Islands in the Sun

Saturday 23rd June – Rhodes

Today was our last day on Crete. It is a beautiful island with lots of secluded beaches and getaways as well as hotspots for the package tourist. Apart from the wind it has been a fantastic destination that needs at least twenty days to see the whole island. The people have been helpful, courteous and just plain nice and whenever we have needed help it has been forthcoming.

This morning after a long leisurely breakfast we are just chilling out by hanging around the hotel. We will take advantage of the 12 noon checkout and then drive about 100km to the airport at Heraklion. 

Our flight to Rhodes on a small airline named Sky Express is due to depart at 3:00pm. We took our time driving back along the beautiful coastline and arrived at the airport just before 2:00pm. By the number of people in the line for check-in we thought that it was going to be a packed flight. When we boarded there was not a spare seat left but that was understandable given that our turboprop aircraft only had 30 seats. The one benefit we had was the good view from the window of Crete and Rhodes.

Our Hotel is called the Nausika and is situated about 50 metres from one of the many beaches. With the right angle you can see the sea from our balcony on the fifth floor. The room which is costing 36 euro with breakfast is excellent and appears to be recently refurbished. We even have a television with some English programs. For dinner we took a stroll up to the old town and found a rather good restaurant. The food was reasonable but not exceptional. I could only eat a small amount as my tum tum, to quote Tony, is still playing up. There was some excess food left in a couple of gardens as we walked back to our lodgings.

Sunday 24th June – The Old Town

This morning we grazed over what was a very good hotel breakfast. Again, I cannot eat too much due to the tightness in my stomach. After lathering up with some sunscreen to protect us from the 35 degree heat we set off for a walk along the waterfront to the boat harbour. The water is a little choppy but that has not deterred the masses from sunning themselves on bright sunbeds which have been strategically placed to avoid the shade of umbrellas. 

The westerly wind that annoyed us in Crete is now here in Rhodes but not with the same intensity. At the harbour we found the ferry ticket office where we purchased our onward tickets (118 euro) for Kos and Patmos.

There are many entrances or gates into the old medieval town of Rhodes. We chose one and plunged into a labyrinth of laneways and even smaller alleys hoping to lose ourselves to discover the delights on offer. It did not take Alice long to discover the market stalls and I was soon carrying a heavier backpack. In some of the alleys we were surprised by the number of cats that were taking afternoon naps on cool steps.

 Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 1309, the Byzantine era came to an end when the island was occupied by forces of the Knights Hospitaller. Under the rule of the newly named "Knights of Rhodes", the city was rebuilt into a model of the European medieval ideal. Many of the city's famous monuments, including the Palace of the Grand Master, were built during this period. The Ottomans who were led by Suleiman the Magnificent eventually ousted the Knights from their fortress stronghold in 1522. Although there has been a lot of restoration work done there is not much of the old walls and buildings that are still functional.

Like the Greeks we are getting into the afternoon siesta mode to escape some of the heat. The balcony is shaded in the afternoon and is catching some of the breeze so it is just the place to have a cold beer. Alice is killing some time before dinner by visiting Anette’s Fish Spa. No, it is not a place where fish go on vacation but rather where they are forced to survive by eating the dead flesh from the feet of Homo sapiens. Lucky fish! 

 

Dinner tonight was at what we would call a fast food restaurant but the exception here was that they were specializing in Pita Gyro’s. The Gyro is very like a Doner Kebab and we ordered one each of the chicken and pork varieties. This place was really humming with the waitresses actually running to keep up with the chefs and the crowds of locals and tourists that kept streaming in. Our plates were so full that they could have fed four of us. Needless to say we left a fair quantity on our plates before departing for our waddle home.

Monday 25th June – A Day at the Beach

The wind is still blowing in from the west which makes conditions for swimming a little unpleasant near our hotel. Our aim was to take a 15 minute walk to the beach near the harbour which should have some protection. We claimed a pair of sunbeds and umbrella for 8 euro and set ourselves up on a square metre of sand. The water was inviting so we wasted no time in plunging in. I headed out to sea where there was a diving platform for the foolhardy to show off their skills. I’m no Ethan Warren (Alice’s friend, Michelle’s son Ethan represented Australia in Diving at the last Commonwealth Games) but I did manage to execute a half reasonable dive off the 5 metre tower. You can take the boy out of Inala but you can’t take the Inala out of the boy!

Alice needed some R&R away from me so she left me in charge of the sunbeds and went off to the old town for some retail therapy. All I had to do was swim, read and watch the girls in their summer clothes. She returned a few euros later bearing exotic spices and gifts. We ended up leaving the beach a little after 4:00pm satisfied that our 8 euro was well spent. 

On the walk back to the hotel we were feeling peckish and Alice could not resist the impulse to try some of the food on offer at the aptly named Danish Corner. The restaurant was straight across the road from the beach and had a food view as well as half decent nosh. They had an all you can eat Greek buffet with over 30 Greek dishes for the very reasonable price of 9 euro. The buffet starts at five and the food had just been brought out. I had a look at was on offer and was disappointed that there was no spare room inside my stomach cavity. It all looked very delicious.

Another cold beer and a scotch with soda on the balcony and it was off to bed.

Tuesday 26th June – Fast Ferry to Kos

For a change we are up bright and early as we have to catch the 8:30 ferry to Kos. We managed to get breakfast in before catching a taxi down to the quay. Our conveyance is a high speed catamaran the “Pride of the Dodekanisos”. After stowing our luggage we picked a seat on the port side of the vessel to avoid the sun. 

The ferry has a couple of stops at various ports in the Dodecanese group of islands. Simi was the first stop and quite a few passengers alighted for what seemed like a day trip. The town is set in a beautifully protected little harbour. White washed houses and apartments are perched in positions on the hillside to take advantage of the view. It looks like a great place to unwind.

Our cat pulled into the dock at Kos dead on 11:00am and at first glimpse it appears there is less hustle and bustle than Rhodes. The claim to fame for Kos is that the Father of modern medicine, Hippocrates was born here. During our afternoon walk we stopped at the Tree of Hippocrates which is a plane tree under which, according to the legend, Hippocrates of Kos taught his pupils the art of medicine. 

Hippocrates' tree resides on the Platía Platanou (or "Square of the Platane"), in front of the Castle of Knights and next to the Gazi Hassan Mosque in the centre of Kos town. The biggest selling souvenir is a copy of the Hippocratic Oath, available in a number of languages and a dried leaf from the plane tree. I could not resist buying a copy for the newest member of the medical profession, Telissa. Apparently, St Paul also taught and preached under the plane tree.

The streets are well laid out and there is a bicycle only lane that travels for about 16km along the waterfront. The temperature is in the high 30’s with little wind and Alice and I are slowly frying. We headed back to the Hotel Yiorgos which is owned by the family Anastasiou. Our 30 euro room is small, functional, clean and thankfully has air conditioning. There is also a small balcony and the added bonus of a refrigerator and kettle.

We headed out for dinner just as the sun was setting at around 8:30pm. A nice pizza place opposite the water allowed us to see the not too distant lights of Bodrum, Turkey. We had noticed earlier in the day that you good take a ferry to Turkey for 15 euro and that day trippers only needed their passport. There was no need for a visa which would have significantly increased the cost. Dinner was good and when we had finished there was an extra bonus of a complimentary full glass of wine. It seems to be common practice in most restaurants to give guests something extra like raki, fruit or wine.

Wednesday 27th June – On Your Bike

Another beautiful day, the sun is out and the wind has picked up slightly to take the bite out of the sun. Next door to the hotel is a bicycle rental shop so it is time for some serious exercise. After securing the use of two bicycles for the day at the reasonable rate of 7 euro we struck out along the bikeway. 

The terrain is flat and follows the beach past a number of 4 star hotels. One of them is holding the world conference for fetal medicine and there are supposed 1000 doctors in the house. From what I understand they don’t need much of an excuse to attend a conference especially when they are held in idyllic locations like this. Telissa, I wonder if fetal nurses would be allowed to attend? 

By the time we arrived at the end of the trail, the wind that has been following us around the Greek Islands had also arrived. The kite surfers that we were watching were making the most of it. On our return leg we stopped off for a swim at a nice isolated location. Just as I was about to go the full monty an elderly Greek couple sauntered up and sat right next to us. Oh well, looks like the speedo lookalike undies will have to do.

Alice challenged me to a quick game of mini-golf before lunch. The scores were tight and a bit high. I think we will blame that on the wind and not our skill factor! A couple of pork gyros and it was back to the hotel to escape the heat of the afternoon.

Heading in the opposite direction of this morning we pedalled our way through town and out to Lampi beach. This beach was sort of out of the wind so we decided to stop for a swim. We found a spot that offered free sunbeds which meant no sun on our heads.

I was soon in the water which had a fair amount of seagrass floating about. This was possibly due to the slight surge caused by the wind. From this spot the coastline of Turkey looks very close. Apparently, the ferry trip is about 20 minutes from Kos to Bodrum. The ride back was significantly easier as the wind was at our backs and seemed to push us along. We must not have been riding fast enough as Alice found a shop and bought a sun top. When we dropped the bikes off at around 7:00pm we discovered that the entire town was suffering from a power blackout.

Alice is suffering from a sinus headache so I have decided to go out by myself for some dinner. I found a nice little spot that had some light from the passing traffic. My chair faced the water and while sipping on my glass of red I stared out at the glittering lights of Bodrum. It was a very romantic evening but alas there was no Alice (or Gene) to share it with.

Thursday 28th June – Kos is a Beach
Today we are off in search of beaches that are not exposed to the wind. A little Fiat Panda that cost 42 euro for the day will be our mode of transport. The first thing we noticed was that Kos Town was far bigger than we imagined. The town is spread out over a large plain with access to beaches both sides of Cape Skandari. 

We made some detours to the beaches at Tigaki, Marmari and Mastihari. These were good sandy beaches but the wind was so strong that only the foolhardy were in the water or sunbathing. Our pick would have been Marmari as it was less busy but still offered enough to keep you entertained.

The airport which is in the middle of the island was soon behind us. I suspect that the taxi drivers would get a decent fare from here to Kos Town. A quick detour to have a look at Paradise Beach, Camel Beach and Ag. Nikolaos soon confirmed that this was a good area to spend the day swimming. 

The next town we travelled through was Kefalos which lies adjacent to Kamari Bay. A break for lunch was required so we took a lonely road to the opposite side of the island where there was a single tavern with outstanding views. The wind was still blowing here which caused a small swell suitable for body surfing. There were a couple of hardy souls having some fun on their boogie boards.
 
After lunch we did some more exploring in this isolated part of the island. Apart from a few hire cars and quad bikes the only other inhabitants we encountered were the goats. Our hire car had been playing up and was cutting out for some reason. This was a good excuse for us to pull up a sunbed and have a swim at Kamari. The water was crystal clear, cool and just out of the wind. After a relaxing few hours we headed back to our hotel. The car behaved without any issues and we were back at the hotel by 7:00. Alice had chilled a bottle of champagne so we celebrated our last night in style by relaxing on our little balcony.

Friday 29th June – Patmos

This morning we are just biding our time prior to heading down to the port for our 11:05 ferry trip (29 euro) to Patmos. Kos has been a great place to stay and one could easily spend a week here without getting bored. The access to a range of beautiful beaches by car or bicycle, historical ruins like the ancient agora, day trips to remote islands or an excursion to Turkey are all easily available.

Alice and I have been looking forward to visiting Patmos because of its link to St John. This is where John was said to have lived in a cave and wrote the book of Revelation. 

The fast catamaran to Patmos takes 2.5 hours and has scheduled stops at the islands of Kalymnos, Leros and Lipsi. These three islands all look beautiful from the upper deck of the catamaran and judging by the number of passengers alighting they must have something to offer. 

On arrival at Patmos there was no shortage of touts offering hotel accommodation. We have already booked ours at the Captain’s House Hotel (40 euro). The hotel is only 50 metres from the port and when we were shown the room we were suitably impressed. Our room has been recently renovated and everything seems to have a touch of class. When we stepped onto the balcony Alice’s smile lit up as we have a great view of the water and the port.

After settling in we took a walk around the town (Skala) and had a nice lunch down by the water. In the late afternoon we relaxed with some beer and champagne and watched the street scene unfold below us. The fishing trawlers departed port, motorcycles swished by and restaurants slowly prepared for the evening trade.

Saturday 30th June – The Cave of the Apocalypse

We were up reasonably early today as we wanted to beat the expected cruise ship passengers to The Cave. After a really good breakfast we mounted our trusty quad bike that we had hired (20 euro) the night before for the trip up the hill. Our timing was impeccable as we were fortunate to arrive whilst there was a Greek Orthodox service in progress. 

The hypnotic chanting and ritualism added to the special feeling that we both had. John wrote the Book of Revelation in this cave after he was exiled by the Emperor Domitian in 95AD. The cave is known today as the Holy Cave and is located on the hill between Skala and Hora. The cave was fashioned into a place of worship by St. Christodoulos. Beneath the rock you can see the place where John slept, where he laid his head to rest and a crevice that he could hold onto for support as he stood.

Next stop was the Monastery of St. John the Theologian which was begun in 1088 by St. Christodoulos. From the outside it looks like a fortress as it straddles the highest position on the island. Its 15 metre high walls were effective in repelling pirate rids that used to occur in the 13th century. Inside the monastery there is a museum and library with many relics and icons. There are parchments written in the 5th century, gifts from wealthy Patmians as well as from the Czarina of Russia, Catherine the second.

It was getting close to lunch so we headed over to a little bay called Grikos. This bay and beach has been voted as one of the world’s best. It was good but not that good. The bay was a mecca for yachties and it was easy to see why this beautiful and safe anchorage attracted them. 

The beach itself was a mixture of fine pebbles and brown sand. We found a good spot under a shady tree to store our clothes. The water was a little cool but nevertheless very inviting. The other good point about this bay was that we were protected from the wind. 

I wanted to check out the next bay known as Petra so it was back on the quad for more adventure. The road came back down to the water’s edge where we had to make a right turn and drive along the beach for 100 metres. We then moved off the beach on to a sealed a road which took us past a few restaurants and hotels and then down to the bay. 

This beach was a little rockier but there were plenty of trees providing respite from the sun. A couple of more swims and then at around 6:00 we headed back to the hotel. No need to guess we were back into the beer and champers.

Sunday 1st July – The Northern Beaches

There are more bays on the northern part of the island so we decided to spend some time on the quad bike to check out a few of them. The first bay which was protected from the wind was Agriolivadi Bay. It is a beautiful spot with trees and a sandy beach. Maybe next time we will swim here. 

A short distance further was the small hill village of Kampos. There is a quaint little square which also has a taverna under the shade of huge tree. We took the directions to Vagia Bay however our little quad protested as it slowly made its way up the steep hill. This bay did not appeal to us as it looked a little small and rocky.

We retraced our route and then headed down a steep incline to Lampi Bay. This is a beautiful stretch of beach with the foreshore consisting of pebbles. There is a sign warning people not to remove the pebbles as the number of stones has reduced significantly over the years. Despite the signs we noticed one woman with a big handful. 

A short water break at the taverna which is right on the edge of the sea and we were on our way again.

We had ridden past Kampos Bay earlier and had decided that this would be the place to spend the afternoon swimming and relaxing. After hiring a couple of sunbeds we lathered up and were soon enjoying the water. 

We took lunch at the taverna across the road and had the Patmos Veal which was one of the best meals so far. On returning to the beach the sunbed owner surprised us by going swimming with his pet goose. He would talk to it and then it would follow him out into the deeper water. It also kissed him on the side of the face a few times. When they had finished they both waddled up the beach together and took shade underneath their concession stand. It would not have surprised us if the goose also collected the fees for the sunbeds. 

When swimming I did notice a couple of decent size sea bream and a couple of small flounder trying to camouflage themselves in the sand. As we are leaving today we cut our time short and headed back to the hotel at about 5:30pm.

Our view of Patmos is that it is a great island and worth a longer stay. It was the pick of the islands for us on this trip.

The hotel owner has been kind enough to allow us to stay in the room until 7:00 which will allow us both to freshen up. After a shower I took a run out to Meloi Bay and was not disappointed. It is another top spot with plenty of shelter from the wind. The quad has to be returned and it was definitely a good investment and the perfect way for us to see the island. 

Time to check-out and find a way to kill a few hours before boarding the Blue Star Ferry at 11:55pm for our trip to Athens. We decided to have our “Shirley Valentine” moment on the small beach directly in front of the hotel. With our toes in the pebbles and the sea lapping at our feet we watched our last Greek Island sunset accompanied by a couple of wines. Dinner was an interesting affair as we were surrounded by Italian and Spanish football supporters who were watching the European final. When the game finished it is was time to pick up our bags and take the short walk to the port. We only expected a few hardy souls to be traveling at this late hour but the port was jammed with people, cars and a few trucks.

Monday 2nd July – Athens

With the big crush of people we boarded the Blue Star 2 just after midnight for the 8 hour trip to Athens. At reception we were given our pass key to the cabin we had booked for 176 euro. One of the stewards escorted us to the cabin, turned down the beds and left us to get some shut eye. It was a pretty good cabin and it did not take long to go to sleep. I should have taken the lower bunk because all that beer that I had drunk made me get up twice. Alice slept like a log because I had to wake her as the ship was due to berth in the next 30 minutes.

We were going to take the Metro from the port to our hotel but decided against it due to the number of changes we would have to make. Reluctantly we joined the taxi queue and waited our turn for a ride. One mistake that I did make was not writing down the address of Hotel Tony. Our driver had no idea where it was and he also spoke no English. 

I explained roughly what area the hotel was in to a port security guard who then translated this to the driver. He sped off into the traffic and took a few taxi driver shortcuts which eventually had us on the freeway and into the Athens city centre. The meter was not on so I knew that he would be trying to get us to the hotel as quickly as possible. He drove past the area where I thought the hotel was, asked another taxi driver for directions and then stopped at the Hotel Adonis in Plaka.

I explained as gently as possible that it was the wrong hotel and the wrong suburb. He tried another route but turned too early and ended up in a parking garage. We were close but not quite there. He then tried a service station and after some advice from the mechanic we were heading in what I thought was the right direction. After about two minutes I spotted the hotel and the driver happily deposited us at the front door. After handing over 30 euros which was not too bad a price he sped off mumbling Greek obscenities about dumb tourists. I thought it was a darn good adventure which killed a little time for us.

It was only about 10:00 and Tony of Hotel Tony informed us the room would not be available for about an hour. We found a breakfast place that served good coffee and just relaxed for a while. On the way back to the hotel there was a good supermarket which supplied us with some essential food and drink staples. Our room on the first floor has a small kitchen with a microwave, a nice sized balcony and is furnished with quality fittings. We stayed here on our last visit and at a price of 85 euros in a capital city it is excellent value.

The afternoon was spent walking around the Plaka area and generally getting used to the area. We remembered quite a lot and had no trouble navigating our way around the area. Later that evening we returned to the area and had dinner at God’s Restaurant. It is recommended in all the guide books and on our last visit had a good meal there. This time we were disappointed as it seems they are dining out on the recommendations. It was obvious to us that the meal we ordered was reheated in a microwave. The taste of the meal was just suitable but it was only just warm. It arrived on our table only minutes after placing the order. Ah well, looks like it is an early night for us!

Tuesday 3rd July – Hop On, Hop Off

Our plans for today are very fluid with no set agenda. When we reached Hadrian’s Gate we decided to join the Hop On, Hop Off bus tour. There are two companies competing for business and as a result they are trying to undercut each other. Our cost for the ‘red” bus was 13 euro each. The “yellow” bus then dropped the price to 12 euros and offered the ticket for two days. Now I know everyone won’t believe me but I took the “red” bus. Stupid really!

We stayed on the bus until the Monstiraki stop which is near the ancient agora. I had a look at a few ancient ruins such as Hadrian’s Library and an old Roman aqueduct that was uncovered when they built the metro. Alice on the other hand was content to browse through the flea market area of Athens. After a bite of souvlaki in Mitropoleos Street it was back on the bus for more sightseeing. As the bus drove down Athinas Street we saw the central market where they sell meat, seafood and vegetables. It would have been an interesting stop especially early in the day. It was another hot day at around 33 degrees so we called it quits in the afternoon.

After escaping the worst of the afternoon heat we took another tour on the bus. The highlights this time was the Panathenaic Stadium and the National Library. The stadium that can hold 60,000 spectators was built of marble for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The library and university are built in neo-classical style and have a number of impressive marble statues. Plato and Socrates are in the prime positions. Our bus terminated at Syntagma Square opposite the parliament and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From here it was a long walk back to the hotel via the Plaka which was just beginning to get lively with tourists. Back at the hotel our day finished with a homemade salad with beer and wine.