When I reached land, it was hot and sunny and my hostel was about a 20 minute walk away. Only a few more times I would have to carry this heavy bag! I was welcomed at the hostel with a refreshing glass of lemonade before I headed down to the beach. Just walking around, I very much felt like I was in Greece with white buildings and flowers hanging out from balconies. The beach was pebbles but beggars can't be choosers so I relaxed for a bit before heading back to the hostel and checking in. I got lucky at this hostel it seemed as I was in a 6 bed dorm but the dorm was split into 3 rooms; 1 with 3 beds, 1 with 2 beds, and the other with the 1 bed. I got the 1 bed room which was sweet but it was also the entrance room so the others had to pass by me before reaching their rooms. How is that different from any other hostel though...I thought it was a sweet deal!
Afterwards, I went over to the old town (another one!) and I have to say, this one took the cake. The old town was surrounded by castle walls which used to be a massive medieval fortress. Most things like this, you have to pay to get in but because the old town was located inside the walls, entry was free and unguarded. I first walked around the entire walls, or technically the moat, which took up some time. There were so many entrances leading to underground areas of the fortress, pitch black and spooky. I was really curious to see what was down in these areas but I was too much of a pansy to go and see.
I couldn't get over how cool this old town was. It sometimes felt like I was back in the medieval days going for a stroll within the castle walls. Lots of shops, restaurants, and even hotels filled the streets.
Next, I made my way back to the beach to watch the sunset as the beach faced west. I decided I would make this a daily occasion.
On my second day, my friend Caitlin (from the boat) was stopping in Rhodes before heading back to London that evening. We only had a few hours but we went and saw the Colossus of Rhodes where supposedly a massive statue once stood. The Colossus of Rhodes is one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. There wasn't a whole lot to see inside the fortress but hey, it was free entry. We also went and saw the Acropolis which had both and an ancient stadium and amphitheater in the vicinity. Now this was Greece in my mind. So cool to see, I can't wait to see more of this type of stuff in other parts of Greece.
After that, it was time for Caitlin to leave and time for me to head to the beach. I tanned and I tanned and then once again, caught the sunset. I had read somewhere that this weekend was celebrating tourism or something and there was a free concert at 8pm at the gate of the medieval fortress. I didn't know which gate however but I ventured over anyway to go find it. I made my way over to the other side of town and was stunned by the beauty of the moon rising just above the Colossus. This was the night that was going to be the 'bloodmoon' or lunar eclipse rather. That wouldn't be happening until 3am though, but still the moon was full and bright.
I soon heard some sound coming around the corner and followed it to find some dancers on a stage in front of a big parliamentary building. I thought that this was the concert and it was mediocre so I pressed onto the old town to find something to eat. As I walked through the the old town, I again struggled with settling down on a place to eat but as I was walking toward one of the gates, I saw a bunch of people pouring into another area. Curious, I went after them and found the real concert, where it was just about to start. There was a lot more people here and what a cool setting it was with the moon shining bright and a concert within the castle walls. The music was exactly what you would expect Greek music to be, performed by local musicians. I stayed for a few songs before heading back out and finally settling on a place to eat. I dined by myself with some chicken souvlaki and a tall beer. Yum yum!
I won't say much about the next day as I spent the majority of it on the beach. I watched one last sunset before I made the same journey across town from the previous night. As I came upon the Colossus, I had expected the moon to be up as it had the night before but I know the moon doesn't work like the sun. It wasn't there so I had wondered if it would be rising soon. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I watched the moon rise for the second time in my life. Such an amazing thing to watch as it creeps over the horizon, bright orange. After staring in awe, I grabbed some ice cream which unfortunately had a long curly black hair in it :(
Before flying off to London the next day, I checked out a bit more of the old town and more of the fortress walls.
I think Rhodes doesn't get talked about enough compared to the other islands. I haven't been to the other ones so I can't make the comparison but there was lots to do here, it was beautiful, and the people were nice and all spoke English.
Thus ends my 29 day journey around Europe and back to London it is. I saw so many amazing things and so many places. I had some great some experiences and met some great people along the way, while reconnecting with some familiar faces. Not sure if I would do a journey as long as this again, especially by myself for half of it. My favourite places were Barcelona, Seville, and Porto!
Next:
TBD
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