Paros, Antiparos, Naxos

All three islands are favourites, like triplets, we love them all equally.  A return visit was something that we were looking forward to when we planned this trip; ten days on Paros - four in lovely, lively Naoussa, a week in quiet, serene Drios, then five days on tiny, but stunning Antiparos.  Back to Paros on the little blue wooden ferry for the ferry boat to Naxos, and five nights at Naxos's best beach, Agia Anna.

Over these summer months we seem to have settled into a bit of a routine; a few days of moto scooter exploring, then boat hopping around bays, then trundling around on local buses, interspersed with hikes or meanders to Byzantine churches in olive groves, or other places of interest. We liberally pepper this with days spent on beaches - hours swimming, snorkelling or just floating in a palette of the Aegean's most beautiful blues and greens.  

This is exactly what we did over the weeks in Paros, Antiparos and Naxos as each of our triplet islands welcomed us back and revealed to us some new treasures.  Naoussa is Paros's little gem in the north, except after 10pm when it's so crowded that you really can't believe that it's the same quaint and quiet place you enjoyed a peaceful breakfast at 13 hours earlier.  At 9.00am you'll have Naoussa to yourself.   At night, be prepared to share it!

There are always new coves, different villages, more astounding architecture, landscapes, archaeological remains, ancient frescoes to marvel at, or ancient pathways to walk, but in Paros we returned to the beautiful mountain village of Lefkes that we visited in 2015.  It's a pedestrian village that sits, like an amphitheatre, facing the majestic church of Agia Triada.  It's a lovely wander down through the marble paved streets past the whitewashed homes to the square outside the church.  Just as we did two years ago, we spent a few hours sitting under the shady grape vine at Kafeneio Marigos.  We watched village life, sipped coffee and sampled 'mother-made' delicacies.   The whole while, across from us sitting outside their house, was a couple patiently and precisely preserving their dried figs.  Yaya would score a cross in the rump of each fig, Pappous would tear each fig down to its stem, creating a four-petal fig flower, dip each one in a tray of sesame seeds and sandwich with another fig 'flower'.  Press together.  Repeat.  Voila, dried sesame figs for the whole of next winter.

Paros is pure colour

Until about 10am you can pretty much have pretty
Naoussa to yourself.  After about 10pm forget it!
It's crammed with the night time crowd. They
spend the day at every corner of Paros and converge
on Naoussa at night.

This is Drios beach and its strange ancient hand carved
rocks, a remnant of its maritime past

One of the two excellent tavernas at Drios beach

Lefkes mountain village

Lefkes locals will teach you what to do with
an abundance of summer figs.

Fig and sesame 'flowers'

Sitting in the shade of Kafenio Marigos in front of
Agia Triada and its twin marble bell towers.

After four days in Naoussa we headed south for a week in quiet little Drios and rented an apartment from Flora. Flora's the one who would throw her hands up each morning when she saw us, as she shouted 'kalimera, kalimera' and planted kisses on both our cheeks.  Right after that she would deliver grapes, her homemade jam, or some of her tomatoes and cucumbers.   I don't know how that week went by so fast, it was idyllic but soon we were hugging Flora, promising to return, and loading on to the 5 euro ferry bound for Antiparos.

Antiparos comes into view as we arrive on the
little blue wooden ferry.  Just a 20min trip from Paros.

Antiparos port

The main street of Antiparos is lined with lovely cafes, restaurants, tavernas,
boutiques, and a few little supermarkets.  A couple of hours walking up and
down is a delightful passeggiata. 

Antiparos town main street

More of Antiparos town main street

This mural is in Kalokeri, our favourite restaurant in Antiparos.

We spent a couple of days lazing at this gorgeous sheltered cove,
Apantima Beach and The Beach House.

There are gorgeous tavernas around every corner.  This is Klimataria.

Sailing day around Antiparos and its neighbouring
island tiny Despotiko.

Blue and white, caves and cliffs.
Extraordinarily beautiful swimming locations.

Another pic... just because I loved this restaurant so much.

Moto riding to the southern tip of Antiparos to lunch
at Captain Pipinos taverna and a swim at Vathis Volos
and Kako Rema beaches.  Outstanding!

Dusk in Antiparos town

Beautiful Agia Anna beach, Naxos

Naxos sunset and moonrise.

Three days moto riding around the mountain villages
of Naxos. and the Tragea valley. 

Our friend in Naxos, Dimitria, said 'go to the mountains
and eat rooster'.  We found this, and yes, the rooster
was great!  So too was the village of Melanes.

Poppy pots in Melanes

Country walks and lanes to gardens and
churches

Visiting Greek mountain villages often feels
like stepping back in time.

Maybe our favourite village, Halki.  This is the old town square
and lunch time eating under shade of the ripe grape vine.

Citron liqueur is the local speciality. This is the
Vallindras Distillery.  The liqueur is made from
the leaves of the citron tree.

Not sure of the purpose of this architectural feature, but
I think they are beautiful.

Town square, Halki and Yiannis Taverna

The vine covers the whole town square and is
completely laden with these beauties.

The varieties of citron liqueur available for tasting in
the distillery.  There's also a lovely museum showing
original distillery machines and artifacts from the last century. 

Frescos cover the walls of the 6th Century BC church.

The Byzantine church of Agios Georgios Diassoritis

Curly heart ironwork - I can spot it a mile away!

Naxos by night is so pretty

Wanderings in the warm night air.

A special mention - Greek Pharmacies.
Full of wonderfulness.

Naxos Chora, this picture is taken from the splendid Portara.
The narrow strip of land connects old-town Naxos and the Portara.

The Portara,  530BC, is the marble gateway of the never-finished
Temple of Apollo.  It was built to face towards the sacred
island of Delos.

We've detected a change these past few days, a tiny autumnal pebble appears to have wriggled it's way into our Greek sandals, it's slightly uncomfortable.  We've noticed that the temperature is dipping below 30, there are white fluffy clouds in the bright blue sky (we haven't seen many clouds for - well, a long time), and people are wearing cardigans in the evening. Heavens, we didn't even pack a cardigan!   What this slightly uncomfortable pebble in our shoe is really telling us is that our Greek summer must soon be coming to an end.

'Let's not think about it', I suggest, as we board the ferry to Mykonos and then to Syros, our final two destinations of this glorious, perfect summer.

FUN FACT:  Venus de Milo (discovered in Milos, now living in the Louvre) is made of marble from Paros.

Sifnos

Sifnos is special.

From the first minute our eyes spot the port of Kamares, as the ferry approaches this little port nestled between two imposing mountains, to the walk along the main street beside the town beach and past pottery and ceramic galleries we could somehow tell that it was a special place.  Each time a ferry arrives at Kamares it's like a procession of arrivals, off the ferry, down the pier, along the quaint main street, and from there everyone disperses to apartments, villas, and villages.

We stayed five nights in Kamares, then another five on the other side of the island, at Platygialos.  Platygialos has the distinction as being the longest beach in the Cyclades.  Every inch of Sifnos's landscape is breathtaking.   In parts it is wild, rocky and remote.  In parts the terraced slopes and ancient stone walls march up and over hillsides as far as you can see.  Add to this the old stone dovecots, huddled white villages, a Kastro, churches on rocky islands, and beaches dotted with tavernas that are so close to the water's edge that a swim between the salad course and the grilled sardines is the accepted thing to do - all of this without masses of tourists - and what you have is a very special place, another seemingly perfect Cycladic dream.

Outstanding and beautiful, that's what it is; and did I mention the pottery and ceramics of Sifnos?Forevermore, when I think of Sifnos I will remember ceramics, dovecots, and the sun-kissed, breathtaking beauty all around.

From the verandah of Absinthe restaurant overlooking the
port of Kamares.  Mountains tower both sides of the bay.

The population of Sifnos is only a couple of thousand people.
Apparently a pious bunch as it has 365 churches!  This one in Apollonia.
Fifty meters one way was another,  fifty meters downhill was another.

Traditional Apollonia, this is the stone-paved 'to steno'.

Terraced hillsides of Sifnos and ancient white dovecots.
The terraces shine golden when the early morning sunlight hits them.

Kastro is an ancient village atop a domed rock.  We enter by passing
through the old stone passageway, the outer walls of the houses
form the fortified walls, and its tiny, narrow winding streets
lead to the ruins of the Venetian fortress.

Looking down from the top of Kastro is the island and
church of Seven Martyrs.

This is the perfect little harbour and village of Vathi.

The white church and monastery of Taxiarchis
looks as if it's floating on Vathi harbour (just like
its neighbour, the pink flamingo!)

The (long-in-this-part-of-the-world) sandy beach of Platiyialos.  

Exploring

High above the port of Kamares that nestles between mountains.

So iconic and distinctive is the architecture of the old dovecots
that their features are incorporated in newer homes and buildings.
This is a house built to resemble an old dovecot.

Discovering stunning Sifnos

Sifnos is synonymous with ceramics.  Potters workshops
and studios dot the countryside, the beaches, the villages. 

Like a kid in a candy store :)

This curious pottery is modelled on the old chimney pots
of Sifnos.  Every home displays one or many of these now-decorative pots.

Eco Sifnos.  Thumbs up Sifnos.

The white dovecots with their distinctive triangular shapes
containing smaller triangular holes, flat rooftops and
corner turrets. They can be seen all over the island .

Hiking day!
This time to the protector of Sifnos, the beautiful Monastery of
Chrissopigi, that sits on its own sacred rocky island jutting
out into the blue blue sea.  
It's quite a sight!

Arriving at Chrissopigi

The courtyard of Chrissopigi (and the old monks' room on the right)
leads to the tiny stone bridge and the double vaulted church and bell tower.

Past the Monastery and out on the rocky point is a marble
christening font surrounded by a little brass fence and gate.
And the rocks are smooth but honeycomb pitted. 

It really is the most beautiful location.

The rocks and the sea around Chrissopigi

Floating high above in the church is this model ship, a traditional
wood caique.  Such a strange and beautiful thing to see beside
the usual chandeliers and icons.  I read that it was a gift
from a Sifniot giving thanks for prayers that had been answered.  

These steps lead to a most excellent swimming location off the rocks.

This is the little channel between the rocks that makes Chrissopigi an
island,  and the arched stone bridge that links the two.

After our swim off the rocks at Chrissopigi we continued
our hike around the coastal path, past Apokofto bay, and on
to beautiful Faros.  This is looking back to Chrissopigi and
the crystal clear waters that surround it.

The coastal path to Faros

Arriving at Faros

A dreamy pink sunset at Platygialos and a 2.50euro
pitta gyros each for dinner on the beach tonight.  Delicious!

All over Sifnos are potter's workshops and ceramic studios.
This one, right on the beach at Platygiolos.  

I could easily fill a shipping container with these gorgeous pieces.

Up the mountain from Kamares, over the gorge,
high in the centre of the island is the hub, the capital Apollonia.
Named after the god Apollo.
Don't miss it, and its beautiful old pedestrian street - 'to steno'
with its cafes, jewellery stores, boutiques, churches and homes.

Hand drawn map of 'to steno' - the commercial
way of Apollonia.  I love these old signs that date
from 30 or 40 years ago when tourism became
a thing on Sifnos.

The beautiful patisserie of Gerontopoulos.  Don't miss it!

Perhaps our favourite part of Sinos.  The remote, wild north
to Heronissos.  We rode our moto there one day, and other
we took the slow, local bus.  Exhilaratingly beautiful!

Heronissos.  There is probably no more stunning a
location.  Anywhere.

Lunch on the beach at Ammoudi Taverna, Heronissos.

Old time potter, Kosta Depastas's ceramics workshop right on the beach at
Heronissos.

Kosta's ceramics.

Kosta was up for a chat... in Greek!

And a photo.

The peace and serenity of Platygiolos.

Oh God... then the day comes that you have to leave Sifnos.

FUN FACT:  One of the tiny, higgledy-piggledy, white villages we passed every day we were out exploring Sifnos is Exampela.  This delightful white stone village was the birthplace of Nikolaos Tselementes, born in 1878.  He is referred to as 'the father of Greek cooking', and he published the very first Greek recipe book in 1910.  They say every Greek kitchen has a 'tselementes', the name now used for 'cookbook'.