Kalkan - Marmaris - Rhodes

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All good things come to an end and our time at the villa in Kalkan came to an end after 14 days of sunshine, pool, beaches, and great food. Some of the food the “dining out” variety and some of it the home-made gourmet type. The pool was always good, and the beaches picture perfect, especially Patara. Although all good things supposedly come to an end this ending was the beginning of new adventures.

The adventures began before we had even actually left the villa. A bus / van for 7 persons and luggage had been ordered and a 7 - 9 passenger van showed up. They seemed to have forgotten the part about the luggage to go with the seven persons. Two bags in the back of the van and it was full. So the choice was scrap this van and go for the hassle of trying to line up another van and driver or just pile it all in as best we could. After all it was only about an hour to Fethyie so with luggage piled wherever it would go, away we went.

Our arrival at the Fethyie terminal was a perfectly timed coincidence arriving about 10:55AM and the bus to Marmaris leaving at 11:00AM No time to say goodbye to the group carrying on to Selcek as we rushed for our bus but we did wave goodbye as we pulled away. I don’t think they noticed us waving as they crowded round a ticket agent arranging the continuation of their journey on to Selcek.

The bus to Marmaris was about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour trip. About a half hour out of Marmaris the traffic came to a stop. Both directions. In the middle of nowhere. An accident ? Turns out the delay was because of some type of road construction. After we finally got underway again and were passing the ‘construction’ area it looked like in widening the road some of the hillside had to come down and it had come down and covered the whole roadway for about 100 metres. As we continued on to Marmaris it looked like a major roadway improvement was underway, twinning this mountain highway to Marmaris. I’m sure it will make a big difference and be most welcome by Turkish drivers. I don’t know what they will do with the 10% grade down into Marmaris, there is not much “wiggle” room there. Maybe they can at least add some runaway lanes.

We took a busy taxi from the Marmaris bus terminal to the Villa Princess our hotel for one night in Marmaris before catching the 9:00AM ferry Monday morning to Rhodes. The Villa Princess was a nice small hotel, three floors, about 20 rooms, pool and covered terrace/bar and only a few blocks from the waterfront. We quickly settled in and made our way to the waterfront.

There is a beautiful promenade all along the beach and harbor waterfront that created a little of that ‘déjà vu’ feeling. It was almost like being on the Avenue of the Americas in Nice, France. Except that this waterfront has been taken over by the British and it was Sunday afternoon with British Football loud on every big screen TV in every bar and restaurant, and there are a lot along that promenade. And they were all jammed full.

After about 5km of promenade we made our way away from the waterfront and into less British areas where we found a nice sidewalk café for a very late lunch before making our way back to the hotel for the night. Breakfast at the hotel is normally not served until 8:00AM but since we had to be at the ferry terminal at eight the hotel laid out breakfast for us at 7:30AM and had a cab waiting to take us to the ferry.

After a little confusion and running around, back and forth from the line up to the ticket office we finally began the boarding process. Getting on the fast ferry here did not simply mean walking aboard. First it was the security process, just like at the airport, then it was passport control, and THEN we could make our way to the ferry. Although there had been a lot of people who had boarded before us because of the running around we had to do we were able to find four seats together in the upper area. Almost right on time, about an hour later and we were docking at Rhodes. Again customs and passport control then it was onto the streets of Rhodes to make our way to the Sofia Pension in Old Town Rhodes.

At the street entrance to the ferry terminal we were trying to learn if there might be a Tourist Information office nearby where we could get directions and other information. A woman waiting for someone to disembark from the ferry stepped forward to offer her assistance to the person who was trying to understand Tourist Information in English when Annie asked her if she knew of the Sofia Pension and how we might get there.

“ I’m Sofia “, she exclaimed. What another great coincidence on this trip. She gave us general directions to her Pension in the Old Town area and offered to take our baggage in her car. That turned out to be a really good idea ‘cause it was a little too far to be dragging baggage. Inside the fortified Old Town it is like a rat’s maze of little alleys with no names and no apparent sense of order. By little alleys, I mean I could stand in the middle of most of them, and stretch out my arms to touch the walls of the buildings on either side. We eventually found our way to the Pension about noon. Our reservations were for one night only as that was all that was available when they were made on-line. Fortunately, as we were checking in we learned rooms had become available for the duration of our stay here in Rhodes so here we are, settled in until we have to leave on Friday.

The Sofia Pension, (http://www.eurobookings.com/rhodes-hotels-gr/sofia-pension.html?label=ggehen-bh176064_sofia%20pension%20rhodos&gclid=CJOS7YiUrKQCFSn-2AodY1lHaw ) is a wonderful small family run hotel of about 10 - 12 immaculately clean and nicely decorated rooms with comfortable beds, TV, and a refrigerator. The location is perfect, near the centre of the Old Town but a couple laneways away from the hustle, bustle, and noise of the restaurant and shops area. We would all highly recommend it if you are ever in Rhodes. The Pension appears to have been recently updated the finishings and furnishing are excellent.

We lucked out again with another late lunch after settling into the pension. At a restaurant a couple blocks away we chatted with the Greek operator, then with his wife who was born in Greece but raised in Connetticut. She did the cooking in the restaurant and naturally her English was excellent, but it was nothing compared to her exquisite cooking. We couldn’t decide what we had wanted so she specially prepared a number of Tapas- like dishes for us. What a treat ! An oh, so good ! It will be dinner there one evening before we leave and I think we will just leave the choice to them. Awesome food !

Monday’s adventure was a rented car and a drive to Lindos to see the Accropolis, find a little beach time and if time permitted a trip to see some frescoes in an old church not far from Lindos. Lindos is a post card picture perfect Greek village with all those white houses set at the base of the towering hill the Acropolis sits on top of. Talk about a good ancient defensive position. A fortification set atop a large steep hill over-looking miles of sea approach. I would think any “invaders” would have been simple to beat back as they would have been worn out from the climb up the hill and looking for a rest, not a battle when they finally got up there.

After some time on the Lindos beach and some time at the Accropolis it was onwards a little further to Asklipion, Rhodes, which is a very small mountain village reached by a very winding little (but paved) road. Here you will find the Holy Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The church was built about 1060 AD and is now a small village museum. It’s treasure is the frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings. They are so perfectly preserved, probably in part because of the dry mountain air. I have seen the frescoes of Ephesus, frescoes in Cappadocia, and thought they were awesome. But the fescoes in this little mountain church in Asklipion are so much more. Hopefully they will be around for others to see in this condition for many hundreds of more years. Unfortunately I had to respect the Church’s notice requesting no photos be taken, but I wish my conscious would have let me cheat. But I couldn’t.

Although we had gone only about 65km out of Rhodes we had had a good day of beach time and sights. Now it was time to return to Rhodes and return the car. But first we had to find the place, in the dark, challenged by one way streets, and complicated by few street signs naming the roadways. After several attempts in and around the area the driver and navigator grabbed a little piece of curb at a corner and while they were consulting, the man of the group went where few men have gone before. I stepped out of the car and asked the guy in the corner grocery if he might be able to help by providing directions. Not only did he help with directions but he spoke English which really helped. Turns out that there was a small, easily missed, ‘veer a little to the right’ just before an intersection we had been through a couple times. So we had been close all the time but without local knowledge of this little ‘veer to the right’ who knows how long we may have been looking. Not lost, just looking. And next time “ Maggie” the GPS will have an upgrade to her mapping capabilities.

So we have another three days left here in Rhodes before returning to Istanbul for a couple days before our long flight(s) home. I expect the next update to this will be from Istanbul. So much has been left out of these blog updates but, after all, I need some time for adventure and exploration too

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Photos

Road Construction Delay
Seems to be as good a time as any to wash the bus.

Marmaris Promenade
It seemed like we were walking the Avenue of the Americas in Nice, France

Is There a Flying Carpet Here ?
Once past all the British restaurants normal Turkish shops and vendors line the promenade

Lunch in the Old Town
The operator of this sidewalk cafe was most entertaining

Marmaris Ferry Terminal
Airline type security procedures before boarding

Waiting
Sometimes have to do a lot of this. Like before getting on the ferry.

Inside the Old Town of Rhodes
The 'Old Town' is a World Heritage site. It is an awesome place to be.

Narrow Alleyway
In most I could touch both walls if I stretched out my arms.

Entrance to Sofia Pension
A coincidence at the ferry terminal and another when one night all the guests were Canadians.

Where to Go
A consultation with a resident as to where to go, what to see. And they served great food here too. But that's a story yet to be told.

Lindos
A great beach overlooked by the Acropolis atop the hill.

Lindos Beach
I also saw the Acropolis atop the hill.

A Very Old Church
The most amazing well preserved frescoes are hidden in this little mountain church.