Monday--January 31--Rhodes, Greece

Monday--January 31--Rhodes, Greece

I had a pretty good sleep.  They have cozy comforters at this hotel and a TV that has the BBC news.  At least it’s something in English.  Too much about Egypt.  

I come down for breakfast and I can tell you it was horrible. Stale rolls and several different sweet cakes even baklava were the options.  Who eats Baklava for breakfast?  Oh they had two kinds of boxed cereal and milk.  No Yogurt, is this Greece?  Hard to believe no yogurt.  No tomatoes or cucumbers either and the coffee was out of a machine.  Another downside to travel in the winter.  More info to share on Trip Advisor.    

O.k. the sun is shining.  First I need to get some laundry done.  I was told that just a few blocks away there is a laundry place.  I take my bag of laundry and walk to “The Laundry Place”.  The man tells me it will be 6 euro for the entire bag and will be ready by 5:00 p.m.  Not bad I think, fluff and fold.  Yes, I am sick of my clothes.  I’ve already decided that when I get home all these clothes are going into the trash and I still have two months to go.  

I walk into town to find the tourist office.  They have a very large one and an extremely helpful woman.  She gets maps out and starts to tell me all about what there is to see in Rhodes town and on the island.  Unfortunately it’s Monday and most everything is closed, except the Aquarium.  I also talk with her about my options for boats and other islands to visit.  When she shows me the ferry schedule I see there is only one option to get to Santorini and that is tomorrow and all the other ones to Pireus (near Athens) make 4-5 stops along the way all going back through Kos and arriving at 6:00 a.m.  I know from my experience with Johanne that getting a single cabin from Kos was 130 euro so I can’t imagine what it is from here.  I decide to investigate what the cost of flying would be.  I talk with this woman for a while and she tells me I should rent a car that it is very easy to drive around the island and many places to visit.  She tells me there are three acropolis on the island.  Given that most everything is closed today I’m thinking maybe the car isn’t a bad idea.  I ask the woman where the old city is and she directs me to walk down the street and around to the left.  

Inside the Old City of Rhodes

It’s around 10:30 when I enter one of the gates of the old city.  I’m walking and walking and yes everything is closed.  It looks like a movie set with cobble stone streets and signs for restaurants and shops.  Every now and then there is something open.  








I come upon a “square” with a nice little fountain. 

 There is an open restaurant with a few humans sitting outside.  I think I’ll have a coffee and something to eat.   I had a piece of spinach pie (spanokopeda) and a “greek” coffee.  Greek coffee is similar to Turkish coffee.  I can’t really tell what the difference is.  I learned from Johanne to ask for “medium” coffee, which is the sweetness level.  I love it.  

After my rest I continue my walk through the town and find a sign for the Jewish Synagogue.  

The front door of the synagogue

I walk down the street and find the synagogue with a note that says the synagogue is closed since November 2010 and if you want a tour to call this number.   Somehow I don’t think this is going to happen during the winter.  I go back to the main street and find a memorial to the jews who were killed in the concentration camps. 

memorial to the Jewish community of Rhodes

 I know there was a strong  Jewish community once in Rhodes but after the war there are very few left.  It’s a bit chilly and I didn’t dress properly so I decide to walk back to the hotel.

When I get close to the hotel I see a car rental office and go in to ask about the rates.  I figured if it was $100. I would do it.  She tells me it’s 30 euro for one day but 25 euro for two days.  It’s 12:30 and she tells me they will close from 2-5 so either I take it now or later.  I go back to the hotel to get my coat.  I decide I will rent the car.  What else do I have to do.  I can drive one side of the island today and the other side tomorrow and visit the sites of old Rhodes town on Wednesday.  

The car rental office is also a travel agency.  I ask the woman how much it would be to fly to Athens on Thursday.  She tells me around 88 euro.  That’s not bad but I say that I will check on the internet, thinking I can do better.

So I rent the car.  50 Euro with insurance and everything for two days.  It’s a cute little 5 speed Peugeot.  That’s manual transmission, not automatic.  At least I know how to drive a manual now.  When I was 20 and first came to Europe, Gina and I bought a van with a manual transmission and I had no clue how to drive it.  

I had a map from the tourist office and another one from the rental agency and off I went.  I could tell from the map that it would be very difficult to get lost on this island.  The only problem could be some of the roads from the storm last Friday really caused problems and I might not be able to drive on some.  I took the side of the island that had the least amount of damage first.

I went up the west side of the island.  I turn off the main road toward Filerimos.  The road gets steeping and I'm climbing a bit of a mountain.  


The first thing I see is a church and it's open so I stop to check it out.  


There is no marking in English as to what church this is.  If I could read Greek I could tell you what it was.  

inside of church

Then I continued up the mountain to the monestery at Filerimos, and surprise surprise the acropolis was closed.

Fifteen km/9mi south of Rhodes town (bus service) rises Mt Filérimos (267m/876ft; view), with the remains of the acropolis of Ialysos, one of the three ancient cities on the island. The hill was occupied by a series of strongholds from Mycenaean times (C. 1400 B.C.) onwards. In 1308 it was a base for the Knights of St John during their siege of Rhodes


As I was standing in front of the gate I hear strange noises.  I discover the noise is coming from peacocks.  

There were so many of them.  They make the oddest noise.  
I tried to photograph them but it was quite difficult.   I was able to get one.  Their feathers are so beautiful.   

Then I saw a tree lined path that looked like it led to something.  I remembered the tourist office lady told me there was an incredible view from here so I wanted to see if this was the view.  Not only is the sight closed there wasn't a sole around.  It did feel a bit strange but I think it’s o.k and start walking on the path.  Along the path there are copper plate reliefs of the story of the people who were here?  Don't really know.

At the end of the path is a huge cross and an incredible view.  I’m glad I’m the only one here no one to get in my photo. 

I walk back to the car and continue on my journey.  

Next stop Ancient Kamiros.  


As I’m winding up the road to the entrance there is a man on a scooter that makes a hand sign to me.  I’m not sure what this gesture is until I get close and realize he was trying to tell me, Yep, closed.  Wow, two for two.  I thought only the sights in the old town were closed I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the tourist office lady.  Did she tell me these sights were closed today too?  Oh well it’s nice to be out doing something and the views are incredible. 

The water and the sky are a blue you don’t see many places in the world.  I'm able to see several other islands.  I'm in the Dodecanese chain of Greece.

I get back on the main road and find the airport.  Wow, it’s a ways out of town.  I’m not sure how long it really takes to get here but it is outside of town.

I continue driving not knowing what I will find.  They is a butterfly place but of course there are no butterflies now.  I just drive.  I go through tiny villages and streets that you can’t imagine are really streets they are so narrow.  

You can’t believe how deserted this island is. However, I drive through places where I can see “in season” must be very crowded.  There are stores, car rental offices, “tourist” offices, restaurants.  Every once in a while I see something open and real people sitting outside at a cafe.  

I see a sign for Kristina’s Castle or church and go up the road.  Wow, it’s open.  

The cats are sitting in the parking lot waiting for me.  There isn’t really anything here but an old building and a marvelous view.  

Location was everything then (as it is now) and they built everything up on the hill to stay safe from the enemies. 

Entrance to Kristina's Castle

Kristina's Castle

I don’t know who this Kirstina was but she lived well.  Need to look her up.

I see on the map there is a town that is known for their “honey”.  I think I can make it there and back before dark.  I’m back on the road and so far the signs have been good to get to the places I’ve wanted to see.  

a view of Kristina's Castle further down the road

Now though I’m in a town and the direction sign  doesn’t have the name of the town I’m looking for on it.  It’s 3:30 and I don’t want to drive back in the dark.  Since I left around 1:00 and had been driving for several hours I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get back to town so I turned around.   

It was nice to drive and just stop when I wanted to to take in the views.  I’m sure it’s nice to be here when there are people.  I don’t know if I would want to live here though.

One thing Johanne asked me was what my favorite place/country is that I have visited.  

“in my life”, I ask

“yes”, she says.

I couldn't answer right away.  The more I thought about it I told her probably Australia is a place that I really enjoyed and could see living.

On my way back to town I remembered seeing a bakery that was called Vanilla and Chocolate and looked like it would be good place to get something to eat.

I stopped.  I looked in the case and asked the girl what was in the pan.  She said cheese and spinach so I said I would take one.  Turns out she gave me one of each cheese and spinach.  Oh well.  Then I said I wanted one of the twisted things that had sesame seeds on it.  She said it was sweet.  That’s o.k. I’ll have it.  I also asked if they had Greek coffee.  


"Of course we do", she said.  
She made a fresh cup for me using a bunsen burner to heat up the little tin pot that the Greeks use to make their special coffee.  She put it in a to go cup and told me to be careful while drinking it as it was very hot.  OMG.  This was the best cheese and spinach pie so far.  The twisted sweet thing was also very good but a bit too sweet for me.

I got back to town easy enough.  I only had a bit of trouble with the one way streets trying to figure out how to get the car back in front of the rental agency.  I went around the round about a few times and finally discovered the one street I had to use.

I parked the car and walked to the hotel.  

A great day.

I decide I’m going to the Finn Cafe to use their “free” wireless internet.  It’s very close and they have a outlet for a plug.  Unfortunately I brought the plug but not the converter.  I sit there until the battery on my computer is just about dead.  I can’t believe how fast the internet is here.  Something is wrong at the hotel for sure.

I’m not too hungry but I order a beer.  I figure I can’t sit here without getting something.   

Another full day.  Tomorrow the other side of the island.