"We're going in circles!"

So basically starting off on the group hike today around the island of Paros we felt like we were in Lord of the Rings. We took a bus to the base of some mountains, and it turned out to be more of a hike than we all bargained for. It required scaling along boulders and jumping over water..all of which was slightly more difficult with a digital camera strapped around my neck. But it was worth it.

By the time we reached the top, the wind was in full force and the view was INCREDIBLE! We were at what was called the Mycenaen Acropolis and while there was not much left of the buildings that existed 3000 years ago, we could still see stacked stone remnants of what used to be and imagine those who used to call that place home.

The way down was an easier treck, with a lighter slope and more stair like stones to ease our way down. One of my favorite parts of this trip has been seeing all the different types of landscape and geography here. From the beach to mountains to giant fields of grass and wildflowers mixed with little stone walls, this place has it all. I'm not sure what I exactly pictured feeling when I looked at pictures of Paros and Greece before, but now that I'm experiencing it, it has a unique feeling attached to it that I never could have anticipated.

Our next stop was a beach called Kolimbithres, which had giant rocks quite different to the ones we had just climbed on. They almost looked fake because of the color and texture, like giant rock pillows.
Next was a short bus ride to Naussa, which I fell in love with. Granted all the little towns we visited around the island looked fairly deserted, Naussa had a certain charm to it's little fishing village that was different than where we've been staying in Parokia. The harbor where we were was called Barbarossa named after a pirate that was hired to look out for the Venetian fleet.
We walked across a little strip to an old watchtower (trying to time it right to avoid being splashed by the waves) and there was only one casualty in this process: my camera's lens cap, which bounced out of my reach and slow motion landed in the water and sank quicker than I could grab it (Linds if you're reading this I thought of you and your longboard incidents as soon as it happened).
Inside the watchtower were little tunnels in a circle for what would have been their cannons, a waving greek flag at the top, and some little stairs leading to the top rim of the watchtower.

After stopping for lunch we headed to the little towns of Marpissa and Piso Livadi (which means in front of the water?) and beaches to walk around and take pictures or get something warm to drink (or in my case a Strawberry Milkshake). Each of the stops held something special and different about that place from the other ones we had seen, a different feel. But as much as I enjoyed all our stops I was getting pretty tired from our full day's adventure, not to mention cold, and enjoyed the little breaks of sitting on the warm bus.
Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery after Naussa but luckily I was able to take some pictures on my IPod that I happened to bring with me.

 

These are called the Devil's flower, believed by the ancient Greeks to be from the underworld

Insert Lion King music here 

 

Kolimbithres beach

Yes, those are real rocks

Naussa

Where we went for lunch in Marpissa..barbecue chicken and yummy bread! Perfect on a cold day

Sign in Marpissa..done before we got there:)

 

 

Phoebe's treasures

Milkshakes..found!