"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #93 Rhodes, Greece April 2, 2017 Sunday Mostly sunny & 63 degrees Part #1 Of 3 87 Pictures

Well, here we are in Greece, our first European country we will visit for the better part of this week. There are 10,737,500 citizens that speak Greek. The capital is Athens. The best time to visit here is from Easter to June, which is not the peak season, and the weather is simply fine.

There are so many things to see and do here such as visit the Parthenon on a hill overlooking Athens. A sunset viewed from the island of Santorini's Oia Village is a must. The Monasteries of Meteora was unbelievable, and experiencing a Greek Easter in Corfu, seeing priests in their colorful vestments during a midnight candlelight church service is moving.

Greece is also the birthplace of springtime sweet breads and colored Easter eggs. The knights Quarter and Turkish relics of Rhodes walled old town really was a most wonderful place to tour today for us.

Other things to do are hopping a ferry in Piraeus to access nearby countless Greek Islands. Some of our friends will be doing that tomorrow, after arriving to the port of Piraeus for Athens. Having spent countless previous visits to Athens, they will ferry to the next port of Nafplion, and spent the day and night there.

Dining in a harborside café to enjoy the world's most under-rated cuisine is a destination in itself. You can hike up Mt. Olympus to watch for the mythical centaurs and satyrs, or even spot Greek gods. Seeing the dramatic views from the Holy Monastery of Rousanou, Meteora was a trip our buddy Ruud took last year. The timing was perfect, because their group was there right at Easter time. He did get to see the candlelight Mass and was most impressed.

How about the food? One specialty is saganaki, or fried cheese. Gemistes are stuffed peppers, and spanakopita are spinach-filled cheese pastries. I have mastered the art of making these treats, finding them a big hit at dinner parties. Another specialty are soutzoukakia, or meatballs. Grilled octopus, calamari, and roast lamb are on the top as well. And to finish a meal, you can sip ouzo, a grape brandy with anise flavoring. Also popular are retsina, wine with resin, and Greek coffee.

Trademarks are the Acropolis, of course, Kalamata olives, old women in black, Zorba the Greek, white/washed villages, and Homer.

Our port of call today was Rhodes, the fourth largest of the Greek Islands. The Medieval City has 10,000 residents and workers combined. The total population of Rhodes Town is 117,000 people. There is evidence that this area has been populated since the Stone Age. The island has 157 miles of breath-taking coastline. And it has been occupied for 213 years by the Knights of the Order of St. John. They are the ones that built the city's wall and gates, along with hospitals and so many churches you cannot count them. Today it is considered a most beautiful paradise with a temperate climate with mild winters. It earned the distinction of becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Tours here today were from 3 ½ to 8 hours and cost from $55 to $175. The longer tours went to Lindos, while the shorter ones took in the walled city near the ship.

We have never been here, so we decided to stay in town and see the old walled city. We were not disappointed since this city was within walking distance from the pier. Yes, we do have to agree that it was touristy, but if you look beyond the numerous shops and cafes vying for your business, then the true beauty revealed itself.

Within the double-walled city surrounded by moats and steep rock walls, we found stone-paved streets that led to castles, narrow alleyways, small houses, mosques, fountains, quiet squares, and so many churches we lost count. The walls are massive with old gates dating back centuries ago.

We accessed the Virgin Mary Gate across from the harbor. We spent over four hours exploring one end of the city to the other. At 10am, it was not crowded yet, and many of the businesses were not opened yet. In fact we learned that this area just opened up for the season yesterday, when the Pacific Princess was in port. Some of those establishments were not opened at all today, because it was Sunday.

Finding our way to the top and the Palace of the Grand Master, which was not opened, we happened to cross a bridge that took us out of the old city. Now we were sort of lost, but found we were walked parallel to the outside walls and moat. Truthfully, the scenery from this end was even better than being in the middle of it. A series of wooded parks lined the roadside. So we followed it while walking under the shade of cypress, cedar, and sycamore trees.

We ended up going back into the walled city at another gate that crossed over the deep moat. Somehow we found a narrow street that brought us to a café called Mango Restaurant. What caught our attention was the sign advertising pint draft beers for 2.50 Euro. Since it was high noon, we thought it was a fine idea to sit for a spell on the outdoor patio and sip some ice cold beer. We were the only customers there, which was great. All of the cafes down at the main entrance near the harbor were way too crowded for us. So this was a lucky find.

Sitting in a sheltered corner of the patio was so nice, we asked if they had a menu. Of course, the first thing we saw was margarita pizza. That sealed the deal. We stayed to enjoy a delicious pizza cooked perfectly. Our waitress suggested some dessert, so we indulged in a vanilla sundae with strawberry sauce on top. So good. By the time we were ready to leave, some of our cruise buddies happened to be passing by, asking if this place was good. So they took some seats, and ordered lunch as well.

Following some street signs, we found our way back to the port. But not before passing by several barkers for cafes, trying to get us to go to their restaurants. It sort of got annoying, so we left a gate to the harbor road. The day was still early, and there were more places to watch along the water's edge.

We made our way past Kolona Harbor, over the thin peninsula that faced Mandraki Marina. Got some awesome photos from here, before heading back.

We still wanted to find a small treasure that had Rhodes printed on it for a keepsake. So we headed back into the Old City at the Arnauld Gate to check out those shops. We ran right into Susie and Woody, who were dining at a very nice outdoor café. Took about ½ hour to catch up on current ship news before we continued onward.

Finally we located a small shop that was selling pottery, jewelry, and clothing, where we found the perfect souvenir……a shotglass in the shape of a boot with "Rhodes" printed in the design. Perfect. One of us was tempted briefly with some of the silky tops we have bought in other ports such as Phuket or Singapore. The big difference was that the price was 20 Euro ($22 USD) compared to $5 in Thailand. And they do not bargain here from what we saw. One shotglass was fine.

We made the great escape past the pesty vendors and went directly back to the ship. By the way, we found a small building there that had a wonderful detailed map of Rhodes and the Old City. Better late than never.

All aboard was 4:30pm, and the planned sailaway was held in the Crow's Nest. We found out why when we went out on deck nine. The winds were fierce, and getting really chilly. Going down to the aft pool deck was a bit better, and we stayed there as the Amsterdam swung around and headed out into the Aegean Sea. The Captain followed the west coast as we took a southwesterly course towards our next port of Piraeus (Athens), where we will spend two days. It should have been Istanbul for our next two day stop, but that was scrapped months ago…….way too dangerous, which was a huge disappointment to all. Safety comes first.

We lasted outside until well after 6pm, visiting with friends, Diane and Mike. They had also enjoyed this port, as did many folks that have never been here before. By the time we were sailing down the coast, the aft deck had cleared out completely, as it was way too cold. We needed some of that special tea that Diane and Mike were drinking to warm up.

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm. Normally, this venue is not crowded on a port day, but since tomorrow will end this segment, many folks were celebrating with their final meal in here. We understand about 56 folks will leave, and about 37 new passengers will join for the final segment back to Ft. Lauderdale. Cannot believe three months have already gone by since we started in January. It goes by faster every year……

Bill & Mary Ann

Shore excursions buses in Rhodes