Another stormy night with some rain, also this morning. The
forecast was for showers in the morning and another storm (wind 35-55 km/hr) and
more rain in the afternoon. Temp: 15 degrees, south/easterly wind.
The ever-changing skies and sea are a continuing joy to
watch. Because of the weather, we decided to change our plans
(again) and go for a ride to Archangelos. When we left around 10.15 a.m. the
weather was perfect for us!
We’re beginning to feel at home on road # 95 – the main eastern
road south.
According to the guide book, Archangelos is a typical Greek town
which managed to stay ‘genuine’ and not become a fake holiday village.
TIDBITS ABOUT ARCHANGELOS
Archangelos, on the east coast, about 30 kilometers south of Rhodes town, at an elevation of 160 meters. The town's name derives from Archangel Michael who is also considered its patron.
Due to frequent invasions of pirates the coastal settlements were abandoned after the 7th century AD. Over time, various settlements merged to become the town of Archangelos. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Knights Hospitaller who were occupying the island of Rhodes since 1309, built a fortress (some sort of an Acropolis) on top of one of the town's nearby hills to protect from a possible Ottoman invasion on the island. Ruins of this (castle of Saint John) fortress remain today. Major economic resources include tourism, agriculture (main agricultural products are olive oil and citrus fruits), stockbreeding and pottery. Pottery was always one of the major occupations of the people of Archangelos.
The narrow,
winding roads zigzagged between houses painted white with blue doors. We
followed the sign to the “Acropolis”, wondering where we would end up as the narrow
road became steeper the higher we came.
Wim stayed on the road at the foot of the ‘castle’ of St. John
fortress, while I climbed the rocky path and steps to see what it looked like.
Still a long way from the sea, it gave a beautiful view of the surrounding
valley and town below.
I wondered what those words “OXI” meant that were painted on the
wall of the ruined castle. The internet gave me the following information:
October 28 is a
National holiday in Greece celebrating the ΟΧΙ (No) Day – the refusal of Greece
in 1940 to accept the Italian ultimatum advanced by Benito Mussolini, to allow
the Italian fascist troops to enter the country and the following successful
military campaign, defeating the Italian troops into the Albanian territory.
Six months later, Greece was attacked on the Bulgarian border by the joined
forces of the Axis, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. Apart from the importance of
the military operations, the refusal of Greece to accept the Axis terms and the
battles that followed were very significant on the moral front. To commemorate
the OXI Day student and military parades are organized all over the country.
Trying to find our way back into the city center was also an
experience. At first, I didn’t think our little Fiat Panda would be able to
pass through a particularly narrow lane, but when a local drove around the
corner, Wim decided to follow suit! When we made it safely to the other end (with
the stone wall intact) I sighed a sigh of relief!
Not finding any place to park our car we walked the length of the
main street back to an area that had three coffee shops/restaurants to choose
from. We opted for the ‘cozy’ looking one and enjoyed our cappuccino amongst
the local people and many teenagers from the nearby high school.
Walking through the narrow lanes we found the beautiful church
whose bell tower we had seen from the Acropolis. Its courtyard had a beautiful mosaic
from white and black pebbles, traditional for Rhodes, and called cochlaki.
Via the little town of Malona we took a breathtaking scenic route
to Platania.
This village (383 inhabitants) is named after the many plane trees
growing in the region. It is shadowed by a mountain range, with a truly
majestic view of the countryside. The area surrounding this small enchanting
Greek village situated is used for sheep and goat herding.
 |
| picture from the internet |
Passing through the village of Eleousa, we noticed some very old, dilapidated
buildings, wondering what they were. While writing this blog I learned the
interesting history of the place.
Eleousa (Compochiaro) is part of Italian Rhodes has been abandoned
for many years. Compochiaro, was built around 1935 to house around 100 Italian
settlers who were brought in to manage the forests in the area. Opposite the
church stands a building known as the old Sanatorium. It was used for the
quarantine and treatment of Tuberculosis from 1947 to 1970. The war, and then the German occupation, did
the rest. Most settlers left between 1940 and 1943; a few remained until
1947... when Rhodes was united with Greece, the Italians expelled, and
Campochiaro given its present name.
Our next village, Archipoli(s) was reached via a beautiful road
lined with plane trees and cypresses. The village is famous for its rich forest, which spans long, rich
flora and many animals such as hares, partridges, hawks, and even deer.
Archipolis is a village of beekeepers. During the Ottoman occupation, the
fertile Rhodian earth was in the hands of Turkish landowners. Beekeeping
offered the Greek peasants a way to earn some extra income. Since ancient
times, this branch was the domain of land-less farmers, because the hives could
be placed everywhere. Archipolis is famous for its thyme and pine honey.
After we missed an exit (because of the sudden influx of cars on
the road!) we were ‘forced’ to take the scenic route towards Epta Piges (Seven
Springs) – on our wish list. Curious to know how to get there we followed the
sign up a very steep (but thankfully well-kept) road and parked near the
abandoned entrance of the park. It is definitely out-of-season, but we like it.
So we took a sneak-peek of the little stream, the wooden bridges and a few of
the springs and will wait a few days for the earth to dry up a bit before
exploring this beautiful wooded area. At least we know where it is.
Heading back towards Faliraki we had some rain but by the time we
reached the fork in the road towards our ‘home’, the sun broke through again. So
we grabbed our chance to explore the Ladiko beach and the Anthony Quinn bay –
part of which we can see from our balcony.
Except for the guard dog, Ladiko beach too was deserted. But so
beautiful! We enjoyed the waves, the pebbled and sandy beach, the rocks and the
emerald water. In August, the Ladiko cove
is very popular among Italians, and becomes a very crowded tourist spot. Today,
we were grateful for the peace and quiet, and a thick winter coat, gloves and a
hat! Was this the cove we could see from our balcony? It looked different.
After we drove up a little further, we reached Anthony Quinn bay
and new this was the one!
And this is what I learned from the internet about this beautiful
bay:
The bay
has natural stone surfaces, pine trees reaching down to the water's edge, and
emerald green water - Anthony Quinn certainly showed impeccable taste when he
fell in love with its miniature bay and tried to buy it after filming The Guns
of Navarone there. Eventually, because of legal matters, the sale fell through,
but for years he fought through the Greek courts to lay claim to the bay that
even today is known as "Anthony Quinn beach".
The
waters owe their deep emerald colour to the lush green vegetation surrounding
the beach. One of most beautiful beaches on Rhodes, it’s mostly popular with
young people - especially Italians - since the sharp rocks both in and out of
the water are not ideal for families with young children or elderly people. You
will find people here only in July and August - during the rest of the year the
water is so much too cold for most people.
Our plan was to drive up to the monastery and see what we didn’t
reach yesterday, but we missed the exit and ended up on Road 95 again. Time to
go home.
It definitely was, because we were hardly inside, or it began to
rain again. Exactly as predicted, the winds became stronger and the rest of the
afternoon we enjoyed the cozy apartment while outside the rain beat the
windows!
Good weather to write the blog post, take a nap (Wim) and relive
the day by looking at the more than 164 pictures that I took today!
