Day 17: Parikia Again

Tuesday 5th July 2022

Skipping the Morning Gym

I woke up to my alarm at 7:15, but quickly decided that I didn’t want to train first thing in the morning – I’d much preferred the late afternoon workout yesterday, so I chose to make that my regular slot. Decision made, I had breakfast in my room again then decided to hit the beach before doing some work later in the morning. Once again, I had no coffee in my room so I grabbed a takeaway freddo espresso from the Oasis cafe downstairs (€2.30 so even cheaper than Ragoussis bakery) on my way out. I also packed my laptop in my rucksack so that I could work outside of the hotel in more social surroundings.

Tango Mar Lunch

In an effort to try new places, I avoided Onar cafe and chose to have lunch at the nearby Tango Mar taverna instead. It’s a popular place with lots of sunbeds outside and a large, sheltered seating area for dining. It wasn’t much after midday, so the restaurant was fairly quiet and I had my pick of tables. I ordered a large beer and a chicken club sandwich, then grabbed my laptop and caught up on some work while I waited for the food to arrive.

The meal was good, if a little more expensive than Onar (€10 for the sandwich instead of €6, though it did come with chicken so that’s to be expected I guess). I spent another hour or so working, then headed back to my original spot at the beach near the volleyball court to sunbathe and swim.

Work and Gym

Once I’d had enough of the beach (for today, anyway), I headed back to the hotel, stopping at the supermarket on the way to get more breakfast bits. I checked to see if they had any more protein shakes, but they were still sold out. I asked at the checkout when they might get some more and was told they were due a delivery the next morning.

Back at the hotel, I had a shower to get rid of the salt water and sand, then did some more work for an hour or so before getting ready to hit the gym. I grabbed another coffee from Oasis on the way and had a really good workout for 75-minutes – it definitely helped to leave the session until later in the day.

Time for Chinese Food

I had a bit of a craving for Chinese food, so on my return to the hotel, I asked the receptionist if she knew of any good Asian restaurants in the area. She suggested a place called Nami which, when I checked on the map, was further south past the gym about 15-20 minutes walk away. I said thanks and went back to my room to shower and change. As I was checking the directions, I noticed there was another Asian restaurant marked on the map called Katy’s & Rudy’s that was in a similar direction, but before the gym so it was much closer. It got good reviews so I decided I would try there instead.

When I arrived, however, it was closed with a sign outside saying that they were shut due to personal circumstances – maybe the people at the hotel knew this which is why they didn’t mention it to me. Fortunately, I was halfway towards Nami so I carried on south, past the gym and onto the main road where the restaurant was located. It’s quite a small venue and I hadn’t booked, but fortunately, there were several tables free so I got seated and set about deciding what to eat.

The view from the restaurant was excellent and the food was just as good: I had pork & vegetable spring rolls to start, followed by sweet and sour chicken and a glass of white wine. I went over my daily food budget a little, but it was worth it for a tasty meal and something different.

Evening Photography

I’d brought my main camera out with me, intending to take some photos of Parikia on the way to/from dinner. Here’s a selection of my favourites from the evening: