greece – "A photo blog!"

Rhodes is a rather large island; in fact, it’s Greek’s 4th largest! So, in order for us to get around to do some exploring, an automobile was needed. We picked up one of the smallest cars I’ve ever seen….and got lucky that it didn’t break down in the “extreme” heat wave. Its AC could by no means keep up… almost made me feel bad for it 😛

The island’s most idyllic small town is quite possibly Lindos! On the same day we decided to pay the town a visit, so did the majority of the island’s other tourists. It was crowded AF. First off, a photo of Lindos! Convinced yet??

Also, on this particular day, the sun decided it was time to evaporate any remaining source of water in the area… We spent one minute at the beach. The water closest to the shore looked like it was about to boil, and I swear I could feel my skin melting the tiniest bit. We rushed back into town to take shelter. Heavy consumption of water and ice cream ensued.

Well, it might not have been quite so dramatic.

“Recurring Pink Theme”

We drove on for a bit and found a larger and better-looking beach – all to ourselves. Pic to prove just how happy I was to cool down:

Also, these colors! Damn!

More pink.

Now, a grasshopper. No, not the cocktail, the actual huge, nasty (little) thing, patiently sitting 30 cm outside our hotel room, awaiting to massacre us in our sleep.

Eeey, I told you the heat wave was real! Although this sign is definitely lying:

Valley of the Butterflies

TripAdvisor ranks this place as the 27th most popular “tourist attraction” in Rhodes. It is well worth a visit, but know what you are going to: The valley is filled with Quadripunctaria Poda, (which afaik are technically moths) that migrate here to lay their eggs. They are in a resting state and there are multiple signs warning you not to rattle them or you will receive a fine (which of course more than one idiot did while we visited… by throwing a handful of dirt… ffs).

At first, it looks as though you are walking through an empty valley. Then suddenly your visual cortex kicks into gear and it becomes apparent they are literally everywhere. I found it funny how they look like small fighter jets ready for take-off!

New day, new place, checking out Kritinia Castle, which was built in 1472 by Giorgio Orsini to protect the inhabitants of the village from the attacks of the Ottoman fleets (Wikipedia). While not a spectacular sight, the view was nice!

Our car, our car under the stars!

All good vacations come to an end; but we still had the whole day before catching a late flight. We decided to drive further than any man… well at least all the way down to Prasonisi Kite Beach.

We continued around the island (and rolled the flat-tire-dice by driving on more than one dodgy forest road… Marit shivering like a corn-flake in a tornado) and came across this wonderful vantage point – no one around for miles, except for this one guy in a booth selling honey. We bought some. Fucking delicious.

That was it! Part one can be found here:
Rhodes 2019? No, 2018? NO! 2015 [part 1 of 2]

2015? Whaaat? Yes, that was a very good year vacation-wise! Freshly squeezed orange juice can be mighty good!

Trip down went fine, flying with Thomas Cook was exactly as bad as expected! ^^ Behold, the island (or is it?!) from above, i.e. below the clouds:

First night, our hotel room wasn’t ready, so we were casually upgraded to a suite! Damn! It had a separate entrance hall leading into the main living room -> and even that one was bigger than my entire apartment back home 😂

If you’ve ever been to any touristy part of Greece, you must have been somewhat annoyed by the thousand upon thousand of gift shops selling the exact same (crap) merchandise everyyyywhere…. this one however, was slightly better, with its hilarious name! 😆

No Greek vacation without at least one gyros!!

(Random photo of garage bin unrelated)

The largest city on Rhodes is appropriately called Rhodes Town/City or just Rhodes. It is situated on the northern tip of the island and has, in addition to some fucking excellent beaches, a well-preserved (and well-worth a visit) old town (pictures coming below!).

I mean, what the feeek is that gorgeous colour?!?!

But the city has more to offer, at least if you have a decent form of imagination… The Colossus of Rhodes!!! …which served as inspiration for Game of Thrones. Citing Wikipedia for a bit:

The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was built by the Lindian sculptor Chares between 304 and 293 BC, which took 12 years and was completed in 282 BC. The statue represented their sun god Helios, which stood at the harbour entrance. The ancient city had a well-constructed sewage system as well as a water supply network as designed by Hippodamus. A strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC, badly damaging the city and toppling the Colossus.

Trying to keep these posts at a healthy length (shorter than the 200 pics I usually post…). So this concludes part 1! Part 2 can be found here:
Rhodes round-trip, 2015 [part 2 of 2]

Happy holidays! …I’m heading back to Lofoten myself this year! Stay tuned come 2025 or something 😂