Over the years I have found so much that can be done better on Paros.  Imbibing wine and eating urchins are two that come to mind right away.  Another common refrain is that it is so easy to relax on Paros no matter what activity you are indulging in.  I have attributed this to Paros's famous marble; perhaps the whole island is a giant underground crystal with healing properties.  This leads me to the subject of yoga workshops which have been popular on Paros.

So this September we will team with certified yoga instructor Bram Levinson from Montreal, Canada to host a 10 day yoga workshop on Paros.  Bram tells about it from the yoga perspective on his blog with more facts on his web site.


From my perspective the emphasis will be on the food, drink and resort accommodations at Margarita Studios in Ambelas with side trips to other island culinary hot spots such as Magaya and the Aliki sea front.  September is the absolutely best month to enjoy Paros.  Join us, won't you?

Have I got a deal for you!  This book is $15.95 in the printed edition on Amazon and $6.99 in the Kindle edition.  You, my friend, can get it from me for free.

In One Year Lived by Adam Shepard (no relation)  you will meet a young man who has crammed into one year:  around the world travel with fantastic adventure, fulfilling his sophomoric bucket list, helping with volunteer projects, meeting and marrying the woman of his dreams, personal enrichment and gathering material for a career of writing and speaking.  It is told in a young, casual style as if he were telling a funny story to friends at a local watering hole.

I recommend this book for the same reason that I publish personalized travel guides:  not so the reader can repeat the same journey, rather to serve as a stimulus to chose your own course and pursue it with confidence you can leap over, or at least get around, the inevitable hurdles.

To receive your free PDF just comment on this post as to why you are interested in reading this book --and include your email address or email to me:  paroshep at gmail    Or if you would prefer to contribute to Adam and to me buy the book from Amazon.

                                                            
                                           North America                               Europe

Antiparos made the news headlines in a good way last month with a new high quality olive oil product.  The announcement is buried in several organisational levels so it is difficult to know just who or what is involved.  But the idea is that olives grown on Antiparos are processed on Antiparos into high value extra virgin olive oil that is sold world wide.  Also a portion of the proceeds will be contributed to the Greek America Foundation's Greek Legacy Scholarship to bring young Greek Americans to Greece.  Learn more at this web site:  ReinspireGreece.com



Here's a fun holiday activity:  dog walking!  Vicki Preston of Paros Life has put out this announcement:

PAROS: CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS...
can you spare just a couple of hours once per month?

We need 31 volunteers - one for each day of the month - to help with the dog walking at the shelter. If you can spare a couple of hours a month (and of course you can offer to do more than this if you'd like to), please add your name to the schedule here.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/Paroslife/doc/501070253262290/  

Cape Fanos

I recently discovered that I have not written a blog post about Paros walking, hiking, trekking  including running or bicycling.  I am guessing this is because I know of only one marked or designated trail, the Byzantine between Lefkas and Podromos.  Yet there are countless places to move around the island without being propelled by a motor.

Last month I received this query: "Please could you give me some self-guided walks (easy) from Parikia, which are interesting, reasonably short – under 3 hours."
Here is my response:

Use private gates on public paths

The point being that most of the back roads are quite safe for walking and pedaling due to little traffic.  Plus there are plentiful informal trails along the coast.  Beaches are public.  Just do it--as long as you have a better quality map than the numerous free ones.

For those who like a little more structure take a look at the EveryTrail.com site.  They have several entries for Paros.  Also I would be happy to have comments about other walks you know or like or to try and answer specific questions about specific locations.

While construction continues on the new Paros airport yet another regional airline announces new flights to Greece.  Now the Italians, who have been coming to Paros in increasing numbers over the past few years, have direct flights between Mykonos and Venice, Naples and Bari and between Santorini and Venice, Naples, Bari and Palermo.  Of course, both islands are just a quick and easy ferry ride from Paros.  More at Volotea.com

Thanks to Stella at Margarita's for this news alert.  She is the chef for our Greek taverna cooking classes

By the way, bookings are coming in for our private villa rentals so for the best selection you had best make your choices now at Paros villas  2013 looks to be a good year for Greece tourism.  Join in!