes wading in the water, sometimesnot; picking up interesting coloured stones or shells to shoveinto my pockets! The cicadas sing to me as I pass under the softneedled trees imported from Australia over 50 years ago, or so Iam told. I pass several tavernas, some with tables and chairs on thesand, or in one instance, actually on a little quay built outinto the water, which is very romantic for night time dining! Atthe centre of the paralia is a very small park with a kiosk thatsells sweets and ices, cigarettes and crisps. It is open duringall hours of the day and night. The little park alsoaccommodates the one and only bus stop. Here also are childrenof all ages, playing on the swings. Small kiddies during theday, young and hopeful teens in the early evening! If I were to turn left onto a little used road taking you out ofAliki to the South, I will find the new pharmacy and thebutcher. But let’s turn right and go around the corner at thepark and continue walking to the end of the bay. Along this sideis the mini market, a tourist agency and scooter rental/giftshop and more tavernas. The mini market does not like anythinglarger than a 20 Euro note, so you can see, we think small hereeven though as a community Aliki is big in heart! When I arrive at the mini market, I am always greeted byChristos, the owner, with an enthusiastic, “Yassou, ti kanis?”.He usually is sitting at the counter, or at a table outside,sipping a frappe…..as if to say he has no worries at all. When Ipay for my groceries, he often takes money out of his pocket inorder to complete the transaction! If I am short of cash,Christos replies, “No matter, come back
tomorrow”, and thenpromptly forgets it! He is lucky I don’t forget! If my journey is taken in the early morning, the main fishingquay will be busy with the local fishermen selling their fishstraight off their little “caciques” or small fishing boats!This is where I like to sit a moment and just look out to sea.If the wind is blowing, (and it often is), then there are whitecaps further out in the deep blue, but in the bay itself, it ismore protected. Here the water is shallow and crystal clear sothat you can actually see the ripples of sand on the bottom andthe schools of fish swimming along. The colour is several shadesof blue and aquamarine and the sun makes the ripples sparkle andglisten like many faceted jewels, forcing me to wear mysunglasses. Behind me a taverna is opening for breakfast, withcustomers taking sips of fresh squeezed orange juice and puttingbutter on fresh baked bread from the local bakery. They lookvery contented. The canaries are cheerfully singing at“Manolis”, my favourite taverna for hamburgers and ouzo. If it is mid-morning, then swimmers are venturing out. First tocome are the older flabby ladies and gents who prefer having thebeach to their selves for daily swimming exercises and gossip.Coming around noon are the beautiful young women and men, whoseriously work on their tans and delight in showing off theirgorgeous bodies to each other. At any time there are children ofall ages, who seem to never tire of building sand castles,splashing and jumping, pestering parents, learning to snorkeland crying when time to go home. Walking further out along the beach, I see olive trees and goatsin fields. I could convince myself that I am living in Biblicaltimes because the Cycladic architecture has a Middle Easternfeel to it, rather than typical Mediterranean, and seemsageless. Life changes very slowly here in many ways, but reallythat is the charm of it all. As you can see, the beach is pure joy for me and I like to makeit last as long as I can. Who needs drugs? I can get high byjust going to market along the paralia! Karin Shepherd Aliki, Paros, Greece
About the author:Michael & Karin Shepherd are an American-Irish expatriate couplewho share their Greek island experience by offering lodging andinformation including maps and photos. They provide content andlinks for Paros, the Cyclades, Greece and the world of livingabroad at http://ParosParadise.com |
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