Lisa's life (Part 2): Windsurfing, panigiri, good food and a tow-in victory on Naxos
After a long van journey from the Canary Islands to the Aegean, Lisa finally reaches her destination: the Cyclades. In her second part of "Lisa's life" she takes us to Paros and Naxos - two islands that not only boast turquoise waters and Greek joie de vivre, but also offer the perfect conditions for learning new freestyle tricks. Between panigiri, homemade fava and sessions in the lagoon, Lisa experiences a summer full of movement, encounters and little adventures - including a tow-in victory, speeding ticket drama and plenty of good vibes.
Text: Lisa Kloster
Finally arrived in Greece
After finally arriving in Greece after the long journey by van from the Canary Islands to the Cyclades, I needed a few days to wind down. After the dusty, windy summer in the Canary Islands, Paros was somehow softer: whitewashed houses, small villages between olive groves and fig trees, goats by the roadside and the typical Greek light that colours the landscape golden while the sea glows turquoise.
You wake up, open the sliding door and stand with your toes in the sand.
My van was parked right on the beach at Punta for a few days. For many windsurfers, New Golden Beach is perhaps the better-known spot, but Punta got me straight away. Yes, there are a lot of kiters there, but you're practically standing on the beach with the van. You wake up, open the sliding door and stand with your toes in the sand. Plus, the wind here comes from the right, which is perfect if you do shakas on starboard tack (like me). The chop is small and not at all annoying in lighter winds. In New Golden Beach, on the other hand, the wind comes from the left and the chop is bigger. On the other hand, you have a view of Naxos and the wind is a bit stronger. That's why I travelled back and forth between these two spots depending on the forecast wind strength (about 30 minutes). The days quickly fell into a rhythm: doing laptop stuff in the morning (before it got too hot), going windsurfing and swimming in the afternoon and cooking something Greek in the evening. Here's a little recommendation: fava - a dip made from flat peas topped with capers and onions. Greek cuisine is not one of the best in the world for nothing. And then there was this highlight: a panigiri.
Lots of dancing and: "You can't do anything wrong!"
A few friends had said that one of the best panigiria takes place in the village of Marpissa. To be honest, I didn't know exactly what to expect and was suddenly standing in the middle of a square full of tables, music and people dancing in a circle. A village festival, somewhere between tradition and exuberant joie de vivre. At first I was really scared of messing up my steps during the dance, but everyone just laughed and said: "Nobody will notice! You can't do anything wrong!" And they were right. After a few rounds, I got the rhythm down, tripped over my own feet again and again, but nobody minded. I was very pleasantly surprised by this open-air Greek music festival: nobody was overly drunk or behaved strangely, all age groups (yes, even children) were simply there to have fun together. The joie de vivre of the Greeks is simply unbeatable!
A village festival, somewhere between tradition and exuberant joie de vivre.
From Paros to Naxos - new island, new chapter
After about two weeks, the forecast for Naxos was really good - and as the crossing only takes 45 minutes, it was clear: over there! Perfectly timed for the small mini-competition "Cash for Tricks" in Laguna Beach Park. Relaxed, informal, but with a really good atmosphere. Everyone was allowed to ride, and for every successful move there was a bit of prize money in cash. Thanks to Stam Promponas (top freestyler and owner of the surf school) for this format. It was so cool to see so many motivated kids on the water!
The first few weeks on Naxos were simply super windy! So much so that at some point I was even happy to have a day off. I was totally stoked! In the lagoon, you really do learn new tricks three times as quickly as at other, choppier spots. And then it just happened: I landed my first kabikuchis! It's a pretty technical trick and, if you ask me, one of the most stylish ever. The Kiel freestyle troupe around Shorty (aka Leon Struppek), Foivos, Cynthia and Alina were on the island at the time. Finally some reinforcements from Germany after weeks of listening to Greek. Shorty said before the session: "With the kabi, don't just pull the sail tight, but also backwards and down!" (of course, it's easier to understand by demonstration than in words). I went out on the water and less than five minutes later I had the first one. I shouted so loudly that Shorty just said: "Huh, was that your first? Have you never done that before?" No - I hadn't! I landed two in the same session.
Naxos away from windsurfing
But enough windsurfing tech talk for now. When there was no wind, we still had plenty to do: skating in Stam's small in-house mini skate park at sunset, picking olives, cliff jumping or a short hike to a waterfall.
This short hike is highly recommended: it starts in Keramoti, a tiny village that is probably the most beautiful I've ever seen: white houses, narrow alleyways, vines over the roofs and a mini oil museum. From there, a small path led past goats and with a view down into the valley, where the olive trees stand, to the waterfall. Admittedly: There wasn't a lot of water falling (it had hardly rained), but you could still take a dip in the small pool below. When we arrived at the waterfall, we actually wanted to jump straight into the water. But just as we arrived, a 1.5 metre long snake swam right through the pool. At first, of course, we panicked and took a step backwards and were a bit scared. But a few minutes later I was convinced that it was probably more afraid of our arse bombs than we were of it. So: get in there! The first time we jumped into the water, we were out again after 3 seconds. As the snake didn't come out again during this manoeuvre, we were sure that the snake wouldn't reappear. Fortunately, it did - we didn't see it again afterwards, even though the pool was no more than four by three metres in size.
Spotguide Naxos
If you want to go to Naxos yourself, the Laguna Beach Park is perfect for freestyle, freeriders and beginners, especially in northerly winds. The water is beautifully smooth and almost every day you can marvel at one of those sunsets where the light is orange on the lagoon and the entire landscape and the boards glisten in the water.
If there was no wind in the lagoon, we would sometimes head to the east coast - via Azalas, near the small church of Agios Dimitrios (just enter it in Maps). There is often much more wind there, usually for 4.4 sails, but beware: the last 15 minutes of the approach are only narrow gravel paths. Tip for anyone with a sweet tooth: On the way back, be sure to stop in the small village of Chalkio, where, according to Alina (Foivos' girlfriend), the best orange cake on the island is sold: Portokalopita is the name of the masterpiece.
For most of August and September there was a strong northerly wind in the lagoon every day, then unfortunately less so in October. Local Lennart Neubauer has often said that October is actually the best month. I realise that the wind can switch to winter mode from October onwards. Instead of constant Meltemi from the north, we then have alternating north and south winds. We were once in Agiassos for south wind, with onshore to side-on waves, really cool. Plaka (closer to the lagoon) can also work well with south and south-westerly winds. In the lagoon itself, the southerly wind is rather gusty, but the water is super flat. Unfortunately, the south wind was never as strong as the north wind in my time. There were a lot of 4.8 days, whereas last year in October the 4.0s were probably rigged almost every day - we were probably just a bit unlucky.
The traffic ticket terror
Of course, it wouldn't be a real windsurfing summer without at least a little chaos. In my case, it was a parking ticket ... and what a ticket it was. One evening, after the session, we were still standing outside the surf school at Laguna Beach Park when suddenly there was a knock at the door: police. Apparently someone had called them. Not only did they take our personal details, they also handed out parking tickets for 300 euros per car (there were three of us, each with our own van). The charge: "Parking in a nature reserve". We then had to sign this ticket, which was written entirely in Greek, right there and then. But luckily we had a Greek among us who spoke to the officers and then explained to us that we could lodge an objection at the police station within the next 3 days.
The next day was Sunday and we went to find out more. According to the locals, it wasn't a nature reserve at all, which we could also see on the maps - the actual protected area only covers the large lagoon. However, the locals said: "Don't go and say it's not a nature reserve. Otherwise they'll just invent a new reason to protect their policeman." So we wrote a polite objection in Greek: that we were only here for the competition, hadn't seen any signs and didn't intend to do anything illegal (a little longer, of course). Two weeks of anxiety later came the relief: the penalty was dropped. Phew!
And anyone wondering what the situation is with free standing in Greece: At the beginning of the year new rules have been introduced that severely restrict the free overnight parking of motorhomes in public areas. There are clear limits, especially on beaches, in forests or in populated areas (you are often only allowed to park for a maximum of 24 hours). In practice, however, I have heard that it depends very much on the region as to how strict the controls are. Fortunately, small campsites are really cheap in the low season. So if you want to avoid stress, it's easy to park there.
It's not a real windsurfing summer without at least a little chaos.
The Freestyle Pro Tour (FPT) event on Naxos
As soon as the speeding ticket drama was over, the next highlight was on the agenda: the FPT contest on Naxos. I was really happy to finally see all my friends again and to be able to show off what I had learnt! Spending time with the other freestyle girls is always a highlight. At the start were Maaike Huvermann, Elena Dominick, Ziva Batis, Bianca Sottile, Holly Halm and Linda Mankova.
Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite play ball - lots of rain, hardly any wind. But there was a small tow-in competition. The principle: a jet ski pulls you along with a rope, a boat drives across, creates a small wave and you perform your tricks. It's a completely different feeling to normal windsurfing. You don't have any real wind pressure in the sail, just the airstream. The angle is different, as is the balance: you have to time everything perfectly. You can hardly practise tow-in, you learn in the middle of a competition, so to speak. And although it's really difficult and not entirely safe the first time, many people did really well! I also dared to try a few new tricks and was able to celebrate my first tow-in victory in the end! That was a great feeling, especially as I'm usually more of a strong wind type. But of course I always prefer this kind of tow-in action to no action at all.
The remaining days consisted of lots of quality time, going to restaurants together and, of course, the after-prize-giving party, which started at six in the evening. After three hours of dancing, I was in bed by half past nine - sounds like a granny move, but hey: I'm just an early sleeper.
I dared to try a few new tricks and was able to celebrate my first tow-in victory in the end.
Outlook
It gets really lonely on Naxos in winter. Everyone goes to the islands in summer, but in winter there's really no-one there apart from a few locals. I never thought it would be so empty and everything would close. On the day when even the ice cream parlours were closed, I went back to the mainland. The winter snow has been ordered and the winter storms can come. I don't have an exact plan yet, but the main thing is wind, good friends and a van that works - the rest will follow.
If you ever need trick tips or simply travelling tips, please write to me at Instagram! I'm always happy to see new faces on the water - especially motivated freestylers and of course the girls crew.
