Another day in Symi

I've stopped for a third night in Symi because there was another beach that I wanted to walk to. My legs were complaining so much that I had to have a little sleep when I got back.
Good news is that the temperature has dropped quite considerably in the last few hours, so now its a very pleasant evening. I'm off for something to eat, probably a pizza because that's what I had last night, and it was excellent.
Tomorrow it's Kos hope I can find somewhere to stay.

The secluded beach at Agia Marina

I set of on a 7km hike to a beach with no roads to it, not even a decent path. The path was quite well marked with blue dots at 50m intervals. It was hot and very hard walking with sandals but what kept me going was the image that I had in my mind of a crescent of silver sand fringed by a turquoise sea with only me on it. As you can see the reality was somewhat different. They've actually fenced it off. I had to break in! Then I bought an orange fanta so that I could sit under an umbrella and they charged me €2.5 which seemed quite extortionate.

First stop today.

My first visit today was the archeological museum. It took me half an hour to find it because of the labyrinthine alleys that I had to navigate through.

Symi by night

I've been walking along the harbour's edge imbibing the nocturnal ambience.

Fast food greek style

I've just had chicken souvlaki, taziki, chips, pitta bread and chips. Chicken was bit salty and curiously soft, I suspect that it had been plumped by some method that I'd rather not think about

First stop on Symi is a monastery

Pretty much the same as all the other monasteries I've been to although they do seem to be making more effort to cater for the tourist selling ice creams, beer and sponges. I went round the heritage museum which was actually very interesting. Lots of strange agricultural implements and kitchen utensils.

Ferry technical update

I've just thought about using the GPS on my phone to check the boat's speed and location. It says 53 kph which is 33mph. The second pic is the location and we are traveling NE

Symi accommodation

I've got accommodation after walking over the entire town. Whew! What a hot job, I ended up with my shirt dripping with sweat. Good news is that I ended up with a very nice place, aircon, newish, quiet and clean. There is an Olympic holidays sign on the gate. First place I saw was like a cross between a Victorian house and a greek church. The ceilings were all painted and gilded. I was tempted by the idea of staying in somewhere with a bit of character but then I remembered some of the bed and breakfasts that I've stayed at in the UK and they are usually crappy with non functioning drains and mildewey walls.

View astern

A passage to Symi

The ferry was €16 which I thought was very reasonable. I have been told that the slow car ferry would have been €8. The speed that it's travelling at at the moment is very impressive. I think that actually it's slightly dangerous because small children struggle to stand up in the breeze

World heritage site

The old part of Rhodes town is a World Heritage site. Part of it's charm are narrow cobbled streets through which the tourist wander admiring the history. The streets are so narrow that cars are prohibited however that doesn't stop the locals driving motorcycles through them. At times it resembles a chase scene from a Jason Bourne movie with pedestrians leaping for safety into doorways.

Ferries

I went down to the harbour to find out about the cheaper and slower ferry but the man at the ticket office told me that they don't have a timetable. It might be going tomorrow, then again it might not. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say that it was just one of those things. Don't blame me. I think I may have to go on the hydrofoil and pay the extra, although I don't know how much that will be.

Hitching a lift

I got the bus down to Lindos but on the way back, when I looked at the timetable I realised that I had over a hours wait so I tried hitching. Today I have had lifts off - and I'm not making this up - a Greek who was, I suspect mildly intoxicated, an Albanian girl who had been brought up in Norway and then moved to Rhodes, an Italian woman, a Russian couple, and three lads from Brazil. I've never seen such a mix of nationalities. Hitching is actually quicker than catching a bus. Tomorrow I'm off to Symi, I've just got to walk down to the harbour because I've discovered that there is a slow boat which may be cheaper but I need to check the timetable tonight.

The Acropolis in more detail

The Acropolis is being renovated, I suspect that the work is being carried out by McAlpine or Bovis possibly with materials supplied by Blue Circle cement. What you can see in this photo is 90% concrete. Look closely at the columns and you may notice that each is topped with a block of original stone. The rest is concrete.
The way up to this ancient monument is steep and quite arduous but its not helped by the fact that its lined for the first 200m with shops selling chinese manufactured tourist tat. After that you have to join a queue with slow moving corpulent people and slow moving people on donkeys whilst all the time looking down to make sure you don't stand in donkey faeces.

Wish you were here?

The Acropolis of Rhodes

Caught a bus down the island to Lindos and climbed up to the Acropolis along with about a thousand other people.

It's a monster

This ship is gigantic. The whole of Rhodes town is crawling with passengers that have spewed off this ship and others like it and there is a river of people walking too and from the harbour area.
I've just walked round for nearly 3 hours and its just wall to wall shops selling the usual tourist tat.

A nice panorama

The Pink Elephant

I found it eventually although it took some doing.
It's tucked away in an alley within the oldest part of the town. The walls are constructed from stone and are quite thick. Inside the air is so cool in contrast to the heat outside and at first I thought there must be air conditioning, but there isn't. My room is simply furnished and spotlessly clean, the furniture is all old and painted with gloss paint which gives the place a charmingly simple appearance, like something from an article in a magazine about doing your home up on a very tight budget.

The expansion of gas at low pressure

The man next to me has just got a packet of crisps out of his bag, as usual it's swollen so much that it's almost spherical. It has just occurred to me that this effect is probably connected to the sensation of bloating that I am experiencing in my colon. I suspect that my internal gasses have increased in volume by around 25% and are now seeking an exit.