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!

Friday, March 17, 2017

Temp. 16-10 degrees, wind: W/NW, cloudy/sunny

Our goal for today was a ‘classic’ hike to the Profitis Ilias monastery near Salakos, in the heartland of Rhodes. On the way to Psinthos we checked where we had seen the cave with the bees, and marked the place on the map. Via a beautiful winding road we drove southwards to Archipoli, Aleousa, Dhimylia and Salakos. Near the village square, with the police station, we parked the car and had coffee in a nice, local and rustic restaurant. We’ve noticed that the Greeks take their time making our coffee, and we were the only customers. So we waited. No hurry. We’re on holiday, right? 😊

We parked the car near the beginning of the trail.

“A very pleasant and effortless route’, I read on the internet … hah! Our hike went through the verdant mountain of Profitis Elias that dominates over the villages of Eleousa, Apollona, Platania, Dimylia and Salakos. The trail is built and begins from a steep “front” of rocks that lies above Salakos village at an altitude of 220 meters. Nearby are the springs of the Rhodian bottled water “Nymfi”. The trail leads to the monastery of Profitis Elias, at an altitude of 610 meters. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get all the way up there. The views were really beautiful.

The route passed through a landscape with dense vegetation. The area is a protected wildlife sanctuary. During the route, we had the strong, cold mountain breeze in our back and enjoyed the incomparable views to the sea. Each time we thought we had reached the top, only to realize there were more bends, and more steep paths to climb. But finally, we reached the small chapel of Archangelos Michail (the Archangel Michael). The door was unlocked, so we took a look inside and ate our sandwiches on the stone bench, out of the wind. 

Higher up, amidst the trees, we saw the in the 1930’s Italian built hotel, which looked like a Swiss chalet.

Profitis Ilias is covered with forests of pines and cypress and maquis shrubland. Notable are different Rhodes Paeonies and Cyclamen (who no longer were in bloom) . The large parasitic orchid (eats flies) grows in the pinewoods. Also notable are the Profitis Ilias Bee Orchid (found only here), and other rare orchids that only grow on high altitudes, moist woodland, and Prophitas Ilias only.

Refreshed, we began our descend, which didn’t go as quick as we hoped, because of the quality of the narrow path. Loose stones and rocks, mud, uneven terrain, we had to keep our eyes on the path so we wouldn’t stumble or fall. Grateful to be back at the car after 1.15 hour, we continued our travels through this beautiful area.

We took the road through the woods, which led us to the top entrance of Profitis Ilias and now we past the hotel we had seen from below.

The "Elaphos" hotel was built by the Italian colonists in the Dodecanese in 1929 as Albergo del Cervo (Deer Hotel named after the deer Dama dama platoni that lives in the adjacent woods. The nearby villa was intended as a retirement home for Benito Mussolini.

  

The winding, very narrow road through the woods was so beautiful. We continue to be amazed there are so few cars on the road. The villages we pass seem deserted, only near the squares you see some people or near the supermarket.

Two kilometers from Eleousa we past by a VERY old church, and decided to take a look.

Agios Nikolaos Foundoukli is a late Byzantine church dedicated to St Nicholas containing 15th century frescoes. Around the church are very old Olive and Oriental Plane trees.

Because of the darkness inside this little old church (which had great acoustics, Wim found out), we couldn’t really make out the frescoes. Only at home, looking at the pictures I had taken, did we see the beautiful, very old paintings. Awesome!

The last stretch of the journey home was via the by now regulary travelled road via Archipoli and past the Epta Piges (7 springs).

All in all, it had been a long, but wonderful day!

Time for coffee!         

Thursday, March 16

Temp. 16/11 degrees. NW wind, cloudy, sun and a bit hazy

We left our usual time, 9.45 a.m. Today, Rhodes, the new city, was our destination.

Parking near the Nea Agora market proved impossible, and so we decided to continue to the aquarium at the most northern part of the island. Plenty of space to park there – for free! 😊

The Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes was built at the Cape of the Windmills between 1934-1936 by the Italians then ruling the island. The aquarium is like an underwater cave with sinuous corridors, artully decorated with natural sea-shells and small or bigger aquariums with a few species from the marine environment of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Even though (to western standards) it’s a very basic aquarium, the fish and other animals we saw were beautiful! Sea stars, all kinds of crabs, one big fat octopus and tiny fishes – they are all part of God’s beautiful creation. The educational area, often used for school classes, also featured a video about the preservation of the monk seals, which are a threatened species.

Walking towards the old city, we had the cold and strong wind in the back, which was nice. Inside the market area we found a restaurant where we ordered a double cappuccino (the cups are so small) and instead got a double STRONG cappuccino in a small cup. 😊

As we were close to the Tourist information office, we got some very nice maps and information sheets.

At the harbor entrance (now on the opposite side of the fortress) we watched as a boat entered the marine and docked. You need a lot of skill with those waves, wind and then guiding the boat to the pier without ramming it!

The wind had calmed down a bit, which made the walk back to the car a pleasant one. There was a lot of shipping traffic on the way to Turkey or Greece and we also saw the big ferry leave the quay.

The western coastal road on the northern part of Rhodes was new to us, and it was beautiful. Ialysos was a small village with an acropolis high up in the mountains. We took the direction of Pastidha and via a beautiful Maritsa and winding mountain roads through the woods to Psinthos, Kalythies and back to our apartment.

On the last stretch, on a previous time Wim had noticed some kind of cave. We missed it again, so Wim parked on the side of the road and I walked back to take a look. The cave itself was impressive, but even more the many bees that were flying in and out small holes near the entrance of the cavity. I didn't dare to come too close, but it was an amazing sight to behold. 

This is what I found on the internet about these amazing insects: 

A newly discovered species of bee does things the hard way, gnawing its nests out of solid rock even when softer dirt is available. This hard work appears to pay off, however, by providing the bees greater protection. The species, dubbed Anthophora pueblo, has been found in Utah, in southwest Colorado and in California, AND on RHODES! where it pocks vertical sandstone rock faces with tiny holes. Though the bees seem to be solitary nesters, they build these rocky alcoves next to one another, like insect apartment-dwellers.

short movie about the bees

A quick stop at our local ‘makolet’ supermarket for some bread for tomorrow.

We arrived home about the same time as usual: 15.00 hours!

Even though we didn’t see the Kalithea Springs, that had been on our ‘list’ for today, it had been another wonderful and varied day with lots of beautiful pictures to enjoy!

WEDNESDAY, March 15, 2017

Today's temp: 15-11 degrees, wind: N/NW - cloudy and sunny. No rain expected! :)

Today, we drove south, again in the direction of Lindos. After the four-lane main road become a 2-lane road, to our chagrin, we were stuck (again) behind two tanks!  The many bends and hills makes it impossible to pass them, so we just had to be patience. 

At the village of Ghenadhi, we stopped at a local coffee bar/restaurant for a double cappuccino, which is served here with whipped cream! A few men were playing sheshbesh, while in the other corner, another group of men were having a chat. The women were working hard in the kitchen....

Refreshed, we we crossed the tail of the island towards the west coast. According to our host, Stergos, Monolithos is a very worthwhile place to visit.

Monolithos: Whitewashed courtyards with geraniums, stone houses with tile roofs looking out over the waves, the rocks with the mediaeval castle at their peak, windswept deserted beaches for playing games in the waves - a landscape of unspoiled beauty. The village itself is small and well-kept, built in the form of an amphitheatre at the southern and of the wild western coast, with just a few small tavernas.

The main attraction of the village is the mediaval castle, standing among the pines on the great outcrop of an isolated rock from which the name Monolithos (lonely rock) is derived.

Leave your car at the bottom and a ten-minute walk will bring you to the summit, where your only company is the sea and the fragrance of the wild herbs. Within the castle walls stands the church of Agios Panteleimon.

Outside the village of Monolithos is the medieval Castle, built on top of a 100m rock. This castle was built in 1480 by the Knights of Saint John to protect the island from attacks from pirates and enemies. It was an important signal station of the Knights who, via a chain of fire and light signals, sent messages to their castle in present day Dodrum (Turkey). Monolithos castle was never conquered. The ruined castle now offers great views of the sea and the two islets opposite to it. Inside the Castle, there is a small working chapel dedicated to Agios Panteleimon (Saint Pantaleon). Access to the castle is by a staircase cut into the rock. On the climb up to the top, you are likely to see hundreds of small piles of rocks from 3-10 in number. These piles are left there by the visitors as a form of a memento.

The winding, descending road towards the castle was already breathtaking. We parked the car near a deserted restaurant and geared up. The wind was sharp and cold, so we were grateful for our rain jackets to keep us warm. Up on the hill, from the ruined castle we had an amazing view of the sea and nearby islands. We ate our sandwiches near the little whitewashed chapel, and almost spent an hour up that hill. There was nobody to disturb us!

The breathtaking view from there that looks over the sea and the numerous islets off the western coast, the mountain of Akramytis and innumerable hills, as well as the village of Monolithos below. As a visitor said: “In Greece, you know, the landscape often gives you a sense of the presence of God. The site of Monolithos is certainly one of these”.

From the parking lot, a steep, narrow and winding road led us all the way down to Fourni beach – one of the most beautiful beaches on Rhodes. We were the only visitors! The pebbled beach was covered with dry sea weed, which looked like paper streamers. Via a narrow and steep rocky path, we climbed up to the plateau and soon found the caves Stergos told us about. Twenty years ago, he had seen a skeleton in there. On the other side of the plateau was another small bay with more caves which could only be reached by sea.  At the end of the promontory was some kind of tower, which, according to Stergos, in ancient times was used by the pirates to light fires (like a lighthouse). This post was near the coast and could not be seen from the Monolithos castle. You won’t find that kind of information in the travel guides! 😊

It was wonderful, down there on the beach, all by ourselves. Wim even got his feet wet in the cold sea! We collected some beautiful coloured pebbles as a souvenir to take home. Remembering Stergo’s explanation about the stars in the sky, Wim took a handful of sand as a reminder that, like sand grains cannot be counted, also the stars in the sky are uncountable!

Later than usual, we began on our journey home. Crossing the center of the island, we took the beautiful route of the mountain village of Embona (wine country), Appolona, Platania, Archipoli, past the seven springs, to the main road, no. 95 and then – Faliraki, home.

Today, we had driven almost 167 km. Such an amazing, awesome day it had been! Again! Thank You, Lord, for your protection and blessings! 

TUESDAY, March 14

Temp. 15-10 degrees, wind: north/west, cloudy to clear weather.

This morning we drove north to the city of Rhodes. Especially the Old City has a long and checkered history. (I'll share that another time). 

We stopped first near the Jewish cemetery, which is part of the main Rhodes cemetery and divided according to faith: Christian, Jewish and Muslim. On the other side of the road was a small WW II cemetery. Next to the entrance was a small room with some chairs and some background information on a few of the ancient stone markers and the history of the people mentioned on them.

Finding a parking place near the Old City wasn’t as easy as we thought and we ended up parking (for free) on the tourist harbor, from where in summer many ferries depart. Today, only Blue Star Ferries to  Kos and Pireus waited to receive passengers.

Without planning, we ‘happened’ to park next to the Jewish cemetery entrance, and again, we just ‘happened’ to enter the Old City of Rhodes via the Panagias Gate, leading into the old Jewish Quarter of the city. Opposite the Martyr’s Square we had coffee, near the famous water fountain.

Only  a few shops were open  to receive customers. Most of the shop and restaurant owners were getting ready for the tourist season: cleaning and dusting the merchandize, painting or remodeling their shops or restaurant. We decided to just walk around and not follow any specific walking tour. It brought us to many beautiful alleys and back streets, sometimes dead end, or alleys following the high stone walls of the city. The Palace of the Grand Master was closed – we weren’t interested in visiting it anyway. We preferred to stay outside, enjoy the lovely Spring weather and explore the city. 

There were not many tourists around, which we liked very much. Near one of the many

gates leading into the city were a few stalls that were open. We bought 2 real sponges from the island of Symi (the non-bleached ones) and the stall owner happily posed for a picture! I wonder how many more customers he had that day….

Eating a sandwich while sitting on an ancient stone wall in the sunshine is part of our holiday. Until now we haven’t eaten out, and don’t mind taking sandwiches along the way.

We were getting tired from the city, and walked back to the harbor. The shop/restaurant near the custom office was open. While browsing to buy some souvenirs, we were happy to see they also sold suitcases! After landing on Rhodes, we noticed that one of our suitcases was badly damaged, and we had been wondering where we could buy a new one. Voila! That was also taken care of!

Driving past a previous parking lot we missed the first time, there was a place to park the car and walk to the end of the pier and the Aghios Nikolaos fortress, complete with light house. 

It was closed for the public, but we enjoyed the walk and the views – towards the new city, with the covered market and the town hall, the two famous statues of Rhodes on each side of the harbor entrance and the many luxurious yachts ‘parked’ there.

It seems that Rhodians take good care of their street cats, for even on the pier was a shelter for them. They look much better fed than Jerusalem’s street cats!

We took the coastal way home again, did some more shopping at Lidl supermarket and were back at the apartment around 15.00 hours. (3 p.m.) Time for a looooooooong nap for Wim and for me high time to upload yesterday’s trip, sort through the many pictures and of course, share about the observatory tour!

For dinner, we enjoyed a lovely spaghetti meal (prepared in stages) because there’s only one big cooking pan and one electrical cooking plate. It’s just like camping, but more lavish!

How blessed we are, to be able to stay in this wonderful apartment, on this beautiful island, with its friendly people!

Stargazing - part 1

Psalm 148:2-4 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his armies! Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.  Praise him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens.

Throughout history stars have been used as navigational tools. Stars show God’s power, wisdom, and His faithfulness. He knows how many stars there are in the sky. Praise our all-powerful God creator of all things.

The evening of March 13 was bright enough to observe the moon and possible stars, so, Stergos, our host, invited us to a private session in his observatory! 

First we received an explanation of what we were able to see with the naked eye. Using a very strong laser beam, Stergos showed us were certain stars were in the night sky.

Around 19.15 we climbed the narrow staircase of the round dome which he also built himself, like everything else on the premises. We were dressed warmly, because the wind was cold and the big periscope was pointed to the open sky. 

this is a 'simple' periscope

Stergos amazed us with his (self-taught) knowledge and his technical insight – he built, assembled and acquired most of the expensive material himself. Soon, we were dazed by all the information and sheer numbers … so many light years, so many billion or trillion galaxies, so many  - etcetera.

He moved the dome according to the position of the moon, that looked so beautiful over the calm sea. Then we took turns to look at the bright light bulb, protected by a filter for our eyes. Stergos explained about the craters and the dust hills and took these pictures through the telescope. Awesome, isn’t it? 

We observed the Star Aldebaran in Taurus, (Messier Objects) M45 Pleiades (more

about them another time) and M42 Orion nebulae, Star Sirius Big dog of Orion, Star Castor in the Geminis (double star), the Moon, and even the Planet Jupiter.

During the tourist season, when the Astronomy Café is open, Stergos gives a 15- minute tour. That evening, we got a 2 hour (!) private tour! We felt so very special!

Before stepping out in the dark night, we got a preview of Stergos' dark room’, which he uses to teach school classes. He would try to show us this also, later this week. So, this blog post is a preliminary write-up – more to come!

 Back in our apartment, I immediately ordered the book “Stargazing for Dummies” – which hopefully will help us a bit to understand this awe inspiring part of God’s amazing creation!

Isaiah 40:26-29 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.  AMEN! 

MONDAY, March 13

The weather looked very promising, (16-10 degrees, western wind, cloudy, no rain - according to the forecast) so we decided to drive south to Lindos and explore the famous city.

Traffic on the main road was busier than we experienced so far, but we were not in a hurry, and enjoyed the beautiful trip via the coastal road.

From Faliraki it’s only 36 km. to Lindos. We parked the car on one of the parking lots and walked down to the still quiet city. Empty streets, no tourists around – a wonderful opportunity to take lots of pictures!

LINDOS

Lindos was founded by the Dorians in about the 10th century BC. And one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre.

The importance of Lindos declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century.

Above the modern town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis offers spectacular views of the surrounding harbours and coastline.

Nestling at the foot of a steep rock and beautifully surrounded by the sea lies the traditional settlement of Líndos; on the top of the same rock stands a centuries-old acropolis, proudly overlooking the archipelagos. The acropolis bears silent witness to Líndos’ glorious past, a major naval power of ancient times which reputedly had a population of 17,000. The landscape of Líndos encapsulates the essence of Rhodes: a surprisingly felicitous blend of ancient and medieval! With 600,000 visitors annually, Líndos competes with Delphi as the second most visited archeological site in Greece.

The view of Líndos village with its cubic houses sprawling down the hillside under the acropolis is one of the most photographed scenes in Greece. The whitewashed labyrinth of little alleyways was deliberately designed to confuse pirates; today this layout makes wandering around the town a real adventure! There are picture-perfect medieval captains’ residences built around votsalotó (meaning pebbly) courtyards with emblems on their heavy wooden doorways. Arched entrances adorn the streets adding a cosmopolitan flair to the settlement.

Some scenes of the film, The Guns of Navarone, were filmed here.

Most of the shops were still closed, so we zigzagged from one end of the city to the

central square, where a fish monger was selling a fresh catch from the back of his truck. Now I understood why so many cats were sitting nearby!

Thankfully a coffee bar was open, so we could have our caffeine shot, use the toilet and shelter for the rain.

Because we left one of the rain jackets at home, we had to buy two umbrellas in the local mini market (boosted the owner’s daily sales…). It helped us stay dry for the short period that it rained. By the time we began climbing the many stairs towards the castle, the rain had stopped, thankfully!


At the top we learned that the castle was closed on Mondays! 😊 Instead, we walked around the castle towards the sea and were blessed with amazing views, plus a big variety of wild flowers we otherwise would not have seen. Even bumped into an Israeli father and son – of all places!

It was great, being able to walk through the beautiful city, without having to bump into busloads of tourists! In all, we saw a total of 6 fellow tourists – not bad! Pre-holiday season, there still was a casual atmosphere, with food standing on doorsteps, keys still in the door, or a plastic bag with left-over food and bread hanging on a door knob.

Our next stop was the beautiful bay below the city – St. Pauls Bay.

St Pauls Bay (Agios Pavlos) is a picturesque bay just south of Lindos. It is claimed that Paul the apostle landed here in the year 51 AD (his 3^rd missionary journey) to preach Christianity to the Rhodians. According to legend, the bay was created when Paul’s ship encountered a sudden storm before the coast of Rhodes. The ship and its people were saved because suddenly an entrance appeared towards a safe haven, as if it had been created by the hand of God. (What now is the narrow entrance to the bay.) The small church built on the hillside is a very popular wedding location.

The church was closed, but it was a worthwhile walk down to the water, because of the beautiful view of the hills, and the castle against the lead grey sky, promising more rain!

After eating our sandwiches in the car, we planned to take the scenic route via the center of the island, but somehow missed the correct exit. So, instead we went back the way we came, and ended up behind a very slow moving transport. It was a TANK! We’re used to those in Israel, but didn’t expect to see one here!

We quickly bought a few groceries at ‘our’ AB supermarket and returned home.

Nice to have some ready soup to heat up, after Wim took his longed-for nap.

As the afternoon progressed, the weather cleared up. So much, that Stergos informed us the sky would be clear enough for a tour of the observary. He’ll be showing us the moon through the telescope and later we can have a look at Saturn! Wow.

But that will be another story for tomorrow!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Instead of a lazy, quiet Shabbat, the weather ‘forced’ us to stay put and have a lazy, quiet Sunday instead… It had been another stormy and rainy night, and it looked as if it was going to continue to rain this morning as well.

Thus, we stayed home in our lovely holiday apartment, while keeping a close watch on the ever-changing weather. When Wim spotted a rainbow, we rushed outside (in our pajamas) to take pictures.

top left; Faliraki rainbow near the light; top right: between the circle;
bottom left; morning rainbow; right: the 3rd rainbow of this day.

The Greek weather forecast was correct in predicting the rain was to taper off in the afternoon. After Wim’s afternoon nap, we went for a walk. According to Google maps, the nearby Nudist (😊 )beach was a 12 minute walk downhill. Of course, the beach was deserted. The bay lies directly below the rock on which our building stands and I’d seen it from above, on our first day.

 

A dirt path brought us to Faliraki beach. Such a difference with only a few days ago, when we stood there, struggling against the storm. Even the sun began to shine- a beautiful afternoon!

We walked to the little white-blue chapel in the fishing harbour of St Apostolos at the end of the breakwater, enjoying the beautiful views over the sea. And that’s when Wim discovered another rainbow, towards the north of Faliraki. Awesome!

While enjoying his stone bench in the sunshine, he took his time to look at the little chapel.

The cross on the façade of the church was made up of 5 and 7 stones. 5= for grace; 7= fullness. It had beautiful leaded windows, which must have looked beautiful from the inside, but the church was locked.  

The last time we were here, we didn’t dare to cross the wooden bridge because of the strong winds. Today was a balmy afternoon, so this time there was no risk in doing so.

At the gate of a house, three dogs were barking at the passersby’s and other dogs, while several cats used the roof of a car to nap in the sun. On the nearby well, a white cat dozed, oblivious to the surrounding noise and people walking by.

Two cars were parked near the beach with the owners sitting inside, keeping an eye on the fishing lines  perched in the sand – fair weather fishermen. 😊

We strolled back to the main road leading up our ‘mountain’. Wim suggested I pick up the car (so he didn’t have to climb all the way up) and then drive to the Anthony Quinn bay to see if we could find the road to the monastery on top of the hill.

It was my first time driving that ‘zippy’ little Fiat Panda, and I loved it! We didn’t find the road to the monastery though! We saw the building on top of the mountain, but no road leading to it. Very intriguing, so we’ll have to ask Stergos if there is a way to get there (without the very steep climb via the steps).

By the time we reached home it was our usual afternoon coffee time – nice!

I just happened to look outside, and noticed ANOTHER rainbow – our third in one day! Wow.

For the evening meal, we had leftover pasta with an omelet, (tasty and quick) and continued our lazy day by reading, writing the blog, and enjoying the beautiful pictures of this day.

No plans for tomorrow yet. We first want to see what the weather looks like!

Shabbat – Saturday, March 11, 2017

Today's temp: 14-11 degrees, rain, thunder, southern wind. 

The wind had slowed down during the night, but we had quite a lot of rain, also in the morning. Because the apartment was scheduled to be cleaned (again! 😊 ) we decided to tour the western coast of Rhodes. After a quick chat with our wonderful host, Stergos (who told us that, yes, they had snow this year on Mt. Attavyros - 1215 m.) at 10.15
a.m. we set out. The heavy grey sky threatening rain didn’t dampen our spirits. We were on holiday, and enjoying every minute of it!

Driving on the beautiful and quiet road from Faliraki to Kalithies gave us a wonderful start especially because it seemed we were the only people driving!

Kalithies - The oldest written mention to this area comes from the year 1474 and the village is referred to as "Calathies" or "Calaties", probably because of the plant "kolythos" or "kolytea" which flourishes in the area. Here you will find the church of the "Metamorphosis of the Savior", who's iconostasis is estimated from the 16th century.

The "Eleousa Monastery", west of the village, has some unique and spectacular murals. There is also a stalactite cave of St. George, which is the oldest known Neolithic dwelling on the Island.

We just drove through the village, and didn’t know about these murals or the cave, only learned about them when I looked up the info on the internet.

Another winding mountain road brought us to Psinthos, a classic Greek small village with running waters in fountain Fasouli and the age long platania, which reveal the beauty of Rhodes countryside.

In the village square is a church dedicated to Theotokos. Life centers around the village square where you can see quite a lot of people just sitting back and, to use a well-known phrase, "watching the world go by". Psinthos is famous as the site of the last battle between the Turks and Italians.

Because of the rainy weather, we hardly saw anybody ‘watching the world go by’ – that’s probably only during the summer time…. Narrow streets, hardly suitable for two-way traffic, make up the main road (red on the map) from one village to the next.

Due to the heavy rain of these past days, the winding mountain road was full of fallen stones and even rocks, making it almost a one-lane road. Thankfully, there was hardly any traffic here as well. We passed the Valley of the butterflies (entrance also deserted) so we know how to get there another time.

Hairpin curves led us down into the valley and up again on 10% steep roads, giving us breath taking views of the mountains, hills and the west coast sea.

While on the west coast main road from the northern city of Rhodes to Kattavia in the deep south of the island we drove past hothouses and lots of agriculture, sometimes right next to the sea. In the distance, you could see islands of different sizes, probably Turkey!

It was time for a coffee break!

Soroni, with just a few shops, a couple of taverns and a small beach, is totally unspoilt and an excellent place to relax and unwind. In its fertile soil olive trees, vineyards, citrus gloves and other agricultural products are cultivated.  Nearby is a tiny church called Aghios Soulas. The monastery takes it name from Syllas, the student and follower of Paulus the Apostole. It was most probably founded in the early Christian times and was renovated in 1836 to its present day. Traditional thinking states that the water which springs up from within the monastery cave has therapeutic qualities.     

We past a few tavernas with people in them, so we parked the car in the main street and walked to a local one, where we received our caffeine shot for the morning. 😊 We prefer to sit amongst the locals, which we end up doing anyhow, as we seem to be the only tourists crazy enough to take a holiday in March! We come to enjoy nature, not for the weather – plenty of heat and sunshine in Israel!

As we continued our trip, we past the island's main power plant, just outside the village.

The picturesque village of Kalavarda is a built near the ruins of ancient Kamiros. We decided to visit this interesting place, weather permitting, but because it began to rain, we continued driving. So perhaps another time – then I’ll share about this third of the island's ancient cities.

The working agricultural village Kalavarda has a clean sand/pebbled beach on one side and the imposing peak of Profitis Ilias on the other side. The surrounding area has many local cottage industries and small units producing ceramics, cattle farming and agricultural products, mainly citrus fruits, cereals and oil. Rhodian deer frequent the lush woodlands.

Kritinia was the last city on our day tour. Despite the unstable weather, we drove up to the castle, put on our rain jackets, and climbed the steps to the ruins. We were treated to an awesome view all around!

We took shelter under the entrance gate, because the drizzle turned into a heavy shower.

The castle of Kritinia (Kastello, for the locals) ,is a Venetian castle built in the 16th century on a hill about 131 metres above the village of Kritinia. The germ of the village offers a breathtaking view of the Aegean Sea, the island of Chalki and some other deserted islands. Due to its strategic location, that allowed a 360-degree monitoring view of the sea and thus, the pirates’ and the enemies’ activities, the site was chosen by the Knights of the Order of St, John to build the castle. Originally, the castle was divided in three levels, each of them belonging to a different Grand Master.

In 1480, the Ottoman Turks sent 100.000 soldiers across Rhodes in an effort to invade and conquer the island with a big number of troops sent to Kritinia as well, attempting to seize the castle. However, regardless of the fact that the Turks outnumbered the Knights a lot, and after many bloodshed battles, the Turkish troops finally retreated, leaving the castle full of ruins and damages. Without wasting time though, the Knights engaged themselves to restoring the damages that the castle had sustained, bringing it back to its original form.

Only the shell of the castle still survives today. But above the rather disintegrated entrance of it, lie the coats of arms of two of the Grand Masters of the Medieval Era. The coat of arm of the Grand Master D’Amboise (1503-1512) and the one of the Grand Master Origny (1467 – 1476). Within the walls, there are also remnants of a chapel devoted to Saint John, where you can view amazing 16th century wall paintings. The Greek Archeological Services plans to conserve and renovate the damaged sections of the castle and the church.       Source: http://www.rhodesguide.gr

It was no using waiting for the rain to let up so we went back to the car to eat our sandwich and head back home.

Our next village is Embonas, which has an interesting history!

Embonas, at over 800 metres altitude, lies in the mountain of Attaviros. The villagers keep their traditions and some still wear local costumes. Blessed with one of the best wines on earth, the

village attracts many visitors during the wine festivals in August.

There’s much more to see in this village, but we have to leave that until another time!

Through winding mountain roads, from one rain shower into another, we follow the road to Apollona.

Apollona village acquired its name from the Temple of God Apollo who was the protector of Rhodes Island and fine arts at the time. The approx.1,000 residents are surrounded by more than 70.000 acres of land. Most of the villagers deal mainly with the cultivation of olive trees.

This village too has much to see and explore, amongst others a historical museum, which we past but didn’t have time to stop and see. Another time, perhaps?

When we drove through the village of Eleousa again, this time we knew more about the old, abandoned buildings that I wrote about yesterday!

Archipoli village came next, and the closer we got to the eastern coast, the skies became brighter and even sunny!

Psinthos was next, after a beautiful winding road with awesome views of the surrounding hills, thousands of olive trees, green meadows filled with wild flowers and in the distance the beautiful Aegean Sea. What a beautiful country. It feels BIG! So much to explore and enjoy. Such a privilege to be able to be here!

After some quick last minute shopping in our 2 (!) favorite supermarkets we came home to a sunny sky.

While Wim enjoyed his much-needed siesta, I prepared the chicken for tonight’s meal: gyros.

On the other side of the fence a herd of wild goats were filling their stomachs with fresh leaves from the abundant growing bushes. They are very shy and run off quickly. It’s good that the premises are fenced in, otherwise those goats would create havoc on the everything Stergos built here, and leaving their droppings wherever they go. And the sharp smell of their urine!

The rest of the day was spent writing the blog and learning many new things about Rhodes, a.o. its checkered history of many, many conquerors. I’ll list them later this week.

For Wim, Shabbat evening (it feels totally different here) means time to write his weekly newsletter.

What tomorrow will bring? We don’t know yet, but will decide then, depending on how the weather looks. The weather forecast for next week is hopeful – no more storm, perhaps a shower here or there, but overall dry and pleasant!