Collossal time in Rhodes

Today, the Captain parked the Dawn Princess in Rhodes and we spent the day exploring the old city of Rhodes, a short walk from the ship and we were into the old city - surrounded by fortified walls, towers, bridges and even a moat. One of the wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes, a 100 foot high bronze statue once stood guard over the entrance to the harbour until it was destroyed by earthquake in 224 BC.

 Once again, we were among the first to leave the ship after we docked, so we were able to appreciate the town before it was jam packed with tourists – there is something special about those early morning hours when all the preparations for the day are being made – footpaths swept, signs placed outside and stock moved around. Since today was Sunday, the church bells rang out over the town as the locals made their way on foot to the small churches dotted around.

The main attraction in old Rhodes is the Palace of the Grand Masters, a fortress originally built in the 14^th century, but destroyed in 1856 and rebuilt – the Knights of St John were founded here in the Crusades as a nursing brotherhood – I just realised why so many hospitals have St John in their name – and then there is the St John’s ambulance – learning something every day!! We wandered through the palace which is filled with medieval furniture, paintings and candlesticks from the 1500’s.

The Knights Road which leads up to the Palace, is home to inns where the knights lived in communities based on language and these are still some of the most impressive buildings in the town. The town itself has become a tourist mecca, so its winding streets are filled with restaurants, cafes, gelato shops, as well as jewellery stores selling Greek gold and silver ware, and of course, the obligatory t-shirt shops.

We went into one jewellery store where Hercules, the owner, tried to convince us that there are only three honest jewellers in Greece and he is one of them – we just chuckled and had a few laughs with him as he tried to convince us that all the other stores sold jewellery from China while his was design and made personally by himself in his store.

We strolled down the street of the knights and found the Old Clock tower where a very attractive young English girl at the door advertised tickets for 5 euros which included free cold drinks at the roof top bar. After climbing up the scary narrow winding staircase to the top of the tower, which is the highest point in Rhodes, we were more than ready for an icy cold drink so we settled under a large shady tree –and as a bonus - free w-fi meant we were able to make Viber calls back to the family in Australia.

As we meandered around the laneways and byways, we stumbled upon Suleiman’s Mosque, Mustafa Mosque, Mustafa baths, Archaeological Museum and the fort of St Nicholas –monuments to the history of invasions into Rhodes over the centuries. There seems to be a lot of cats roaming around in every Greek port we have been to – and they are a symbol for the islands, so today I started to take photos of all the souvenirs which feature cats – everything from handbags to glass platters, magnets and postcards. Not sure about these Greeks – many of the souvenirs featured ancient Greek pictures of naked couples in very interesting positions (say no more) – carved in olive wood, on plates, vases, statues, ceramics, platters, water bottles, and even bottle openers!!

Soon the tummy started to growl, so we opted to head away from the main tourist street and had lunch in Odyssey Taverna in a backstreet with the locals – lunch consisted of a wonderful Greek salad and a Mezedes platter for two – which was more than enough for four- servings of dolmades, Moussaka, stuffed tomatoes and capsicum, white bean casserole, Gyros, Soutzoukakia, Pastitsio, oven baked lemon potatoes - served on a clay platter over a flame to keep them warm – all the delights we have come to enjoy over the last few days in Greece! It seems like all we do is eat our way around Europe.

As we sat waiting for our lunch to be served, we watched the touts situated outside each restaurant along the street trying to get the tourists into their establishment to eat – a difficult task since the menus are very similar, the prices are similar and they are all quaintly decorated.

 The technique was quite funny to watch in action.

Step 1: Make eye contact.

Step 2: Hand your card and menu to the female, while complimenting the female in the couple.

Step 3: Shake hands with the male and ask where they are from.

Step 4: Well, would you believe it – wherever you say you are from – the Greek tout has a cousin who lives there. We watched one guy who must have an enormous family cause in 15 minutes, we discovered that he has cousins in Melbourne, Wagga, Perth, Sydney, Haberfield, Fairfield, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canada and Auckland- exactly the same as the home town of every potential patron he approached- what a coincidence!!

Step 5: Once it has been established that you are almost related, since you live in the same town as his cousin, only then are you invited into the restaurant.

Very entertaining to watch the mini drama unfolding!

After lunch we continued to explore and came across a ‘fish spa’, where the tiny fish nibble all the dead skin from your feet. Jo and I took up the challenge to feed the fish – the first time you put your feet into the water and the swarm all over them; it feels a bit like mini shocks or pins and needles in your feet. Overall, it was not a bad experience although my feet are very ticklish, so I kept pulling them away from the fish.

We started to head back to the ship since, it was getting late, and as we walked, we enjoyed another gelati – lime flavour this time – very refreshing – but not in my top 5 list as I taste my way around the gelati flavours of Europe!!

 Captain, pull in those lines and let us head to Kusadasi, tomorrow, we conquer Ephesus….