Rhodes: today we say goodbye to 2 travel buddies

 

Rhodes: Today we say farewell to 2 travel buddies

A slow morning with a much cooler temperature and a lot more wind whipping up a few small whitecaps at sea- hope it calms down for our trip to Santorini on Wednesday!!!!!!!

Not much activity early as Libby and Eric made sure their gear was at least together as they prepared to leave. Annie and Trish went for an early morning dip at the local beach. When they returned, we dropped Tina and Jenny off at the tourist place in Pefkos for them to get their boat for their trip to Ialysos just after lunch, and the rest of us girls( Eric stayed home for a WFD)went towards Lardos to check out the Feet Fish Nibbling activity. Sandy, Trish, Libby and Squizz sat for half an hour with our feet in the fish tanks giving the little critters a gourmet feast on our feet while Annie checked out the local beach and the refreshing waves.

 

 

When we had finished we called past our villa to collect Eric and continued down to Lee Beach Restaurant to have lunch with Libby and Eric before they left for the airport and for home.

 

Sandy & Trish took the hit for the team and offered to take Lib & Eric back up to Rhodes to the airport for their flight to Athens and then Singapore via Doha. We left slightly behind the planned schedule as Eric was not ready to leave!

They arrived safely in Rhodes and drove around the Old Town and the ferry terminals, checking out the ticket office and the place we would have to park on Wednesday when we go back up to catch the ferry to Santorini.  We then located the deer that according to legend Colossus straddled as his role in guarding the harbour and entry to Rhodes - though the exact location is up for dispute! Colossus is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world along with Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Zeus etc.  It is a bronze statue of Helios which was built in 292BC and stood 33 metres high. It took 12 years to build and was dethroned 226BC when an earthquake struck Rhodes. It lay in ruins till 654BC when it was sold by the invading Arabs to a Syrian Jew who transported it on the backs of 900 camels. Helios was the personification of the sun in Greek mythology, a handsome Titan!

Eric & Trish were taking photos when Lib & Sandy saw a boat come into the harbour...we were sure it was Tina & Jenny on the top BUT Eric assured us it was not them as they were due in hours ago.......many hours later after we located our missing in action friends we discovered it was indeed them and their boat trip  which we all thought would take 2.5 hrs had in fact taken 7 hours!

Trish & Sandy then had a short roam around  the old town while Lib & Eric sat and relaxed as reflected in their week in Croation and their week with us all in Greece! Sandy did manage to find a few minutes to peruse silver jewellery and purchase a gorgeous, unique ring.

 

 

 

 

Too soon it was time to depart for the airport and after battling through peak hour traffic along the windy narrow streets we arrived safely about 70minutes before their flight was due to depart. We said farewell till next time! Actually not too long as Sandy will be visiting Lib & Eric in Singapore in a few short months and then they will be back home living in Darwin. It has gone on record Eric has offered / promised to cook Sandy dinner once a week!

Jenny and Tina booked on the boat trip up the Rhodes to check out the coast and go and visit a cousin of Anthea's at his resort in Ialysos. They got a spot on the side of the boat that will get the best views of the coast and settled in. It was really good to see the side of the island from the sea. The boat pulled up in at one bay and everyone could all jump out for a swim. It was so refreshing and cool. On the way again they started to realise they are on the equivalent to the mail run. The boat stopped in every little resort bay and dropped people off. Time was ticking and it wasnt going to be the 2 1/2 hours they were told as it was close to 6.30pm. 
Once finally off, Tina and Jenny needed to find the bus station to get a bus to the cousins resort. There was a bus sitting there which was the right one to get us where they were going. There was a little issue once off the bus, Jenny hadn't saved an address, loaded a map or had any idea where they needed to go and after much messing around jumped in a cab to discover that the cousin wasn't even there at the resort. 
Oh well. 
It was nearly time for Sandy and Trish to collect them and Tina's phone was flat and she was getting worried that they would have to catch the midnight bus back home. When the little car came around the corner,  Tina shot up, so excited and got straight in the car commanding them to get her outta there! Everyone had a laugh. 

 

On the way home the gang stopped in just the right place for photographer Trish to get a great shot of Colossus right in the middle of the Strip, an area just like Las Vegas.

 

Annie and Squizz stayed home and after a leisurely time by the pool and a refreshing drink or two, headed into Lindos to walk those wonderful winding streets at night. Before returning home about 10.45 pm they  had dinner on Tim's rooftop restaurant where the sights were amazing, the food yummy and wind as strong as. They chased our lettuce a number of times across the table, returned peoples' serviettes numerous times to them and had to drink fast as the slightly empty glasses would wobble and tip. Great night but! 

They arrived home and were having their final coffee by the pool when we were surprised by the late arrival and stories of the intrepid travellers from Rhodes.