Knossos

You'll kick yourself afterwards if you visit Crete and don't get to Knossos.

Genie and I had done a little research before heading off to Crete in August and realised that if we wanted to get any footage of Knossos without lots of other tourists in the way we'd have to stay overnight in Heraklion and get to Knossus first thing in the morning, just as they opened the gates at 8:00 am.

Consequently on 10 September 2013 at 7:15 we found ourselves the only passengers to get on the bus at Heraklion. There's little traffic at that time of day, and the journey took less than 15 minutes. Time for a continental breakfast at Minotavros Cafe with freshly squeezed orange juice – just the thing to spark me up.

A coachload of visitors was already milling around when we arrived at the entrance to the site (a minute's walk from Minotavros Cafe). These poor souls continued to mill around for another 20 minutes, hindered as they were by their official guides who were determined to have their say before leading the way in. Genie and I headed in and split up, determined to get as much footage as we could before the inevitable invasion. For the first 40 minutes in Knossos we felt as if we had the place to ourselves.

I felt like a little kid. I was the first person that day to tread these paths and with a little stretch of the imagination I was the first person to tread these paths in thousands of years. The colours used in the restoration are those that the Minoans are thought to have used – no faded shades here when it comes to columns and wall panels. Replications of colourful murals of mythological beasts, hunting scenes and rituals decorate some of the walls. The originals can be found at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, which is well worth a visit.

Inchewan Falls

One Man and his Dog

I'd been too involved filming the Inchewan to have noticed my friend Peter walking up the path with his dog. I did see him on the way back.

"I could see you were filming so I didn't say anything," he said, "but have you been up to the waterfall?" I hadn't. Peter told me that you used to be able to get there by following the path to the left just after the footbridge. "But there's a deer fence now."

A week later Genie and I headed up Birnam Glen in search of the waterfall. Sure enough the deer fence runs between the Inchewan and the old path which is now overgrown. We decided to walk alongside the burn on the Birnam side of the footbridge. The going got rough and we found ourselves wading through bracken and repeatedly having to cross the stream. We both got wet feet.

As we progressed, the gorge rose up on each side and eventually we weren't so much walking as climbing across the narrow ledges and hanging on to tree branches and rocks. Eventually we rounded the final bend and found ourselves looking up at the falls. Wonderful. We filmed for half an hour and then made our way back.

The following week I was on my way to Dunkeld and Birnam railway station when a familiar looking dog came bounding down the glen. I decided to wait and sure enough, after a couple of minutes, who should I see but Peter. I told him about our adventure at Inchewan Falls and he laughed.

"If you take the main path up towards Balhomish you'll see a little sign someone's put up there on the right-hand side and the path has been marked out by stakes."

I haven't walked that way yet but I would imagine the view down onto the falls is less impressive than the view we had from the bottom of the gorge. Here it is, anyway, in this video.



See also The Inchewan, Birnam Glen (the previous post) and the Highland Perthshire website.

An Afternoon on the Beach in Lindos

Pefkos to Lindos

Our last Sunday on the island of Rhodes (17th June 2012) and we didn't have our rental car any more, so we caught the local bus from Pefkos to Lindos. It takes less than 15 minutes.

Lindos Bay

During our previous visit we'd busied ourselves checking out the bars and shops in the narrow streets leading up to the Acropolis, as well as climbing up to the Acropolis itself, so we'd only seen the beaches from on high. They are a delight. The bay of Lindos is well sheltered, as you'll see in this video, and the views are fantastic.

Clean beaches, good food, happy people. What else could you ask for? Oh yeah, lashings of Mythos!

Related Posts

Lindos, Rhodes
Lindos Acropolis
A Medieval Moonlit Night in Lindos

Monolithos to Kamiros

Roads Trip

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.

More Posts about Castles on the Island of Rhodes

Lindos Acropolis
The Castle of Monolithos
Asklipio

The Road to Prasonisi

Rental Car

We were planning on heading south from Pefkos down the east coast of Rhodes and then north along the west coast. Our first stop would be Prasonisi on the southernmost tip of Rhodes.

I made a fool of myself trying to manoeuvre our little rental car out of the forecourt of the car-hire firm. Well there's a first time for everything. Apparently I only needed to use one foot when driving an automatic.

When we finally got on the road the going was easy. It took me a while to get used to the automatic gear shifts as I negotiated sharp bends and steep inclines, and I was happy to be able to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

Prasonisi

At Katavia we took the road to our left which would bring us down to Prasonisi. We picked up a hitch-hiker on the way, a young Russian who told us he taught windsurfing here for three months (– the visa limit) every year. I mentioned we were planning on going up the west coast and he told us it's the most popular part of Rhodes amongst "rich Russians".

The road turned into a dirt track and then we could park the car on the sand near a couple of tavernas. Plenty of kites in the distance, I thought. Walking nearer to the beach it became apparent that the kites were attached to people on surfboards. I knew that with its predominant westerly wind Prasonisi was a paradise for windsurfers, but I'd never seen kitesurfing before. Here's a short movie I made that morning (14 June 2012) just to give you an idea. Wow!

Streets of Rhodes Old Town

Walkabout, 12 June 2012

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!

Related Posts

Rhodes City
Street Performer in Rhodes Old Town

Rhodes City, 12 June 2012

Pefkos to Rhodes City

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!



Yiamas!
γεια μας

Related Posts

Streets of Rhodes Old Town
Street Performer in Rhodes Old Town

Lindos Acropolis, 10 June 2012

The Climb

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.

Related Posts

Lindos, Rhodes
An Afternoon on the Beach in Lindos
A Medieval Moonlit Night in Lindos

More Posts about Castles on the Island of Rhodes

The Castle of Monolithos
Monolithos to Kamiros
Asklipio

Lindos, Rhodes

Pefkos to Lindos

Lindos, to the north of the peninsula, is easily reached using the regular coach service from Pefkos. The journey lasts less than 15 minutes. When you're dropped off outside Lindos, the most notable feature is the magnificent acropolis built into the top of the massive rock around which the town of Lindos was built. Walk downhill for 5 minutes and you reach the main square, with views out to the sea. This is as far as the taxi service can take you. The streets of Lindos were designed with horses in mind, with maybe a small cart. They are narrow and bustling with life. The local taxis take the form of donkeys.

Streets of Lindos

Here's a short video of Genie and I getting lost trying to find our way up to the acropolis, which is actually very well sign-posted but easily missed when you're both viewing the world through a camera. I have much more footage of these streets and will probably be making Streets of Lindos follow-up movies, maybe even including a few donkeys, but I do like this rough-and-ready edit as it gives a good idea of the light and shade in the streets.

Related Posts

Lindos Acropolis
An Afternoon on the Beach in Lindos
A Medieval Moonlit Night in Lindos

7th of June in the afternoon, Pefkos, Rhodes

My Birthday

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.

Related Posts

First Morning at Stella Hotel, Pefkos
Car Hire in Pefkos
Pefkos Beaches

Introduction

I'd like to share some of the adventures (and occasional misadventures) my wife Genie and I have experienced during our holidays. I'll be going back as far as 1992 when we were in Sicily at the time that Italy withdrew from the ERM, when we couldn't get our cash changed into the local currency and ended up having to sleep rough. Given the current Euro crisis, that seems as good a place as any to begin our virtual timeline.

Along the way I'll be showing some of Genie's photos and the occasional video I made during our travels. I'll be relying heavily on my scribbled diaries and Genie's photographic evidence for the earlier tales, and will cover trips made to Hungary, Nicaragua, Tunisia, and hopefully more locations if I can find the relevant film negatives and travelogs.

To begin with, though, I'll be writing about our most recent holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes.