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.
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!
