Fortuna strikes again!
So I landed on Paros at about 14:00, and had successfully maneuvered to be the first one off the boat. I straightaway ran into someone pimping rooms at his guest house, and I picked one up for 55 Euros/night. I'm currently scheduled to stay here for only 2 nights and then moving on to Naxos, but since he has availability, I'm thinking of skipping Naxos and just staying here through Monday night, which is when the holiday weekend ends. I may make some calls to hotels on Naxos to see if I can't secure anything before making my final decision. Although given the seeming availability of rooms here, I may continue with my original plan and hope to get lucky once more. Decision, decisions...
After settling in, I went and rented a motorbike (well, scooter - it's a SuperCub 50) with helmet for much, much less than you could get one in Mykonos - 15 Euros per day. I got it for my initial two days here, and if it doesn't break down and I decide to stay longer, I'll probably keep it. In addition to the hugely masculinity-affirming qualities having your own transportation brings, a major benefit of the bike in its own right, this means I don't have to figure out bus schedules, and can get to many of the island's historical attractions and 35 beaches whenever I feel like it. Plus, I miss my bike in Hanoi, not this one holds a candle to it. As I say to G whenever I rent a car, it's good to be driving again.
Once I got the bike, I went straight to some beach about 15 min south of the main town, whose name I'll remember eventually. According to my new landlord, Paros doesn't have those annoying pebbly beaches that Mykonos does, and this was borne out by the beach I went to, whose name I won't remember eventually, except that it began with a P. As does the name of this town. Anyway, possibly due to the wind I mentioned earlier, the surf was up. Some decent bodysurfing rides later, I decided to head back into town to find this internet cafe, since I need to check in with my travel agency on Santorini accommodations. Unfortunately, still no joy, other than the initial, expensive option. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon.
After settling in, I went and rented a motorbike (well, scooter - it's a SuperCub 50) with helmet for much, much less than you could get one in Mykonos - 15 Euros per day. I got it for my initial two days here, and if it doesn't break down and I decide to stay longer, I'll probably keep it. In addition to the hugely masculinity-affirming qualities having your own transportation brings, a major benefit of the bike in its own right, this means I don't have to figure out bus schedules, and can get to many of the island's historical attractions and 35 beaches whenever I feel like it. Plus, I miss my bike in Hanoi, not this one holds a candle to it. As I say to G whenever I rent a car, it's good to be driving again.
Once I got the bike, I went straight to some beach about 15 min south of the main town, whose name I'll remember eventually. According to my new landlord, Paros doesn't have those annoying pebbly beaches that Mykonos does, and this was borne out by the beach I went to, whose name I won't remember eventually, except that it began with a P. As does the name of this town. Anyway, possibly due to the wind I mentioned earlier, the surf was up. Some decent bodysurfing rides later, I decided to head back into town to find this internet cafe, since I need to check in with my travel agency on Santorini accommodations. Unfortunately, still no joy, other than the initial, expensive option. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon.