Rodos, Greece

July 21-29, 2007

Yassou, Hellas! (Hello, Greece!)

The Wilcock Family went to Greece! Woo Hoo! As a little family vacation before Jacob troops off to “the desert”, it was a last-minute decision to go. We found a really good deal on the internet (it’s cheaper to travel to Europe from here – sometimes it feels like a crime, it’s so cheap!) and went to the Greek Island of Rodos (Rhodes). Our hotel was in Afandou (pronounced like “a cheese fondue” but without the “cheese”) and the beach was a 20 minute walk across a very busy highway. The Golf View Hotel was situated on a hillside which sounds picturesque, but stunk as you hoofed up the hill after a long day out! ;)

Day 1 Saturday/Sunday
We started off our travels by leaving London-Gatwick at 11:40pm. There were a few stresses involved in this, due to the fact that I left my camera on the bus … I know, I know. Me, the Mistress of Photography, forgetting her camera – I went through definite withdrawal symptoms! I was expecting to take 400+ pictures, so I relied on Melissa and Austin’s cameras. Oh well! :(

Sunday
We arrived in Rhodes at 5:30am and after the entire airport rig-a-maro, it was hotel check-in time! Our hotel may not have been 5 star, but it did have a nice view of the sea, a pool and air conditioning. What more can you ask for? ;)

We had a short nap and attended an orientation by the tour representative – we learned of additional excursions you can go on. We picked to go to a water park, a scenic tour of Rhodes and a daytrip to Turkey. For the Turkey trip, we needed to register our passport numbers. I rushed up to the room to grab them, but wait! I looked and I looked and I couldn’t find them anywhere! Here, baby Tina took over. Baby Tina had a bit of a cry – talk about frustration! Of course, visions of replacement passports (and the cost) and replacement visas (and the cost) flashed before my eyes. I talked to the representative and (fortunately, she did not laugh in my face) she informed me that when you check-in, they retain the passports behind the desk. Didn’t I know that from traveling in the States? Of course, I don’t need my passport in the States and this was our first “tour-guide” trip. Chalk it up as an experience (I hope no-one repeats).

After the fiasco and my tears dried up, we journeyed across the highway to Afandou Beach. The water was warmer than here in England (of course) and saltier (of course) but we didn’t expect it to bee that salty! Talk about “caked on salt” … the water was crystal clear and blue and clean and beautiful!

A funny story happened whilst Melissa and I were swimming along … we passed a little group of people and Melissa noticed one lady who had only “one arm” – at that point, it really did look like she had one arm! – but it turns out (when she reached down to grab something) that it wasn’t an “arm” we were staring at, it was her breast! Oopsies! We obviously are not used to seeing nudies at the beachies …

Day 2 – Monday
Faliraki Water Park, here we come! A short journey up the highway and we were at one of Europe’s largest water parks! The kids, especially, enjoyed the day out. Unfortunately, we did not apply the proper amount of sunscreen and tender skin and redness were frequent amongst the family! I’m still burnt in places, thank you very much! Good thing we didn’t join in the fun and go all-out nudey … OUCH!

Day 3 – Tuesday
The scenic tour of Rhodes was informative and we were able to see a ceramics factory, a winery, an ancient city, lots of butterflies and an old monastery. Here is a detailed breakdown 4 U!

Ceramics Factory – The first stop of the day was at a factory where they make and hand-paint all of their own ceramics. Austin spotted a lot of pictures of Hercules and other characters from the movie on Grecian urns … ;) We drove to a little café next and had a drink and sampled some of the local honey. Thyme is very common around the island and the honey has a distinct flavor of thyme in it. Yummy! They also had samples of locally made Souma, which is made from grapes (like Ouzo).

Wine Factory – The Emery Wine Factory was up next – we watched as our friends sampled the local wines (white and rose) and took a peek at the big vats o’wine. Seeing as we don’t drink alcohol, it was a nice time to take a break and relax in the shade.

Lunch was at a café in a little village on the way to the ancient city of Kamiros. The kids, not too fond of Greek food or anything different, ended up having some chips (fries) and a cheese omelet. Jacob, on the other hand, went traditional and had choriatiki (a Greek salad which is a mix of feta, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, olive oil, and olives), a type of meatball but made out of garlic, rice and a souvlaki (shish kebab) of chicken.

Kamiros – This ancient city was built around the 7th century BC and was one of the three most important cities in Rhodes. The “Greek Pompeii” was deserted and rediscovered in 1929. Unlike Pompeii, Italy, Kamiros eventually became forsaken due to the migration of it’s inhabitants to Rhodes Town, which is approx. 18 miles away. It was my “favorite part of the day”!

Valley of the Butterflies – The (genus) Panaxia butterfly swarms here due to the humidity and cooler temperature. The area is very wooded (compared to the drier coast) and it is amazing to see the thousands of butterflies! Over the last few years, the population of the Panaxia has been constantly declining – one of the biggest factors is the disturbance of visitors (like myself – but I was a good girl!). The butterfly has no stomach – they don’t eat but survive on the energy stoed from their lives as caterpillars. The disturbance (of people) is forcing the butterflies to fly all day, consuming their energy. In the valley, it is prohibited to disturb them in any way (clapping, whistling, yelling, etc.).

Filerimos – A hill near Rhodes Town, Filerimos takes its name from a monk who arrived here in the 13th century. The upper part has a large plateau where most of the buildings are found. The foundations of a temple, an early Christian basilica and a Byzantine church are observed here.

Greek Night – For 10 euros a person (the children were free – yeah!), we experienced a Greek night at our hotel. The food was really good – a lot of “mandatory” feedings to Melissa and Austin did happen on a number of occasions – and there was a good variety. The choriatiki (Greek salad) was good and the souvlaki (pork kebab) was exceptional! The hummus was good (although it had cucumber in it) and the psomi (bread) went well with it. We were introduced to tzatziki (dip made from yogurt, cucumber and garlic) was AWESOME! It tastes really good with the souvlaki – the Greeks eat it in their gyros, too!

Day 4 – Wednesday
Today was our first “down day”. We lounged by the pool and met new friends and splashed and ate and read the rest of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (sniff, sniff) ;) Jacob described this as his favorite day of the trip – we didn’t have to wake up early … for once!

Day 5 – Thursday
An early departure to Marmaris, Turkey started the day off right! We arrived in Marmaris around 9:00am and took a bus to the top of a hillside to a quaint restaurant. We had a typical Turkish breakfast – bread, cheese, olives, tomatoes, eggs, honey – it was the best breakfast!

After a full tummy, we went to the gold district (Turkish gold is supposedly less expensive) and then to a bazaar! We toured the castle, which according to historians, has been there since 3000BC. Alexander the Great invaded this area of Turkey and at during that time, the citizens burned their valuables and the castle. Kanuni Sultan Suleyman rebuilt the castle in 1522. Since 1979, the castle has been converted into a museum, which we toured and really enjoyed.

We were introduced to the “Blue Eye” or “Evil Eye”. Belief in the “evil eye” is strongest in the Mediterranean region (it’s seen in Mexico and South America, too) and dates back to biblical times. The “evil eye” is seen as a sickness transmitted (unintentionally) by someone who is envious, jealous, or covetous. It is believed that a person can harm you, your children, your livestock, or your fruit trees by looking at them with envy and praising them at the same time. Jacob bought me a “blue eye” necklace, so I’ll let you know if it works (first, I need someone to envious of me – like that would happen!)

Another interesting story – We were standing in line to board the catamaran for Greece when an elderly couple (behind us) smiled at Austin, saw his "blue eyes" and touched his head and muttered something to themselves. I found this interesting so after a bit of research, this is what I found:

The evil eye is an ailment common among children. It is believed that it is caused by excessive affection. If a woman or a man sees a child with physical attributes which he admires, he must touch the child and invoke God's protection so that the child will not suffer from the evil eye.

Day 6 – Friday
Another “down day” for the Wilcock family! Poolside fun was had by all! Our new friends, the Burke family (Terry and Karen and their children Dominic, Tim and Nick with niece Jodi) were leaving on Saturday, so we decided to spend their last night out on the town! We walked to Afandou and had some “drinks” ;) before venturing to supper. We ate at a local café and dined on kalamarakia (squid), meatballs, cheeseballs (interesting – not sure how to explain these) and chips (of course).

Day 7 – Saturday
Today was our tour of Rhodes Town. This town is the oldest inhabited medieval town. There was shopping a-plenty and we finally had some gyros! It was yummy, but I must admit the Greek (and Turkish) restaurants are s-l-o-w in serving you. We waited for nearly 30 minutes for an order of two gyros’. It was worth the wait, though!

Day 8 – Sunday
Departure for the airport was at 3:45am – needless to say it was a long day. The flight (on XL airlines … tiny seats, okay food) was flawless (the landing was interesting, though) and we arrived in England almost 40 degrees cooler. Brrr!

Oh, I should probably tell you the biggest tip of all – when traveling in Greece, do not flush your toilet paper down the toilet. The sewer systems can’t handle the paper. I know, it took us awhile to get the hang of it, but we adapted.

We are really hoping to have another opportunity to go there – there was so much we didn’t get to see! Symi Island is supposedly awesome and the Jeep Safari you take around Rodos Island is, we hear, spectacular!

All-in-all, Greece was wonderful! Our family is very blessed to be able to travel to such wonderful and exotic (to us) places!