Sunday--January 30-Kos, Greece

Sunday--January 30--KOS, Greece

I didn’t sleep so well.  I was cold even with the two blankets on the bed.

I went downstairs for breakfast and found Johanne.  She told me she hadn’t come downstairs last night because she was able to get internet in her room.  O.k. so she paid less, got a room with a view and had internet access in her room.  Really.

Johanne and her motorcycle 

After breakfast, we decided we needed to get our luggage together before we went out for the day because they would only give us a room until 2:00 p.m. and we had high hopes that we would be out longer.  

After depositing our luggage in the storage room we walked to the castle. When we arrived at the castle the young man at the ticket office told us our visit was free today.

“All Sundays are free until March”  he told us.

When entering the harbour of Kos town the imposing medieval Castle of Neratzia (the Castle of the Knights of St. John) is bound to draw your attention. This castle is connected to the mainland by a bridge that crosses the Palm Tree Avenue, the same one that connects the Castle to the Platanos, the large plane tree under which Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used to teach.

Johanne asked for a pamphlet hoping for more information on what we were looking at.  He gave us a one page paper and said he didn’t really know much because he was new on the job.  He did tell us that there was a museum with many of the ruins that had been dug up, but it had been locked since the war.  

We walked around and found a tunnel.  

At the bottom of the stairs we found a huge pool of water.  Johanne had a flashlight and all we could see was more water.  There wasn’t any access.  

I’m sure all this water was from the storm the other day.

view from castle across the harbor is my hotel

Actually, Adam at the hotel told me his house was flooded from the storm and that the island had much damage all over.  He said there had been hail stones and the windshield of his car had a crack from them.  I could hardly believe this given we were at sea level.

After our visit to the castle, which offered incredible views of the sea and the town (location, location, location), we walked back to the taxi stand which was just beside our hotel.

I already discovered that Johanne was better at negotiating so I told her to ask the driver how much it would be to take us to Asklepion, this is the Hippocrates hospital.  Then we told him we wanted to go to Zia as well. Zia is a little town on top of the hill that was suppose to have incredible views of the island.

The taxi driver said it would cost 50 euro for him to take us to Asklepion, wait for us, then take us to Zia, wait while we had lunch and then bring us back to town.  What choice did we have?

The drive to Asklepion was about 15 minutes from town.  As we walked into the site we could see more damage from the storm.  

Hail

Leaves were everywhere and the path was covered with greenery from the trees, mud and hail stones.  I could hardly believe it.  We were at sea level and the temperature was in the 50’s but these hail stones were incredibly huge.  I think the reason the hail stones were still here was because the foliage was on top of them creating insulation.  I don’t know.  I’ve never seen anything like it and neither had the locals.

hail stone

Everywhere we walked you could see hail stones beneath the greenery and mud.

Anyway, this site at Asklepion was much bigger than I’d anticipated.

Situated 4 km west of Kos, Asklepeio is the most significant archaeological site on the island. The excavations here began in 1902, by Iakovos Zaraftis from Kos and Hertsok from Germany. Asklepeio was built in a green area full of cypress trees. During the ancient years, it served as a sanatorium and it was dedicated to Aesculapius, son of Apollo, protector of health and medicine. Many significant people taught and worked here, one of them being the father of Medicine, Hippokrates. Due to the steep ground, Asklepeio consist of four connecting levels, called "andira". The first is characterized by ruins of Roman constructions of the 1st century AD. The second, where the medical school is said to have been housed, is known for its arches and statues. The spas were here and they were watered from the spring of King Halkon and the spring of Vournika on Mount Dikeo. The third level is where the Temple of Aesculapius of Kiparissios Apollo (4th century BC) used to be. Excavations in the surrounding area brought to light an invaluable treasury for visitor's offerings, a semi-circular platform and a small Roman temple dedicated to Neron. The fourth level was constructed in the 2nd century BC and included a large temple of Doric style along with the chambers of the patients. 

We decided this was a good location for a hospital.  What a great place to be, up on a hill to recover from any illness.  Having the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air and take in the view.

Asklepion

The blues of the sea and the sky are so incredible.  I hardly alter my photos because the natural light is just that, natural.

View from top of Asklepion

We stayed here for nearly an hour and then had the driver take us to Zia.  The road to Zia was very narrow, steep and windy.  Not only was the town up on the hill but we saw more storm destruction along the road and it was probably 10 -15 degrees colder when we got to the town.  

The driver told us to go to the church, obviously the only sight up here.  

When we climbed up to the church, Johanne discovered that a funeral was going on and probably not a good idea for us to enter.  Interesting looking hearse. 

The views from up here were awesome.  I’m sure in the summer it’s a great place to visit. 

view from Zia

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a “tourist” location where everything was closed.  But then again I’ve never traveled in the winter to summer locations.

We found a nice restaurant and had a good lunch before going back down the hill to Kos town.

Johanne was very inspiring and way braver than I am.  She is physically smaller than I am, but has the might of David.  My friends think I am brave for traveling alone.  My traveling alone pales in comparison to her.

Johanne is 45 and just retired from the Canadian military.  She is on this journey to make the transition from her work to a new part of her life.  She is married to a man, also in the Canadian Army who is currently part of NATO in Afghanistan, and has a 20 year old daughter who lives in Montreal.  Her job with the military was in the “media” department.   I asked her if she had been to Afghanistan and she said yes.  She told me about her time in Afghanistan when she lead journalists through Kabul and that she had to wear protective gear and travel in a vehicle that was like a hummer to get around.   

Probably driving a motorcycle through Europe and Turkey is a walk in the park compared to being in Afghanistan.  

We talked about what it was like to not only travel alone but also as a woman.  First, we decided that there are times it gets lonely and if we were to do it again we would do it with another person.  Easier for her to say as she has a husband.  Second, that as a woman we have to be more careful about where we go (choosing where to travel). We did agree though that we hadn’t encountered any trouble but both of us were very careful.   Maintaining contact with people was important but I might note here that she did not have a phone, only a computer.  We agreed that it was nice to meet each other and too bad we didn’t have more time together.

After our little tour around KOS, I had about an hour before I had to go to the harbor and Johanne had many more hours before her 8:00 ferry.  Adam, from the hotel, told me I needed to be at the harbor by 3:30.  He said the boat comes in and doesn’t wait very long and it’s important to be there.

I walked from the hotel to the harbor.  Pulling my suitcase with the electronics bag on top and wearing the backpack, I walked the 15 minutes to the harbor (it felt more like an hour).

I went to the same terminal I’d entered the day before thinking this was the place.  There were many people including what looked to be a soccer team.  I realized I needed to buy a ticket for the ferry so I asked the man at the snack bar if this was the place for Rhodos and he told me I needed to go outside and around the corner.  Good think I asked.  Nothing is as it seems, I guess.

I found the ticket counter for the Rhodos catamaran and paid 30 Euros for the ride.  It was 3:30 and the boat was suppose to come at 4:15.  The weather was o.k., a bit windy with lots of clouds causing the sun to come and go.  I didn’t want to go inside for fear I’d miss the boat.  At first it was o.k. to stand outside but then the wind picked up and it felt like an eternity before the boat came.  There also weren’t so many people outside so I wanted to be sure this was the right place to be.

When the boat was within sight all the “smart” people came out.  Oh well, I was glad to get on the boat.  

There were airplane like seats inside the boat that were very comfortable.  The boat was fairly empty so I could sit anywhere and have lots of room.  I sat and read "South of Broad" on my kindle.

I knew it would be dark when I arrived in Rhodes so I asked Adam had said the Hotel Agla offers a shuttle bus from the harbor.  I asked him to call the hotel to see if they were running that today.  When he called they told him they didn’t have their regular shuttle because it was Sunday.  Adam thought this was rubbish.  (Adam is a product of an English mom and Greek dad I asked how they met and he said, the typical, she came on holiday met his dad and never went home.  Adam says there are many mixed marriages because of this scenario).  Anyway, Adam assured me there would be a taxi at the harbor to take me to the hotel.

The catamaran ride was very smooth.  I only wished it had been light so I could see the islands.  I knew the journey was to be about 2 hours.  After a little over an hour the boat slowed down and pulled into a harbor.  I’m a bit confused and ask the woman behind me if this is Rhodos.  No she says.

Lots of people get on the boat.  It turns out this island is Symi.  It was another hour before we reached Rhodos.

It was nearly 7 p.m. and pitch black outside when we arrived at the Rhodos harbor.  The castle is lit up but otherwise I can't see a thing.  I don’t like arriving in a town I know nothing about at night but I didn’t have a choice.

Adam was correct.  I easily found a taxi that took me on a 5  minute ride to the Agla Hotel.

I was met by Marie, a native of Scotland--another holiday marriage.  However, Marie had come to Rhodes on holiday and met her husband.  They are now divorced but have 2 sons.

She was very welcoming and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the room was.  They even had terry cloth bathrobes on the bed.  Not bad for 50 Euros a night.  However, they don’t have free wireless internet either in the room or in the lobby.  I was told it would cost 2.5 euro for 2 hours or 5 euros for a day pass.  O.K.  

I was hungry and asked Marie if there was a restaurant close by.  She said I could go across the street, down the stairs turn right and there is a restaurant Meses that for sure would be open.

Yes, it was open.  They had a nice menu and I wanted to order the swordfish.  Sorry, we don’t have that tonight.  So the only fish they had was shrimp.  I ordered an eggplant salad as a starter and an order of shrimp.  The eggplant salad was yummy and they gave me grilled toast with it. The plate of shrimp had 6 grilled shrimp, head and all.  They were a bit over cooked but with a little added olive oil good.  I finished my meal and the man brought me a dessert.  I have no idea what it was but it was fabulous.  That seems to be a tradition here to give a dessert after the meal and they don’t charge for it.  

Back to the hotel.  I paid for 2 hours of the internet and it was so slow it was an exercise in frustration.  I couldn’t upload any photos or get gmail to work very well.  I did the best I could and called it a night.