Day 5 - Parga

This was a rest day starting with breakfast around the pool – bread very hard to beat. Cynthia beat everyone to the punch and had a dip before breakfast. Over breakfast there were some interesting exchanges about the rooms. The hotel is very centrally located and the couple who own it are very obliging, particularly with their late night bar service, and all the rooms are slightly different with their facilities and have very innovative plumbing systems of varied varieties. Margaret had the most trouble with getting a sheet caught in the fan and ending up in a “shower-curtain” straight jacket. Some of the showers have dashboards resembling aircraft control panels so it wasn’t surprising that Anthony (a Virgin pilot in the true sense) was the only one able to either shower efficiently or to not flood the bathroom. Dick settled for an ocean swim and a sponge and now wonders why people don’t want to sit next to him!

Port of Parga

Nearly everyone visited the little beach, some five minutes from our Hotel Paradise, and had their first swim in the Ionian Sea – beautiful clear and calm turquoise water. The only trick is the first 10 metres while walking over pebbles but when we get to Corfu we’ll be buying “swimming sandals” which overcomes the entry and egress problems.  

Gordon and Sue did the whole of Parga in one day, walking up to the fort and over to the longer beach and taking a mini train to the castle on the mountains behind – great tourists this couple; they suss everything out so quickly.  As do Geoff and and Judy – anyone with laundry problems only had to contact Geoff to find out where to go and when to expect the clothes back.

There was one unsavoury incident during the day when accident-prone Margaret knocked over a shelf of alcohol while reaching for a mini bottle of ouzo in a supermarket. One bottle nearly severed one of her toes but she squared off with the proprietor, George, by saying she’d go to his daughter’s taverna and bring a large group with her. She is not allowed out anymore without a minder.

The hard working Jane and Jan testing out the cocktails before the evening meal!

The highlight of the day was the evening meal at the Kastro taverna which was in the highest beachside building situated next to the base of the fortress. It was another alfresco experience looking down on the beautiful port which is guarded by a large rock on which sits an old white church. Photos were taken at 8-00pm in the daylight and even more spectacular ones at about 9-30 when the lights dominated the panorama. The walk up featured the usual Greek steps but by now we are conditioned and taking these in our stride, so to speak. In any case the walk was by no means boring as there were little shops and stalls and locals sitting outside their flats with their pets all the way up.

Parga by Night

Fantastic position, fantastic night

With the occasional ice-cream on the way it was back to the Paradise bar for a night cap and a sound night’s sleep before our first nautical experience the next day.