A Day in Rhodes

RHODES

We had a rental car arranged for Rhodes. The rendez-vous hour was 9:30 a.m., but the ship was docked way at the end of a long pier and the entrance to the port was about 200 yards away. We had no way of knowing if a car was waiting for us, but we all soldiered on to the entrance. No car. No sign with our name. No nothing. We futzed about a bit until I decided to go back to the ship for an internet connection to try to contact our travel agent. I was almost back to the ship when Ron chased me down and told me the car had arrived. Phew! As the one who made the travel arrangments, I was understandably concerned that they work out. We filled out all of the paper and were off for Lindos, about an hour's drive away. Dwight was glad to be off the ship since he wasn't able to deal with Santorini and didn't exactly enjoy the bazaar at Kusadasi. We arrived in Lindos just in time for lunch. I bypassed all the outlying parking lots and drove down to the small square at the entrance to the village where I stopped to unload the passengers. A policeman waved me on until I told him I was just unloading my husband who used a walker. He said, "Oh, OK, you park there," waving us to the handicapped space. People are often surprisingly kind at stressful moments. (Note to self: Next time we travel, take along the gimp car tag.) We made our way through narrow souks packed with tourists and souvenir shops. This was not what I came to Greece to see, but it seemed to be the Greece I was going to get. We made our way through the crowds to a restaurant with rooftop dining. The food was decent, but there wasn't a breath of air on the roof. After lunch the women decided to brave the walk up to the Acroplis and the Temple of Athena. WoW! Quite a hike; quite a view; quite a temple. Athena must've been some woman! It was hot as hell--a treat for the memory banks but a drag on old bones. We arrived back in Rhodes tired and drained, but we hadn't seen the Old Town of Rhodes, so Dwight parked himself in a bar, Ron headed for the ship, and Marilyn and I headed for the Old Town. What did we find? Wide streets full of tourist and souvenir shops. It was actually a pretty town and I think we would probably have it enjoyed it more had we been fresh and energetic. Nevertheless, we soldiered on. It was a day of soldiering. Tourism is not for sissies. I barely made it through the 4-course dinner. And so to bed at 9:00 p.m.