Beach, beauty and cats, those are the first words that come to mind when I think of Paros, Greece.
My Favorite Things
I was on the island for 4 days and soaked up every minute. The stone streets were lined with classic blue and white Greek buildings and vibrant flowers were everywhere. There were a ton of stray cats, but they were fed well by the locals and were very friendly. I even coaxed some kittens to play with me on the beach! Of course, the food was to die for, so much good seafood and gyros. And I was able to go to the beach 3 out of the 4 days (I couldn’t go the last day because I got a tattoo 🙂 ).
The Tattoo
On the 4 hour ferry ride to the island, I was just thinking and realized how much I had fallen in love with Greece. I had contemplated getting a tattoo at some point on this trip and knew I wanted to get it there.
Agape is a greek word for love. Instead of having one word, like in English, they have different words for different types of love, so “I love pizza” and “I love my sister” would have two different words. Agape is the highest form of divine love. It’s unconditional and often used in Christianity to describe God’s love. I thought it was perfect. I wanted to get the word, in Greek, on my wrist.
I have already grown so much throughout this trip, but it was during Greece that I really started to love being alone. It was rough when my family first left in Italy, but since then I have embraced this adventure more than I thought was possible and I’m eager to see the journey continue. I can’t really put it into words, but this has become the best time of my life and I wanted something to remember it forever. Plus, being alone and in such a beautiful place constantly reminded me of the love that God has for me and this world. So for all those reasons and many more, I got my second tattoo in Paros, Greece.
The Boat
My favorite day in Paros consisted of a 7 hour boat tour. I became friends with 8 other girls on the boat and we had a blast. We stopped at 4 swimming spots including a cliff jumping sight, which I participated in. Honestly, getting up the cliff and getting ready to jump were not the scariest part. Once I got up there, I just jumped without thinking, but as soon as my feet left the ledge and I started falling, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. That adrenaline lasted me the rest of the day but it was definitely worth it.
For lunch, they served what I think was my favorite meal of the whole trip. There were grilled chicken kabobs, grilled fish, salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and feta cheese, pasta salad, and a creamy coleslaw. It might be the healthiest meal I’ve ever eaten and it was so fresh and delicious, perfect for a day out at sea.
The waters we swam in were probably the clearest and bluest I will ever see in my life. even when it was deep, you could see to the bottom, which I appreciated since I’m not a fan of the ocean when I can’t see what’s below me.
Overall
I wish I could have explored more of Paros, but since I’m too young to rent a car and am on a strict budget, I just stayed in the little town on the ocean (no complaints thought). I definitely want to go back to Greece to explore more islands and I am already looking up Greek recipes to make at home. Paros will forever have my heart and I cannot believe all the memories I made there in just four days.