During my first few days on the beautiful island of Paros, I’ve quickly grown accustomed to the culture. There wasn’t as much culture shock for me as I thought there would be. Even though most of the people speak Greek to each other, they are quite considerate to the ones of us who don’t. The people of Paros seem to be relaxed most of the time. They have a tendency to stick around and chat with family or friends.
As a gear head, I quickly noticed that there aren’t many high tech cars around Paros. The cars appear older and many are box-shaped. Bikes are often used to travel, both manual and scooters. There is also a surprising amount of quads around the beach. It would be exciting to rent a bike or quad to ride around town on. As we ended our first tour, I noticed a bike hidden around the corner in what looked to be a carport. The bike caught my eye because of the contrast between a white building and a black bike. It only added to my desire to ride one while on Paros.
Today, we took a short walk from our hotel to the Temple of Asklepion. Much of the temple has been destroyed or deteriorated over time. The remnants of this temple will be the landmark that my group is documenting. While investigating the ruins, I observed numerous snail shells stuck to the marble and rocks. I wasn’t quite sure why snails would adhere to these stones, but it was the most abundant amount of snails I’ve seen around Paros.
I feel very blessed to be able to visit this island and document all of the history that we will visit. I’m excited to see what else we discover and learn about this country. With such an intelligent and humble group, we’ll create memories of a lifetime.
Written by Meg Hallam