It is "farewell" today to the beautiful Mykonos, and Ornos in particular! So glad we had 4 nights to really enjoy this piece of paradise. Decided to have a decent walk this morning before breakfast, heading towards the beach up the hill from Casa Bianca. Awesome view back down over Ornos and Korfus! Spectacular! Impossible to walk right along waters edge as villas and boutique hotels have areas fenced off to stop thoroughfare. Good to build up an appetite for breaky. Time for a relax by the pool before the pack up for our midday check out. Left our bags and had one last wander down to Ornos Beach and a coffee at Ithaki (down the far end of the beach). Fond farewells with Eleni, Spyro, their daughter Zoe and Spyro's mum Tina - they really have been truly delightful people. We were driven to the new port with about half hour to spare for our catamaran journey to Paros (3pm departure). All a bit bizarre as new port area under construction and no real signage - just follow the hordes. Excited to spot the Aussies from Attalos in Athens on the next stage of their Intrepid tour on their way to Santorini! Turned out our Flying Cat had been changed to a HiSpeed 5 - even bigger and faster than the previous. Quite amazing to watch it pull in, unload the mass of people followed by a trail of vehicles then in no time the unorganised mass just flowed on board. Baggage was left in specific areas dependant on where you were disembarking - Paros, Ios, Santorini or Heraklion. We were first stop and only about 45 minutes away. Upstairs our numbered airline style seats were extremely comfortable - think we were actually moving before we had time to sit down. Time for a beer watching the wide expanse of sea but wasn't long before our island came into view and we were soon disembarking at Parikia on Paros. We were met by Joseph Studios, our home for the next three nights, and driven the short distance (about 15 minutes) across the Island to the fishing port town of Naoussa. Initial observations are that the pace seems less chaotic than Mykonos and the scenery is less barren and rocky - definite greenery prevalent; more trees and shrubs.
Joseph Studios is located on the edge of town - not fancy but spacious and comfortable; actually think we've got the "penthouse" suite - fabulous big balcony overlooking pool and breakfast area as well as down to the water on one side. Perfect! Once settled moseyed on down to the pool for a Greek salad (how come the fetta here is so good?!?), swim and shared a few beers and stories with some young kiwi kids.
Showered and changed and walked the 10 minutes into town past an array of gorgeous quaint little villas and studios. The town itself fans out from the port with many yachts and cruisers moored. After a brief reconnoiter chose a restaurant overlooking the port and had a really pleasant meal - though ordered too much (stuffed calamari and seafood spaghetti) and still we received complimentary dessert and grappa! A short stroll further into the town revealed there was much more to explore - gorgeous little labyrinth of streets lined with boutiques and shops. Definitely will be back tomorrow when not so weary!