Who goes to a Greek island in February? I do. Why? Because their season is actually closed which means no tourists around and this is just the way I like it. I had the whole island to myself along with the locals. There were no queues for tickets. No tourists in front of monuments while I take photos and certainly no inflated prices. The only downside was the slightly cold temperature. It was sunny but there was a pretty cool breeze and in the evenings it was damn cold. No matter as I was going to have a fabulous time exploring this tiny island.
I started off walking to the top of the island, the pointy bit as I call it. The views were spectacular as I headed to the top of the island. I then walked to the harbour and tried to imagine the colossus statue of Rhodes, one of the ancient wonders of the world. It was a pretty harbour and the three windmills and reindeer towers were very lovely. When I entered the old city, it was empty apart from a couple of old guys having coffee. No hordes of people bothering you, just the beautiful sunlight against the backdrop of an old city and some mangy cats too.
I practically camped out near the bus stations bugging the guys for information. As it wasn’t the season not all buses ran to timetable. I really wanted to visit Lindos and was able to get a bus there. The trip was 90 minutes each way so I had a day trip planned. Lindos is a small white washed village on the edge of the coast with the acropolis perched on top of the hill. It was very picturesque as it was sunny. The next bus back to town was about 4 hours away so I had plenty of time to explore. Unfortunately everything was closed because the season had not started yet. The more I wandered through the cobbled streets the more shops were closed except for the essential butchers and bakers. I headed straight to the top for the acropolis. It didn’t take too long but I was disappointed when I got there. The place was closed. I walked around to see the surroundings and took pictures. I noticed that the door looked closed but the padlock was not locked. I should have realised that someone was obviously inside. I walked in and nearly got away with it but I was escorted out sharpish. I decided to go check out the beach. I saw some donkeys and ate my packed lunch at the square. I went back to the bus station hoping for an earlier bus and luckily there was one in an hour. So I pottered about the small village and finally got the bus back into Rhodes.
The next place to see was Filerimos. I got the bus and I got off just in time when I saw a small sign showing the little hill. I followed the sign and walked on but couldn’t see the hill was going to climb. 90 minutes later I finally came to a cross road and the left was the way up the hill. I started this early afternoon and I had just spent 2 hours getting to the bottom of the hill and I still had 6 kms to go. The walk was not that memorable. Walking on the road is pretty boring normally but at least I got to see the view of the whole island. I finally reached the top and was greeted by peacocks in the garden of the monastery. Unfortunately it was also closed as it was after 3pm. I knew I should have started the trip earlier. Never mind, the cross was my main reason to visit. There was a giant cross on the hill and it was impressive. There were great views and I enjoyed my walk all the way back down through the town and then back to the bus stop. It was getting dark and getting very cold. I regretted not bringing my jacket.
Rhodes town had its own acropolis too. I found it on the map and went looking for it. The walk to me past many residential areas. It took a while so I imagined that I might have got lost but eventually I saw it in the distance. I walked up to it and had the acropolis all to myself. Not a soul in sight. The sun was shining and the birds were singing and the view of the acropolis was truly beautiful.
I even visited Kosikinou which is another little village that has beautiful decorated doors. They don't have that many anymore so it took me a while to find them. It really was like a maze. Everytime I thought i took a different route I was back to where I started again. Got lost sevral times but it was fun.
I’m not certain that I would have enjoyed myself on this island during the high season. I struggled a little with the crowd on Santorini and that wasn’t even in the high season. Rhodes attracts millions of people each year. I can tell by the number of hotels. Most hotels were closed for refurbishment. Even the beaches were left to rot until clean week before the tourist season opens. The whole island was getting itself ready for the tourists and I’m glad I won’t be one of them. Can you imagine Falaraki in peak season? I even avoided it on this trip just in case.
