There are two Geranis in Crete. This is a fact well known to locals (a taxi driver mentioned it when we first arrived) but has clearly been missed by many folk uploading videos to YouTube. We were based at Gerani Rethymno which is about 7km from the city of Rethymno. The other Gerani is near Chania.
We found Gerani Rethymno ideally situated for visiting Heraklion (and Knossos) to the east, Chania to the west, and for crossing the mountains to reach the south coast. There'll be more about our travels in Crete in later posts.
Our first couple of days were spent getting to know our immediate surroundings, including Gerani village (up the hill from Camari Garden Apartments where we stayed) which is a real Cretan village despite its restaurants and tavernas.
Down the hill beyond Gerani Bridge there's a wonderful sheltered beach which is favoured by the locals. It has a real family atmosphere and a sandy area from which it is safe to swim. Next to the beach is Kamari Taverna with its free sunbeds, excellent seafood, and local wines and beers at sensible prices.
There are several places where you can rent a quad bike in Alykes. We'd passed them often enough to get us thinking about actually renting one, although I'd never been on one and had not yet driven abroad, so I was in two minds about it. Then I realized I hadn't brought my driving license with me anyway, so maybe the whole idea was a non starter. The Thomas Cook rep had also put a bit of a downer on it, saying you didn't know with some of these firms whether you were actually insured or not. Oh yes, and they were dangerous weren't they, these quads? Hmmh...
About a week into our holiday (this was in October, 2011) we happened to be walking in Alykanas and dropped in at the local rental place there which was run by an Australian man. We got talking about insurance, driver's license, the local police, and the different types of quad bike you could hire in general. A mine of information! Here's what we picked up. All I had to do regarding my driving license was to phone the DVLA and ask them for my license code (and later, back at the hotel, a couple of minutes online was enough to find the phone number, 0300 790 6801, and the call was made). We also got a lesson in torque. If you want to go inland, which we did, you need a quad that will get you up some very steep hills, rather than one which is designed for running around on the flat. It's all about torque, apparently. We were also reassured about insurance and given a form to read and sign the next day when we came back to pick up our quad. We thought we'd try it for a day and see how we got on.
We rented it for four days in the end. It was so much fun, and great to visit proper Greek villages inland, not to mention some great beaches and cliffs that we'd never have seen without a vehicle. At first I found it weird to be overtaken on the left; this quad bike wasn't built for speed and we were overtaken often enough to soon get used to it. And it got us up the hills with cameras, picnics, spare clothes and towels, reading material, maps – you name it, it all fitted into the built-in back pannier, which was also handy for shopping.
I mentioned the local police. There's no crime to speak of here but the police will fine tourists (€300, I heard) for not wearing crash helmets. Most locals never wear them and seem to go unpunished, but hey, I'd never get on any kind of motorbike without a helmet, and neither would my wife, so that wasn't a problem for us.
We would definitely do this again. There's nothing quite like wearing shorts and a tee-shirt, sitting on a comfy seat and letting the quad take the strain while you do your best to get lost. Wonderful. One day Genie shot this footage from the back seat of the quad and I've edited it into a form that I think gives an idea of the Quad Experience on Zakynthos. Enjoy!
In September 2011 we booked a last-minute trip to Zakynthos (or Zante if you prefer) through Thomas Cook for 2 weeks in October (self-catering). This was our first ever package deal and we didn't know what to expect, although we did take the time before booking to use Google Maps to check the location of the hotel in Alykes, the Koukounaria. From the satellite view we could see that the hotel was surrounded by greenery and just a short walk away from the centre of Alykes and the beach, so we went ahead and booked. It was so cheap that it still seemed too good to be true even for off-season.
We were impressed by this hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful. Our room was spacious and clean, with great cooking facilities and a private balcony which overlooked the swimming pools and offered great views of the surrounding countryside. In fact Hotel Koukounaria is currently ranked number 1 out of the 16 hotels in Alykes reviewed on TripAdvisor, which comes as no surprise to me.
There's a supermarket just around the corner which is handy when you're self-catering. The local produce is excellent and far cheaper than in the UK. As we enjoy walking we often walked up to Katastari to shop there.
Here's a short film I made at the hotel, mostly from our balcony, so you can also enjoy the views.
There are three beautiful sandy beaches in Pefkos, the longest being central beach. We were surprised by how warm the sea was in June, and enjoyed the swimming and paddling. Many rocks at the town end of the beach make paddling out to water deep enough to swim in rather difficult, but we soon found out that a little further down the beach there are far fewer rocks and the going is easy.
Philosophia Beach Restaurant
The Philosophia Beach Restaurant is up the steps from Central Beach. During one of our visits I made this short movie.
AG Thomas and Plakia Beaches
On the edge of town are the AG Thomas beach and, right next to it, Plakia beach. We got up before sunrise to take photos and shoot some video of the changing light on the boats and rocks. Well worth the effort, I think you'll agree, and a good excuse for a little siesta later in the day.
En route to Asklipio we parked our little rental car in the square in Euclesia for a short break and to try to get our bearings. Genie spotted an interesting building and disappeared for a while with her camera while I smoked a cigarette and tried to figure out where we were. The road map didn't help so I walked around looking for road signs that might point us in the right direction. Then, growing impatient, I started to look for Genie.
I found her in an abandoned building, totally absorbed with her photography. No surprise there. I could see why she wanted to take these photos as it's a weird and wonderful place, but was also keen for us to carry on with our journey. I coaxed her back towards the car.
Euclesia, where's that?
I didn't know what to say about Euclesia. Writing these little articles about our travels in Rhodes in June 2012 I've been referring to the road map we bought in Pefkos. It didn't help in this case as Euclesia wasn't to be found on the map. In the end, both Genie and I searched on-line and nothing was to be found of any relevance. It was as if we'd gone off the map and found ourselves in some other dimension. Looking at the file names of these photos it's obvious that they were taken before the ones of Asklipio, so all I can say with any certainty is that Euclesia is somewhere inland on the road to Asklipio. If you know more, please let us know!
I wish I'd been more patient that day. Genie tells me that she was "just getting into it" when I interrupted her photography and that she could have spent another hour or more taking photos in this derelict building. I'm sorry about that.
If, like Genie, you're a keen photographer, you'll really want to check this place out. But you enter the building at your own risk!
When we returned from the castle to our little rental car the steering wheel was too hot to handle. Baking! We turned on the air conditioning and studied the road map. If we carried on driving north we'd reach the monastery at Thari ("Moni Thari") where we could take a break. Then up to Laerma and then south-east from Laerma to Lardos and finally Pefkos. Sounded like a plan.
We didn't see any traffic on the way to Thari, which was a good thing. This is a narrow single lane and passing places are few and far between. Driving was fun though, and the landscape varied from blighted trees (there must have been a forest fire here in the not too distant past) to luscious greenery.
Thari
We were happy to have driven to Thari. We explored the monastery gardens and marveled at the church interior. It's all very quiet, as you might expect from a monastery. It feels like being in the middle of nowhere.
The road from Thari up to Laerma is a much easier drive, and then it's plain sailing from Laerma to Lardos, where we took a wrong turn and headed north through Pilonas and then south again through Lindos to finally reach our destination in Pefkos. With still plenty of time to return the car to Marathon, the car-hire firm, before they closed for the day!
Today would be our last day with the rented car. After breakfast at the Stella Hotel we looked at the road map and spotted Asklipio to the west of Pefkos. Our route would take us south along the coastal road with which we were now familiar and then at Kiotari we'd turn inland to the north west.
First we bought fresh bread, olives, sausage, cheese, and tomatoes for a picnic lunch, and loaded the car with bottled water and other essentials such as our straw hats, cameras and spare batteries.
Asklipio
The drive to Asklipio was a joy, and we were grateful for the car's air conditioning. By the time we reached Asklipio the temperature had soared to the mid 30s Celsius. We explored the village and then returned to the car for the uphill drive towards the medieval castle. Just walking up to the castle from the car park, loaded with our picnic and cameras, was exhausting in the prickling heat, but the views are spectacular and the medieval castle is well worth the effort. Lunch was in the shade of the castle's fortifications.
It's still the 15th of June 2012 and we've already been to see the Castle of Monolithos and are now heading north for the ancient city of Kamiros. Hiring this car has turned out to be a great idea, despite my earlier reservations. There's hardly any traffic and I can drive up the west coast of Rhodes at my own rather pedestrian speed. It's pretty exciting for both of us, in fact. I feel empowered now that I'm driving a car on the wrong side of the road and Genie loves the idea that we can go, well, anywhere we like.
We are in no hurry, though. We'll stop off for a break as soon as we see something we fancy.
First stop: Siana
We park the car on the edge of town and are greeted with "Hello Scotland! How are you?" Last night we'd met this fellow selling local produce at his stall near the viewpoint overlooking the castle at Monolithos. There had been many liqueurs, most of which I'd sampled. He also has a shop in Siana and whilst Genie explores the village I'm introduced to his son who is very enthusiastic to meet me. These are lovely people. There's a cooperative of local growers and producers and a real sense of community here.
I make a short movie. The clocks on the towers of the church are painted on so it's always 10 minutes to 7 here. I love this place.
Museum for Popular Art, Kritinia
Kritinia was our next stop en route to Kamiros. From the cafe by the Museum for Popular Art there's a great view of the coast and it's a good spot to snack and rehydrate. The small museum is free and a delight to visit. It's all local stuff – costumes, urns, farming tools – and well presented.
The Ancient City of Kamiros
This was once one of the three cities that made up the State of Rhodes. It was never overtaken but rather deserted by its population in favour of Rhodes city to the north. The draw of the big city is clearly nothing new.
In this short movie you'll see large white parasols which mark the spots where archeological excavation is ongoing.
Over breakfast we checked the road map and decided to visit Monolithos Castle before continuing our journey north. We had seen the castle on the horizon the evening before – indeed it's hard to miss, sitting atop a tall rock overlooking the sea – and it was only a short drive from Monolithos village.
Having parked the car we followed the path towards the castle (and the chapel of Saint Panteleimon which is within the castle walls). In the photo above you can see the castle through the trees on the left towards the top, and might imagine that there is not much more of a climb. There's a valley beyond, though, from which the real ascent begins. In fact the castle is 236m above sea level. The narrow path up the rock face is littered with debris and rather steep. How ever did they get supplies up there? And how did they get the stones up there to build the fortifications in the first place?
Monolithos Castle
The short video below shows my ascent and a quick tour of the castle, which was built in the 15th century on the foundations of a much older castle. You'll also see the chapel of Saint Panteleimon and a breathtaking view out towards Halki island.
Arriving at Monolithos we soon found very good accommodation at Christos Corner. Our double room with balcony cost only €30 for the two of us, including continental breakfast. We settled in and realised that although our room didn't have air conditioning we weren't going to need it. It's much breezier here than on the east coast and the temperature in the room was comfortable. Here's the view from our balcony:
As I wasn't intending to drive any more that day I ordered a Mythos in the restaurant downstairs and we spoke to our hosts. They suggested we walked up the road later to watch the sunset over Monolithos Castle, which we readily agreed was a good idea as it sounded like a good video/photo opportunity. First, though, we'd take them up on their offer of home-made beef sausages with salad and chips. Very good indeed. A wonderful family-run business. However, on 14 June 2012 we were the only guests.
Goat Bells
Our evening walk took an unexpected turn with the arrival of many goats on the road. I was happier filming these goats than filming the sunset. Their bells made a wonderful racket as you can hear in the video.
We really enjoyed the drive from Prasonisi, particularly once we'd turned left off the dead-end Prasonisi road onto the road that follows the west coast. So much so that we forgot about our cameras most of the time as we enjoyed the westerly breeze through the open car windows and took in the breathtaking views, listening to a cheesy Greek tourist CD we'd bought in Pefkos along with our road map.
We were on the lookout for a restaurant or snack bar as the Prasonisi air had given us both a good appetite. Nothing for miles...
Lunch at a Seafood Restaurant near Apolakkia
Then we found a great seafood restaurant near Apolakkia, Restaurant Chrisama, offering plenty of shade, wonderful views, and friendly service. We were recommended a starter of deep-fried small fish, lightly battered, which were delicious. Marides, I think. It was such a generous starter that we couldn't possibly eat any more, given the bread and salad that came with it. A Russian party at the next table made more of a meal of it with a fantastic spread that made me even more determined to come back.
I shot some footage whilst waiting for our order. It's a very short movie (43 seconds) but will hopefully give you a feel of the place.
During our first few days in Rhodes I'd had an internal dialog that went a bit like this:
I've never driven a left-hand-drive car before – will I be able to manage the gears with my right hand if I do rent a car? On the other hand I'm used to cycling on the right-hand side of the road, and even rented a quad bike to explore Zakynthos less than two years ago.
Although I'm in my 50s I only learnt to drive about 10 years ago and had serious doubts about renting a left-hand-drive car in Rhodes. Then one day (13 June) it occurred to me that an automatic car might be the solution.
We checked out a few of the car-hire firms in Pefkos and either they didn't have an automatic, they had already rented out their only automatic, or they seemed too expensive and I'd have to think it over. Then on our way back to the Stella Hotel we realised there was another firm we hadn't tried which was right next door.
Marathon Rent A Car had a lovely wee Renault 105 (see pic) which we could rent for three days for €110. Perfect! We arranged to pick it up early the next day and bought a road map.
There were many young buskers in the streets of Rhodes Old Town (12 June 2012) but this young lady really captured our hearts. What she may lack in technical proficiency is more than made up for by her sheer enthusiasm.
I'd asked her to play something local and traditional but my Greek being what it is (Yiamas! Mythos!) she could have been singing anything. I even suspect she was making it up as she went along. I'd love to know what the song is called and what it's about, so if you have any idea, please let me know!
The citadel of Rhodes is a maze of narrow streets and home to around 6000 people. If you are spending a lot of time looking through camera viewfinders it's easy to get lost, which we managed a couple of times despite the free map.
Lunch
The first couple of restaurants we checked out were rather expensive, but we soon found a great snack bar serving pittas and Mythos in a quiet side street. And who wants a three-course meal at this time of day?
To get a real feel for the place you really should wander down the many side streets and alleyways. You'll see a lot of mopeds. Many of these streets are too narrow for cars. You'll also see quite a few cats. They are well fed.
Photos
Here's a couple more of Genie's photos.
Video
I hope that the video below gives you a flavour of the streets of Rhodes Old Town. It's longer than other videos you'll find on this blog (5:30) but I had a lot of footage and there's so much to see. Enjoy!
In the morning we take the local bus from Pefkos to Rhodes (€5.50 single). Plenty of seats, but not for long. On its circuitous route this coach is picking up many more people than are getting off. It seems that almost everyone's going to Rhodes today. When we think that there's no way the driver could admit any more standing passengers, we stop again to squeeze even more folk in. We're glad that the coach has air-conditioning.
An hour and a quarter after setting off we disembark opposite a park. The walls and towers of the "Old Town" are just beyond.
The Medieval City of Rhodes
This fortress town was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1988. Its surrounding wall is 4km long and dates from the time of the rule of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem.
I borrowed these photos from Genie, although she still owns the copyright, of course.
The video I made myself. Rhodes – Medieval City was edited with mainly the architecture in mind. Shortly I will be uploading a follow-up movie showing more of the street life. Cheers!
You need to be reasonably fit and steady on your feet to walk up to the acropolis at Lindos. We took a break at every available shaded spot on the way to rehydrate and recuperate. Of course you can get quite far on one of the donkeys – the local taxi service – but do bare in mind that you will be dropped off at the bottom of a steep flight of steps, and there will be more steps to follow.
The views from the path are magnificent. However, there are places where there's nothing between you and an awful long drop except for maybe a bit more path, so you'll enjoy these particular views a lot more if you don't share my fear of heights. Illogical, I know, it's the falling and hitting the rocks below that I should be wary of, but in these situations I stick to the inside of the path to allow braver souls to pass by on the outside.
The Acropolis
The acropolis is well worth the climb. There are not only remains from ancient Greece (including the Doric temple dedicated to Athena Lindia), but also from Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman occupations. The Knights of St John also made their mark, the acropolis having been an important stronghold in medieval times. The building work continues today as various structures are renovated.
I made this short film, a video tour of Lindos acropolis, and the photos above were taken by Genie.
I'm 53 years old today and I may choose what we do for the rest of the day. Genie has given me a beautifully set moonstone which I can wear on the same necklace I usually have on for my lapis lazuli. Fab!
There's a snack bar near the beach serving, amongst other tasty dishes, the best kebabs ever. We'll have lunch here. I don't often eat pork but the Gyros proves to be irresistible. With lashings of Mythos beer. We will certainly be returning here.
I'm happy just to be wandering around, paddling in the sea, and topping up with Mythos from time to time. Genie enjoys swimming in the sea, and I enjoy watching her. A happy day.
Sunset at the main beach, Pefkos
In the evening I made this short film of the sunset at the main beach.
Philosophia Beach Restaurant
The perfect end to the perfect day. Supper at the Philosophia beach restaurant, which is a short climb up well-lit steps from the main beach, and offers excellent cuisine as well as a fantastic sea view. The people that run the Philosophia are a charming couple, and we are to return here time after time. We love fresh seafood!
"Philosophia" means lover of wisdom, and not lover of Mythos beer, by the way.
Neither of us had slept very much that first night in Pefkos. It was quiet enough – the local bars turn off the music at midnight – but our apartment at Stella Hotel had been far too warm and stuffy. We really had to arrange for air-conditioning.
It cost less than €50 for the remote control for our air-conditioning unit for the remaining 13 nights, but the unit turned out to be faulty. Offered the apartment next door, which was identical in size and layout – spacious with a balcony overlooking the main strip – we spent half an hour moving in and spreading our belongings around haphazardly as before. Home again.
Shopping
Sunblock was at the top of our shopping list. When I'd looked online for the average maximum daytime temperature for Rhodes in June (24°C) I'd obviously been looking at Rhodes city temperatures. A few locals had already told us to add 10 degrees for Pefkos! The sun had risen by 8.30 and by 10.30 there was hardly any shade on our balcony. I'd spotted the local pharmacy across the road so the sunblock would be easy.
There are many supermarkets in Pefkos, but by far the handiest for us was the Stella supermarket which was 30 seconds away from our apartment and great for the heavy stuff such as the six-packs of 2L bottles of mineral water (which cost less than €2, which works out at around 16 cents per litre), not to mention the bottles of Mythos. We also got a discount there as guests at the Stella.
Shopping was a joy. The local produce was fresh and remarkably cheap. We bought freshly baked bread, tomatoes, cheese, olives, stuffed vine leaves, and water melons which were in season. And at the pharmacy, where we got our sunblock, we were recommended a natural mosquito repellant that was safe to use on our faces. Not that we'd been bitten yet, but if we were to hang around by the beach after sunset we wanted to be prepared.
Genie and I booked our trip to Rhodes online. We'd been to Greece only once before – to Alykes on the island of Zakynthos (Zante) in October 2010, which we'd booked through Thomas Cook. That had been our first ever "package holiday" and was a great success, so we took the same route again and looked at last-minute deals on the Thomas Cook website.
After researching Rhodes online I reckoned we ought to be looking at accommodation about half-way down the east coast: Lindos or Pefkos. The whole of the east coast of Rhodes island is sandy beach broken up occasionally by rocks. My wife and I are in our 50s and the peace and quiet afforded by these more "out of the way" places appealed enormously. We booked for Pefkos, staying at Stella Hotel (self-catering). A good deal, as it turned out.
The Flight
Our flight was from Glasgow International airport on 6th June at 6.45 am. As we live in Dunkeld, Perthshire, we decided to travel by train to Glasgow the evening before and to stay at the Holiday Inn Express, which was inexpensive, comfortable and remarkably quiet – really handy for catching our flight the next morning. It's only a two-minute walk to the "check-in". Supper was bought at the airport's Tesco and eaten in our room watching rubbish TV, which reminded us why we chose to get rid of our telly 20 years ago.
Rhodes
Landed at Rhodes airport mid-afternoon and two hours ahead of UK time. Within 20 minutes we were on an air-conditioned coach to Pefkos, and an hour later, settling in to our apartment at the Stella Hotel.
Stretched our legs and checked out some of the local beaches and restaurants. The sunset was stunning from the beach.
