Rhodes interesting things through the eyes of adults and children
This year we came to Rhodes almost by accident. We knew that we would spend our vacation in Greece, but where exactly was left in doubt. As always, everything is not clear - what about the finances, what about the dates. By the end of August, the vacation dates for October were determined, and an affordable tour to Rhodes immediately appeared. Hotel Mitsis Rhodes Maris 5*.
We are a little familiar with the island. There are stories about our last year adventures here and here. Because we were supposed to live in Rhodes for 12 nights, I set up plans, well, just “a wagon and a small cart”. Of course, everything did not work out as planned, but something, nevertheless, succeeded. And all the difficulties arose only on the border of the interests of our motley company, which is a crazy family of 2 + 2: mom (me) - organizer, navigator, spender, suppressor; dad is the keeper of the family budget, a grumbler, an explainer of everything incomprehensible and unknown; daughter (6 years old) - a coward, why, a generator of ideas, a sucker; son (5 years old) is a fidget, a fearless implementer of the ideas of an older comrade and an eternally hungry bearer of the parental brain : )) All our joint events are structured like this: Let's go there - Yes, what to do there, but for that kind of money - And what is it where, why does this happen, where does it come from? - Will there be a picnic? - Well, sit down, be bored - Good, good, just not on foot - Anya, enough questions already, you will see everything yourself - Vanya, where did you ride? Where are you? Vanya-ah! Dad, save Vanya…
I'll tell you a little about the places we visited, without historical digressions, I'll just show what adults saw and how children reacted to it. Therefore, I suppose that this opus will be more interesting for families with children, because it is always curious to read about their own kind, for example, I really miss the "children's" stories. And for the childless, perhaps some moments can be annoying. There was not enough writing and photographic talent for individual reviews of each object, so everything is in one pile.
Well, let's continue exploring the island, so small, but so interesting. . .
Rent a car. We rented a car three times from the Marathon rental car, twice a Smart four-seater and once a Nissan Micra.
Smart Quadruple
Nissan Micra
The Micra proved itself well during our last trip - a convenient, nimble machine. Despite not being small, our dad felt very comfortable inside the car. Yes, and Smart pleased with its convenience. For some reason, the children called him a "cow", probably because of the black and white color))). As for the driving performance, the husband said, “Strange car, lives its own life. Maybe you just need to get used to it…” But, despite all the "strangeness", the second time I took this machine again, I wanted it for the third time, but it was not available. Oh, where else to ride a Mercedes, if not in Rhodes : )) Cost us 40 euros per day. Of course, it was more profitable to take three days at once (100 euros), but three days of rides would have caused a riot among the children's half of humanity, for them a children's club with a pool is still more interesting. Frankly, I was not very eager to ride in a row for three days at a time. Now, if the husband agreed to spend the night in some village or in the city of Rhodes itself, then yes - I agree. Yes, and children, I think, could be sent in the right direction. And so, anyway, that home-work-home. In the evenings we returned after sunset.
Yes, it's beautiful, but personally uncomfortable for me. Firstly, I really dislike driving in the dark, even on good roads like in Rhodes. Secondly, children fall asleep in the car, I don’t know whether to wake them up or drag them to the room, wake up, wake up... And if the next day I go somewhere again, no, no, no... One day, after all, the son arrived awake, but alas, I gave up at dinner.
Well, the daughter, like a true dragonfly jumper, overcoming sleep and fatigue after all her travels, stubbornly went to the mini disco.
Seven sources. We decided to turn here at the very last moment in Kolympia on the way from Kiotari, where our hotel is located, to Filerimos. It seems like, and the hook is not very big, and we will take a look at the villages that we have not seen before - Archipoli, Psinthos, Maritsa... In general, nothing special. Most likely, it’s good here in the sweltering heat, or rather, when it’s hot everywhere, but here it’s cool because of the forest. We walked around, the children tried to chase the geese, they ran away in time - they flopped into the water.
We went to the tunnel.
There is an exit from the tunnel
I didn’t want to walk along it at all, I don’t believe in some kind of mysticism or the cleansing of sins, I just asked the children if they wanted to go there? Of course they do!! ! (it would be possible not to ask) I had to go. The children squeaked, and I also urged on the horrors a little more. It’s not scary at all, but at some point the darkness begins to oppress. Somewhere in the middle there is a ventilation shaft, a reassuring light breaks through it. It was not possible to take pictures from the inside, the children did not let go of my hands, but from the outside it looks like this
Dad had a hard time, because gradually the tunnel narrows, and part of the way he had to overcome in a half-bent form. The sources themselves are kind of thin.
I think everything looks more spectacular, perhaps after the rains (I also wanted to write “melting glaciers”), when the water flows are more powerful. The children were delighted with their favorite fun - jumping on pebbles and roots.
They also saw "fat hens" - peacocks without tails. Oh my God! And I drag everyone to Filerimos to show, among other things, the birds of paradise walking along the shady alleys, they write, there are a lot of them. And they, you see, are already tailless. Okay…
Mount Filerimos. That's what, as they say. Dad is delighted with the serpentine road leading up the mountain. The son fed the "fat hens",
I didn't even regret my own stock of cookies, my daughter didn't because of security reasons. But, when the number of peacocks began to noticeably increase around us, even I became scared, what if they suddenly peck, fights were arranged among themselves for cookies. But the daughter forced dad to tell about the passion of Christ while walking along the alley, which symbolizes the path of Christ to Golgotha, and even on the way back with a repeat. The child urgently needed to find out (without any "later", "not now", "somehow later") what is depicted on the stones (proskinitarii, literally "kneel down and read"), standing along the path. I have already read that each stone marks the place where Christ stopped, and the length of the alley is equal to that very path.
Well, mom needs beauty. Spectacular views
This photo shows the old airport of Rhodes, now the base of NATO forces
Here you can see how the plane is landing over the existing airport
I'd love to take a longer walk on this hill, but my company is getting a bit bored. Yes, I also told my husband about one place that could be visited today, which is almost on the way back to the hotel - Mussolini's Dacha. My husband said “I want, I want”, therefore, to my greatest regret, the monastery remained unexplored. Okay, maybe next time…
Mussolini's dacha (Villa de Vecchi). This cottage is located in the village of Profitis Ilias (Prophet Elijah) on the slope of the mountain of the same name. From Filerimos, past the airport, in Soroni, left to Dimilia, and here the navigator led us along some goat paths, bypassing the village of Eleussa, straight to Profitis Ilias. The pavement of this path is asphalt, good, but it is so narrow, and with such sharp turns, and even at the same time on the descent or ascent. Horror! I was always afraid that there would be no one I met. It worked out, arrived without incident. Maybe it was already getting dark, or maybe due to the fact that we climbed a little into the mountains, it was noticeably cooler here, well, we had blouses with us. The air is awesome! Spectacular views! People know how to choose places for summer cottages))
It is known that Mussolini was never here, and why this house was named after him is not clear. Among the local population, the name Villa de Vecchi is more popular, since the mansion served the Italian governor of the Dodecanese Islands, Count Cesare Mario de Vecchi. “Stalin's Dacha” flew off my tongue. By the way, the location (on a mountain among a coniferous forest) and the surrounding views (somewhere down there, the sea) are somewhat reminiscent of Stalin's Dacha in Sochi. Despite the fact that the mansion is noticeably dilapidated, it still looks very interesting, you can feel the former luxury
Apparently, the house is not completely abandoned, but someone sweeps up the dirt, removes the garbage. The stairs to the second floor were covered with boards, apparently, it became quite dangerous there. Already preparing this material, I subtracted (here here) that the building is not being restored due to far-right nationalist groups, and the restoration of monuments from the fascist era can serve as a provocation. And that in 2014, Mussolini's dacha was put up for sale by the Hellenic State Property Privatization Fund (HRADF). Perhaps in the coming years it will be restored and another hotel or restaurant will appear there (more here).
My daughter began to find out what kind of princesses lived here, and why no one is here now. Well, the son, oh, this son, tried to climb into any crack, jump on every pebble, which frightened and upset me very much. There is no sense of self-preservation. Surely, someone will say: "it is necessary to hold the hand. " Yeah, try it... And he also terribly loves all kinds of sticks and driftwood. What happiness the boy's face lit up when he saw the fireplace
And what a beast I became when I saw my son after that!! ! A pack of wet wipes was not enough : ))
Among all this devastation, by some miracle, such a flower managed to appear.
The path from the house leads to a small church, which, alas, is also abandoned
See all sorts of abandoned places, and the forest around seems quite sinister
Prasonisi. We were last year and decided to visit this place again, we liked it. This time around, the isthmus looked a bit shabby, perhaps from a recent storm. And, for some reason, there was not a single surfer
Children got busy while their parents were struggling with the waves, they seem to be short, but so strong
I decided to go to the peninsula. The daughter refused, because she has inspiration and she needs to complete the castle. Since such a thing, then dad, so be it, will remain to protect her (well, he will lie next to him on the sand). Well, my son and I went
View of Rhodes from the Prasonisi peninsula. On the left - the Aegean Sea, on the right - the Mediterranean
And there are pyramids, pyramids, pyramids.
And why are there so many of them in Rhodes? Probably from the series "Vasya was here. " Even so, much prettier than the variegated graffiti on the walls. So my companion managed to create a couple of masterpieces
Canyon. Alfemena Gorge. Gates of Hell. From Prasonisi we headed along the west coast wherever our eyes look. In the very center of the village of Monolithos there is such a structure
Surely, many travelers have seen it, but not everyone knows that it is 60 years old (according to the owner) and built from Italian beer bottles, but I don’t remember the brand. This house is used as a kitchen
We were driving to the Kastellos castle in Kritini. And here the MAPS. ME application shows the Canyon, right on the road near the village of Lakki. We have not yet seen canyons and stopped.
And for good reason. The place is little known among tourists, untwisted and very curious. While in Moscow, I found some information. It turns out that this is not just a Canyon, but the Gates of Hell (where the awl does not go in one place), moreover, a personal gate to Hell for the son of the Cretan ruler Katreya Alfemens, who mistakenly killed his father, mistaking him for a pirate, as the Cretan oracles prophesied . You can read a little more in Wikipedia
Beautiful, scary - and suddenly, "the snow will fall off your head. "
For us, the inhabitants of the plains, it is very unusual and, probably, mysterious. The children were impressed for several days afterwards. And with their stories about the fact that they climbed in the mountains, where stones fall and it’s very difficult to go down and mom tore off her leg, and dad, in general, didn’t want to go down, shocked both grandmothers.
About going up and down: indeed, climbing up is very easy, like climbing stairs,
but when you look down, it becomes somehow creepy. The first thought - well, what the hell did I climb here
Children, like mountain goats, galloped, such somersaults are easy for them. But adults are not very)))
There are also pyramids in this place, but not so many yet. My cubs left their mark
Kastellos Castle in Kritinia. So many stones have already been seen that, to be honest, this castle is no longer particularly impressive
But the views… The views are wonderful
Surprised son. When they left, he said that he would grow up and come here, put things in order here, clean up and live with Varvara (a friend from the garden). He liked, after all, a place))). In response to my attack, that if he also misbehaves, disobeys, runs away, deliberately stands on the edge of a cliff, then Varvara will simply put him in that very hole, the child cut him off: What are you, I’ll patch it up!
Old Rhodes. A visit to the Old City is perhaps one of the few cases where I did not make any compromises. Children, of course, are purple to all antiquities, but dad really didn’t want to: well, we were there, but what else to do there... Yes, we ran here for a while last year, and it was just a run along the central streets of Orfeos and Socratus, and a little more along the waterfront. But, I know, I read that all the interestingness is not on the shopping streets.
Sokratus Street
I want to! As a result, we hung out there for almost the whole day. What a pleasure to walk along the narrow streets, so similar and so different,
peek (peep) into other people's yards and greet local old ladies sitting at open doors
observe all sorts of unusual things,
Antiquity in antiquity
Not glued, but painted, apparently, with gouache
For sure ))
trying to steal a tangerine from an abandoned garden
Visiting the Old City is another one of the few times I was unhappy with the presence of children. They frankly interfered. I could not interest them in anything, except that a few cats distracted them, of which there are enough. I'm not a passionate fan of pets, but I couldn't pass by this handsome man
Palace of the Grand Master. But there was something that interested the children-animals - this is the Palace of the Grand Master. When we passed by, we first looked through the gate, then into the patio through the turnstiles.
And then it began: oh, what is it? Wow, what a big one, but to see what's inside... go crazy! Of course, I dragged them inside, after starting my usual set of phrases: Children, you already know that... Yes, mom, do not touch anything with your hands, do not run, do not jump, talk in a whisper... Yes, yes, children, what are you me well done! And it’s better to be silent at all (which, in principle, is impossible)
Views from the windows of the palace
Here, somewhere in the shade, our "non-museum" dad
Interiors
The kids really enjoyed it
What she knew - she explained that she didn’t know - by the way, he didn’t go with us to dad, well, he’s not a museum person)))
And so this palace became the expected place of residence of her daughter when she grows up and becomes a queen))) Later, when we were already heading to the car, I overheard the dreams of the children, how they will live on this sea, each in their castles-palaces, will visit each other, well, mom and dad will sometimes come, they will live far away - in Moscow. To a neat question, do they want to invite mom and dad to live with them at sea, there was a logical answer, but you don’t live now, so you don’t want to...
Kiotari. It so happened that both last year and this year, the main place of our dwelling was the town of Kiotari. The distance from the main tourist places could be written down as a minus, but I won’t. Considering the size of the island, everything is within reach. But the village of Kiotari is just perfect for relaxation, when you need only the sea, sun and silence. Our flight to Moscow was in the evening, so in the morning we had time to walk to the village, about 2 km from our hotel. October is the end of the season, there are no tourists, we met, at most, five people during the entire time of our walk. It seems to me that even in the peak season, the beaches here are hardly crowded.
The sea is calm and calm
But sometimes not quite calm
Conclusion. Rhodes is a nice, beautiful island, so homey and cozy. Rhodes is the place where you want to return. Honestly, I want to return to the Old City, but without children))). As for traveling with children, each parent decides for himself whether to drag his offspring with him or leave them in the care of nannies or grandmothers. My husband and I chose the “pulling” option, but in small doses, so that the children would see and learn that there are many interesting things besides cartoons and a kids club. Palaces for the future life they looked after themselves : )))
