Where we’re going, we don’t need Rhodes

A tasty breakfast in bed was a lovely start to the day (and the week). We had come up with a bit of a plan for the day and so we needed to get the girls out of bed, they weren’t happy as they feel we had promised them there would be no early wake up. Olivia especially was not happy and it took her a while to get out of bed, we did not make our estimated departure time.
We did get out at a reasonable hour though as we had a bit of a drive across the island, they weren’t happy with some long and winding Rhodes. We were off to see the acropolis of Lindos, another ancient site on the island, although this one is more well known than where we went yesterday. We are certainly getting our share of culture while we are here. The drive was over an hour and there was quite a bit of traffic on the coastal road but we got there soon enough.
As an important site on an island overrun with tourists it was fairly obviously going to be very busy and this was the case, although we did manage to find a car park easily. It was still a bit of a walk to the site so we joined the throngs on our pilgrimage, first of all we had to negotiate the narrow alleys of the town, they weren’t happy filled with an endless selection of restaurants, tourist tat shops and overpriced upmarket tourist boutiques. I started to have a feeling that we were in the wrong sort of place when I saw a Blanc du Nil. This is a French shop that sells linen clothing, all of which is white. These are dotted throughout France in the chic-est tourist traps, we have seen many but never been in one. So I was a bit concerned about what we were getting into.
It was a bit of a walk in the heat, and I don’t know why but these things always seem to be on the top of a hill, so it was hard work but we made it to the queue, only to have a particularly disgruntled looking tourist loudly announce as he was leaving that we should all prepare to waste €20. We paid and in we went, I have to say that I could not agree with his assessment. It was an amazing spot with incredible views, all the big yachts were moored in the bay below. The acropolis itself was perched on the edge of a cliff but it’s ok, there was a flimsy rope stopping people getting too close to the edge. It was being roundly ignored by everyone as the temptation for a selfie was just too great. At one point I contemplated standing on the wall for a photo and just the thought of it had my Naxos tingling. We wandered around, there were a couple of large cranes among the ruins, it really is amazing the technology of those ancient Greeks. We certainly feel like we got our money’s worth and left feeling extremely gruntled. We headed back through the alleys and as Ruby had seen a skirt she liked on the way up, in a shop leaning more to upmarket boutique than tourist tat, we stopped to buy this for her, at the same time as buying her love, for today at least.
Back in the car we drove back up the coastal road and found a very random and out of the way bakery that had just enough pastries to feed the six of us, perfection. Then it was off to a beach with a selection of watersports as Tate had expressed an interest in doing some jetskiing. We found a place but overall the girls’ enthusiasm seemed to have waned a little and they were even saying we should just go home. They were a bit concerned because you needed to be 18 to ride one. So we asked the dude about this and he did confirm that this was the requirement but also helpfully pointed out that once you were out to sea he wouldn’t be able to see what you were up to anyway. So we told him that Lily and Ruby were both 18, slipped him some cash, and two jetskis were at our disposal. Lily went off with Tate and Ruby was with Allegra. Once out to sea we certainly couldn’t see what they were up to and had to wait for their return to hear the details. It turns out that Lily felt quite anxious about it, she was happy enough going about 15kmh but when they swapped riders Olivia proudly informed us she went up to 33kmh. She is a daredevil like Ruby, who was also zipping across the waves at a fair old speed, so much so that at one point Allegra couldn’t hold on any longer, lost her grip, and ended up somehow falling off the side and into the water, getting a bit disoriented in the process. For different reasons, all of them were full of beans when they returned to shore.
After that it was time to head home, with just a quick stop for a refreshing drink. By the time we got home I had had enough of driving for the day, it was too hit and too much concentration is needed. But a nice refreshing dip in the pool certainly helped. Not much to report on the evening, there was a bit of work, a bit of lazing and a very lazy dinner before sitting down to write this blog.Meer informatie