CYCLADES
P
AROS IS THE ARK THAT
saved the Malvasia grape
from extinction,’ says
Savvas Moraitis, standing in
the stone cellar of his winery
in Naoussa. ‘We were the only place not
affected by the phylloxera that wiped it out
in the rest of Europe.’ He pours a glass of
Malvasia and takes a sip. ‘See, it is clean
and crisp, just like the sea.’
The ocean is never far from the thoughts
of Parians, even when talking about wine.
The sea breeze, limited freshwater and
loose sandy soil create a terroir unique to
the islands, producing wines different to
any in Europe. In pride of place in the
Moraitis winery sits a model of Seveasti, the
boat that once transported their produce all
over the Aegean, setting sail from a nearby
beach. ‘The sea is why anyone on this
island is here,’ explains Savvas.
Down in the harbour, a short walk away,
white-haired men sit chatting on benches
from dawn to dusk, rising occasionally to
check their fishing lines. Costa, a retired
engineer from Athens, spends six months
of the year on the island. ‘This is my work
now,’ he says, gesturing at the water. ‘I fish,
I eat fish, I watch the fishing boats come in.’
He is not the only one drawn to such simple
preoccupations. As the shadows start to
lengthen across the cobbled quayside, the
tables fill at restaurants that sit barely a
metre from the water’s edge. Waiters hang
octopus from the doorways to advertise
their wares, and sardines, lobsters and red
mullets are put on ice at high tables, to the
immense frustration of local cats.
Fishing boats come and go, puttering out
from the harbour, past the fort that once
protected the town from pirate attack. In
unlikely homage to those days, the familiar
skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger flag
flies over several of the town’s bars, their
interiors liberally decorated with fishing- Paros
It’s time to take to the seas on a traditional fishing boat,
before enjoying seafood feasts, local wine and a beach
for every taste back on land
Lilly Residence goes for a nautical theme,
with white walls, flagstone floors and fish-related
décor. The rooms overlook the lovely pool and
terrace, and it’s a short walk to both a quiet
swimming beach and down to the harbour. No
children allowed (from US$100; lillyresidence.gr).
A 3½-hour trip on the Rofos costs US$30pp
(rofos-paros.gr); private boat hire from US$482
per day (parosadventures.com). Wine-tasting at
Moraitis from US$5 (moraitiswines.gr).Essentials
Blue Star Ferries will take you over to Naxos,
45 minutes away (from US$11; bluestarferries.gr).nets and glass floats. Customers flit in and
out, seeking a position closest to the water,
trailing snorkels and beach bags.
Most spent the day dispersed around the
island, on the hunt for a beach that’s just
right. Everyone has a different definition of
what that means on Paros. There are sandy
beaches accessed by clifftop paths lined
with heather and buzzing with cicadas.
Beaches where children search through
rock pools, keeping their catch in plastic
buckets. Beaches whose rocks have magic
exfoliating powers when rubbed on the
skin. Beaches where teenagers play
keepy-uppy before heading out to
windsurf. Beaches with parasols and
pedalos, and beaches where there is
nothing but pebbles, the gently lapping
waves and the wide sky above.
Olivier Kindinis maintains, however,
that the very best beaches can only be
reached by boat. The owner of activity
company Paros Adventures, he has teamed
up with local skipper Ilias and his
converted fishing boat, Rofos, in a mission
to reveal the hidden coves and islands of
the Parian coastline to summer visitors.
‘I’m a city boy originally,’ says Olivier as
the Rofos eases over the crystal-clear
waters of the Blue Lagoon, its sandy
bottom clearly visible 14m down. ‘But
being by the sea, you wake with a smile on
your face.’ The boat passes Nikolas
Church, built on an islet in honour of
Paros’s fishermen, candles in its windows
doing the job of a lighthouse on dark
nights. Drawing into a sheltered bay ringed
by tall cliffs, Ilias cuts the engine. ‘If you
come to Paros and don’t go out on a boat,
you miss the whole point of it,’ says
Olivier. ‘You miss all this.’ He gestures at
the luminous water, sun bouncing off the
surface like diamonds. The only spectators
are the swifts circling above. It’s
impossible to resist diving in.Religious icons
on board the Rofos