Sunday 19 March 2017

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Temp. 17-13 degrees. Wind; west. Cloudy

Grateful for feeling rested we got ready for the long trip south. Today was our last full day, so we left already at 9.15 a.m.!

The beautiful east-west road became familiar to us, but it didn’t become boring, because of the beautiful forests and views it gave us. There was more traffic on the roads, probably because it was Sunday. We hoped the Tavernas were open.

There was plenty of activity in the mountain village of Embonas, famous for its wine, at the foot of the Attaviros mountains. We even had several Tavernas to choose from to get our morning caffeine shot. From our table near the window, we saw the local fish monger selling his (fresh?) fish from the back of his truck to the locals. It took quite some time before the cigarette stench was gone from our clothes. There seems to be no anti-smoking law on Rhodes…


In the lovely village of Siana we followed the narrow road downhill to the Apolakkia dam and the artificial lake. At first, we remarked about the good quality road (yellow on the map), but after reaching the level of the lake, the path became dirt road with gravel. No problem. (We were in for a nasty surprise though!)

We passed an area that had been very muddy indeed, but at least it was dry now and we could pass on higher ground. Suddenly, there was a BIIIIIIIG puddle in the bend of the road… Gulp. What to do next? We decided to keep to the right as much as possible and not to get stuck in the middle of this who knew how deep mud puddle.

Of course, the front wheels began to spin, and the right wheel lacked the necessary grip to continue. I got out of the car (Wim couldn’t, on his side there was the puddle) and found a partly submerged piece of cloth. This she put before the front wheel. After several attempts, we managed to get the car to the other side, helped by Petra’s pushes.  How grateful we were that we made it!


The dam itself wasn’t spectacular and there wasn’t a lot of water in the lake, but the peace and quiet was fantastic. And the surrounding hills, of course!
Thankfully, we were able to continue south, and didn’t need to take the same road back again! 😊


 Via the beautiful east coast, we drove south to the end of the island – Pramonis, also called the surfer’s paradise. Today, it was deserted, despite a nice breeze, but it’s probably too cold for the locals. Depending on the wind, you can walk towards the small island over a sand strip, like today. 

We didn’t want to spend too much time here, because we still had to drive back also. Until now we had driven 108 km. After eating our sandwiches, we began the home journey around 13.00 hours.

The western coastal road to Rhodes city is mostly a two lane but well kept. There was a lot of Sunday traffic, but still very little compared to Israel. Many drivers don’t bother with a continuous line and pass when it’s convenient for them to do so. Traffic signs forbidding a U-turn are also just for show… 😊
Besides these minor things, (especially compared to Israeli driving habbits),  driving on Rhodes is fantastic.


At 14.30 hours, we drove up the steep path to our apartment – home again. Time for a nap (Wim) and for Petra to download the pictures and write the blog.

Today we had driven a total of 188 km. – the longest tour of the holiday!

Tomorrow’s blog post will be written from Jerusalem, as the end of our wonderful has come.

Stergos, our host, graciously allows us to stay until 15.00 hours, which gives us time tomorrow morning to visit Kalithea Springs and the Bee museum. The car must be back at 16.00 hours at the Airport and the flight to Athens is at 19.30 hours. The connecting flight to Tel Aviv is at 22.50 hours, where we hope to land at 00.45 in the morning.

But that’s for tomorrow! 

Shabbat, March 18

Temp. 15-10 degrees, wind: NW – sunny

The PLAN today was to drive all the way to the southern point of the island, via the western coastal road. However, by the time we reached the Airport at the west coast, I didn’t feel well at all. We decided to head home again, via the village of Psinthos.

That morning, the sea looked different, and darker than before, but because of sun, we didn't see the horizon we now saw upon driving home. SNOW capped mountains?!
Turkey is only 18 km. from Rhodes, and this was the first time we could actually see the coast line, with the snow capped mountains behind them. Awesome! 

We both felt very tired, and decided to take a nap (at 11 a.m.!)  Wim even managed to take 3 (!) naps that afternoon – so I guess we needed the rest!

Even though we had been out of the house that morning, we decided to drive up the hill to finally see Profitis Ilias above the Anthony Quin Bay. Our elusive Profitis Ilias! 😊 There are plenty of them on Rhodes, so it’s probably part of a religious order.

Via a very narrow, steep and winding way we reached the top of the mountain – and found the footpath leading downhill towards Profitis Amos, with the peacocks. (Our aborted hike uphill at the beginning of our holiday.)


The view was worthwhile, especially because it was getting closer to sun set.

How grateful we were there were no cars coming up while we were going down – there was no room to pass each other….!

Stergos was preparing the observatory and the coffee shop for a seminar, so we said hello and watched with amazement at the professional material he has accumulated over the years. 

Wim wrote his weekly Dutch newsletter, and for the rest we enjoyed the peace and quiet of this lovely place!