Images: Marco Polo - the First of Many Jersey Tiger Moths to Come in Butterfly Valley; SL at Beach with Naxos in the Background; SL in Lefkes: Lefkes.We woke to the crisp, clean scent, of a Greek island scrubbed clean by yesterday's storm. The whole island had been splashed with green, giving the hills an emerald haze that shone in the morning sun.
To make up for yesterday's aborted travels, we decided to circumnavigate the island, starting out with the Valley of the Butterflies.
The Valley of the Butterflies, or “Petaloudes”, is so named because every year, millions of Jersey Tiger Moths descend on the valley and literally coat the leaves of the trees with their camouflaged wings. It was too early to see the migration, but we did manage to see the beautiful foliage, and Marco Polo the Moth. - (I called him this because he was the leader or vanguard of the millions to come!)
We then hopped back on the bike to drive the coastline, eventually stopping for lunch in a beautiful taverna overlooking the bay between Paros and Naxos.
Our drive took us to Lefkes, the highest village on Paros, and it seemed to be frozen in a time long past, with narrow cobblestone paths painted white between the blue and white houses, overrun with bougainvillea.
That night, we had our final dinner in Paros, each trying the whole sea-bass. We also braved our first glass of ouzo! It really wasn't as bad as I remembered it – the licorice taste was not as strong as I thought it would be. Truth be told, I don't remember a whole hell of a lot about the last time I had ouzo, except that it was more than just one..........
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Paros and get on the ferry to Santorini.
To make up for yesterday's aborted travels, we decided to circumnavigate the island, starting out with the Valley of the Butterflies.
The Valley of the Butterflies, or “Petaloudes”, is so named because every year, millions of Jersey Tiger Moths descend on the valley and literally coat the leaves of the trees with their camouflaged wings. It was too early to see the migration, but we did manage to see the beautiful foliage, and Marco Polo the Moth. - (I called him this because he was the leader or vanguard of the millions to come!)
We then hopped back on the bike to drive the coastline, eventually stopping for lunch in a beautiful taverna overlooking the bay between Paros and Naxos.
Our drive took us to Lefkes, the highest village on Paros, and it seemed to be frozen in a time long past, with narrow cobblestone paths painted white between the blue and white houses, overrun with bougainvillea.
That night, we had our final dinner in Paros, each trying the whole sea-bass. We also braved our first glass of ouzo! It really wasn't as bad as I remembered it – the licorice taste was not as strong as I thought it would be. Truth be told, I don't remember a whole hell of a lot about the last time I had ouzo, except that it was more than just one..........
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Paros and get on the ferry to Santorini.
I'm not sure you can circumnavigate an island ashore, but it sounds wonderful nevertheless.
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