Asklipio, 17 June 2012

Pefkos to Asklipio

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.

More Posts about Castles on the Island of Rhodes

Lindos Acropolis
The Castle of Monolithos
Monolithos to Kamiros

First morning at Stella Hotel, Pefkos

Air Conditioning

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.

Related Posts

7th of June in the afternoon, Pefkos, Rhodes
Car Hire in Pefkos
Pefkos Beaches

Glasgow to Rhodes

Booking

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.