Great Greece Beach...Aliki!

Aliki is not just any Greece beach, it has a total of three beaches. But the one that is the most used is found in the centre of the village in a small bay with a few guest pensions and homes scattered at each end. Paralia, Greek for “beach” is one of the reasons people come to stay in the village of Aliki.

Why do I, personally love this particular Greece beach? Let me show you. An alternative to taking my scooter to the market is the beach route. I remember when living in Ireland it meant driving to the market town and joining the never ending mad scramble to find a parking spot.

Well, here in Aliki, I just slowly saunter along the sandy beach, sometimes wading in the water, sometimes not; picking up interesting coloured stones or shells to shove into my pockets!

I pass several tavernas, some with tables and chairs on the sand, or in one instance, actually on a little quay built out into the water, which is very romantic for night time dining! At the centre of this Greece beach is a very small park with a kiosk that sells sweets and ices, cigarettes and crisps. It is open during all hours of the day and night.

The little park also accommodates the one and only bus stop. Here also are children of all ages, playing on the swings. Small kiddies during the day, young and hopeful teens in the early evening! If I were to turn left onto a little used road taking you out of Aliki to the South, I will find the new pharmacy and the butcher.

But let’s turn right and go around the corner at the park and continue walking to the end of the bay. Along this side is the mini market, a tourist agency and scooter rental/gift shop and more tavernas.

The mini market does not like anything larger than a 20 Euro note, so you can see, we think small here even though as a community Aliki is big in heart!

If my journey is taken in the early morning, the main fishing quay will be busy with the local fishermen selling their fish straight off their little “caciques” or small fishing boats! This is where I like to sit a moment and just look out to sea. If the wind is blowing, (and it often is), then there are white caps further out in the deep blue, but in the bay itself, it is more protected.

Here the water is shallow and crystal clear so that you can actually see the ripples of sand on the bottom and the schools of fish swimming along. The colour is several shades of blue and aquamarine and the sun makes the ripples sparkle and glisten like many faceted jewels, forcing me to wear my sunglasses.

At any time there are children of all ages, who seem to never tire of building sand castles, splashing and jumping, pestering parents, learning to snorkel and crying when time to go home. Walking further out along the beach, I see olive trees and goats in fields. I could convince myself that I am living in Biblical times because the Cycladic architecture has a Middle Eastern feel to it, rather than typical Mediterranean, and seems ageless.

Life changes very slowly here in many ways, but really that is the charm of it all. As you can see, the beach is pure joy for me and I like to make it last as long as I can. Who needs drugs? I can get high by just going to market along the paralia!

Aliki, Paros, this Greece Beach article is written by Karin Shepherd of Paros Paradise.