Our captain moored the boat approximately 250 metres off the coast of Paros. Along the beach were a couple of olive trees and a stone wall that wound its way from the shoreline slightly inland to the 2,500-year-old temple of Apollo. As I drank in the scenery, our hostess Maria handed me a glass of cold, dry rosé from Paros’ own Moraitis Winery (Epar. Od. Naoussas-Marpissas, Naousa, Paros). It was the first stop on the first day of a week-long trip to the Greek Island of Paros, and it tasted perfect.
We were a group of 10 friends, all gay Canadians, travelling together. We had decided to explore the island on our first full day of our Greek holiday by taking out an exclusive charter with a local company called Blue Lagoon. We had the 50-foot sailboat to ourselves, apart from the captain and Maria. As we plied the deep blue Aegean waters, I was delighted to discover that Paros was living up to its reputation as one of Greece’s hidden gems. The dusty, rocky landscape is dotted with the white houses and their indigo blue casements, typical of the Cyclades. Then there was the food, including fresh Greek salads and grilled octopus, and the fact that we all felt totally comfortable and welcomed as LGBTQ+ travellers.
Four members of our group were celebrating milestone birthdays in 2023 and we wanted to go somewhere different but comfortable, a little off the beaten path, gay-friendly and not too expensive. Greek islands like Santorini and gay party destination Mykonos felt prohibitively pricey as crowds have been surging back to these perennial favourites post-COVID. Paros came recommended by a travel agent friend who specializes in Greece. He told us we could have that once in a lifetime experience without breaking the bank. When we started shopping around, we found villas that could accommodate our group of 10 on Mykonos, but they were more than triple the cost of the Paros villa we ended up staying in. (Though Paros was hot and dry at the time this article was published, it had not been directly affected by the fires in Greece.)
And our villa, one of a group of luxury villas run by Amalgam Homes, all of them a 10-minute drive from the town of Naousa, was stunning. Located at the top of a hill overlooking the ocean, it was modern with a nod to traditional Greek architecture and perfectly fit our group. While everyone had their own bedroom and ensuite bathroom, we shared an infinity pool with a lounging area, an outdoor dining area and an indoor living room with huge windows overlooking the bay. A ginger cat named Chloe came with the place. We threw ourselves a collective birthday one night, bringing in two local chefs to cook for us. After the meal, we partied around the pool under a canopy of stars until the wee hours. We had elected to make it a white party so we were all decked out in our finest, except for one friend who claimed not to own any white clothes. To his credit he quickly improvised by wrapping himself in his bed sheet. Toga!
On a couple of trips to Naousa, a fishing village with fewer than 3,000 permanent residents, we discovered maze-like winding alleyways of white buildings draped in bougainvillea—reminiscent of the town of Mykonos, minus the cruise-ship crowds. Around the small harbour are a dozen or so tavernas and restaurants offering typical Greek fare and fantastic views of the sunken fort in the harbour and the surrounding town.
Naousa is also home to Jordi The Bar, Paros’ first gay bar, which opened in the summer of 2022. A few of us ventured there one night and caught a drag show that was kicking off their second peak season. It had a fairly large outside patio and smaller interior, but the highlight was the staff, funky and fun, they genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves while the resident queen channelled her best Beyoncé. The owner Alex, who winters in Athens, told us that locals in Paros have welcomed the LGBTQ+ community with open arms. It was a small but chatty crowd, a handful of British and Brazilian tourists and some locals popping in for a cocktail while watching the show. Alex told us that in July and August, the place is packed.
At the end of the week, when we tallied our grocery bills, took stock of the empty wine bottles and returned our rental cars, I was a little worried that we may have gone over budget. However, we realized that if we took the cost of the overseas flight out of the equation, we would have spent more money if we had checked into a hotel and vacationed in downtown Toronto for the week.
I thought back to our boat gliding towards port that first day and how I checked with Maria, “Three minutes until we dock? Just enough time for a titch more rosé, please?” She smiled and obligingly filled my glass. “You boys are having fun in Paros.” She was right.
