Paros was a blessing after Santorini. A few hundred tourists got off the ferry with us, but the island was bigger than any we’d been to, so it absorbed us all more easily. The locals were more relaxed (not as exhausted) and our hotel was right on the beach.

We were welcomed by a beautiful sunset lighting up a windmill, and enjoyed a calm walk along the beach to reach our hotel, checking all the menus along the way, choosing where we’d eat for the next few nights.

We spent the first day discovering the picturesque town of Lefkes in the hills in the centre of the island, and chatting with one of the shopkeepers who had moved their from the mainland. He was on a mission to save the cats, which were everywhere, from being poisoned by a vicious local. It had been going on for a couple of years, and he had photos of all the cats that had been killed, and only that morning had added another and was trying to get the owner to put a statement in to the police. We have noticed a lack of dogs on the entire trip, but there are cats everywhere. Apparently they suffer out of the tourist season because many of them are strays and only get fed by tourists.

Our day was so enjoyable that we decided to extend our time on Paros to four nights at the expense of a shorter stay in Athens. We spent the rest of the time cycling to Naussa, lazing on the beach and wandering the streets of Parikia, the main port, and it was sad to leave the island on our final day.