Halki and Rhodes - again!

For those of you who don't know, John's cousin's wife is Greek and she has a family home on the island of Halki. We have visited Halki a number of times, including earlier on in this trip when the cousins were there. This time, when we looked at ferry options from Tilos to Rhodes (our next destination) we saw that the ferry stopped at Halki. Hmmm, should we? We decided we wanted to see what Halki was like out of season as we have always been here in peak season, so we decided to stay for a few days.

The visit started with a bang when Andreas, one of the guys who drives those little three-wheeler trucks, met us at the wharf to take our bags to our apartment. I knew who he was but don't recall talking to him before yet he met us like we were old friends and we felt at home straight away.

The harbourside town was as stunning as ever. The Italianate pastel-coloured houses are so pretty and such a change from the traditional white sugar-cube houses of most other islands in the region. For an island with only one town, we were surprised at how much busier it seemed than Tilos. A handful of shops and restaurants were still open and the place had an upbeat feel to it. 

It was really wonderful bumping into people we already knew. The Georgian people at the Black Sea restaurant remembered us after a bit. It was interesting talking to them now that we have been to their country. We ate here every night. The food was amazing and I had Halki pasta every day! Halki pasta is short spaghetti, friend onions and cheese and it tastes fantastic!

We also saw other old friends - Maria from the Steki Bar, plus Michalis and Kiki. Sadly, we learned that Kiki has cancer, however it looks like she might get through it ok. 

Kiki, in the middle, and the owner of the Black Sea restaurant, where we took Kiki to dinner.

Because we've always been here in the height of summer, we've never done much in the way of exploring the island. It was usually more of a holiday experience shared with family and friends. This time, we were there on our own and the temperatures were now in the low 20's which is perfect for walking and cycling.

John rode his bike out to the Monastery. It's a loooong way up a loooong hill but he did it. (I'm lucky if John takes one photo a week so that's why you see so few photos of his bike rides.)

I really enjoyed walking around here. I saw the usual athletic goats - they were up in the trees.....

..... and they perched on mountaintops just checking out the scenery.

I went up towards the castle but only got as far as the ruined village beneath it. I had forgotten how extensive and interesting it is! Some of it dates to the 4th century BC. The stonework in this wall was amazing!

The water in front of our apartment was still that stunning aqua-fading-to-blue colour but it was noticeably cooler this time. We braved it once and found we had to keep swimming to keep warm. There were few fish but the ropes holding buoys in place hung like huge jellyfish tentacles in the crystal clear water.

There was a kaleidoscope of colour on the paint-peeled underbellies of upturned boats.

At lunch one day saw a fisherman pull a large octopus from the sea right in front of us. It was writhing in his bare hands. He unhooked it then I think (hope!) that he killed it. He certainly did something to it but he was partly obscured by parts of the boat. He then proceeded to do the Greek thing and he bashed it a dozen or so times on something hard in the boat to tenderise it. When we saw it again it certainly wasn't writhing any more. Even though it shouldn't matter what happens to a dead animal, I still struggle with this tenderising technique as it seems like such disrespect to the animal.

Fishing boats headed out at dawn.

The harbour looked stunning at any time of day.

When the time came to leave, we had another early start although this time the sky was starting to lighten as we pulled out of the harbour. We had a local ferry for this trip. I love these smaller boats. They're somehow so much more authentic and personal than the huge ferries. 

These smaller boats don't go into the ports at Rhodes Town - they take the shorter route which brings them into a small port half-way along the Rhodes coast. As we've been to Rhodes a number of times (you have to go via Rhodes to get to Halki) we thought we'd stay in Lindos, a pretty town in the south of Rhodes, instead of Rhodes Town.

We had arranged for a rental car to meet us at the port with the plan being that I would drive the car to Lindos and John would ride his bike. It's 60 very hilly kilometres to Lindos and John was physically and mentally ready. The route was so interesting - there were trees! Large swathes of pine forests covered many of the hills. The trees were sparse and straggly but just seeing so much green was wonderful. There were many stunning views along the way.

I made it to the designated place to meet the owner of our apartment. It was a small, crowded square and, not seeing anywhere to park, I asked a man nearby for suggestions. He directed me to put the car right on top of the words 'No Parking' written on the road! The owner of the apartment soon turned up and led me to another parking area. We loaded the bags up into the back of his little three-wheeled truck and set off through the old town.

Lindos is one of those picture-perfect places that you see photos of in travel brochures. White houses are packed tightly together with flagstoned laneways winding through them. 

I've never driven through these narrow streets before though and it was such an amazing experience! The little truck was only inches narrower than parts of the laneways. The driver and passenger are perched up the front of the vehicle - there is no motor in front. As we approached tight corners we seemed to almost touch the wall with our faces before we turned. Even with the mirrors permanently pulled in, we still squeezed between the walls and in one place we added a scrape to the many others there. It was so cool! I just wished I'd thought fast enough to dig my camera out.

The view from our room was amazing!

An ancient castle perched picturesquely above the town.

One night we were returning from dinner and saw this amazing blood-red moon. This photo doesn't do it justice - it was really red!

It's off-season here so the nights are very quiet and only one or two places are open to eat. However, the cruise ships are still coming into Rhodes Town and they do bus trips to Lindos. I was only in the shops area once when the tour groups were in. The usually quiet lanes were suddenly packed. It must be an absolute nightmare in summer. Outside of cruise-ship times it was eerie walking the empty streets when we could see signs everywhere for bars, nightclubs, ice-cream shops and clothing stores but they were all closed. The locals knew exactly when the tour groups were coming and a certain number of them would open for those groups. Donkeys would be brought to the 'Donkey Station' to carry tourists up to the castle.

The town would be busy for half a day or a day then it would go back to being sleepyville again. It's a strange existence.

We ate almost every night at the one restaurant in town that was open and it was fantastic! John ate the same meal four nights in a row! It was a bit strange though as a mate of theirs who used to be a musician kept turning up and playing guitar for us whether we wanted it or not.

We met a young couple who were living there - she was German and he was Austrian. It turns out that the Austrian guy had a very interesting history. He was raised in a family of hunters and could shoot from the age of six. Austrians have to do compulsory national service. Due to his shooting ability he chose the military. He ended up as a sniper in the Afghan war. He was faced with a terrible decision one day - a child was suspected of being a suicide bomber. He was told to shoot the child. He didn't do it. The child then killed 60 people with the bombs strapped under his clothes. The next time he was told to do this, he shot the child. They opened the clothes and found bombs. He also shot women in similar circumstances. It's hard to imagine what this must do to somebody who seems to be a really decent guy. He says the best thing that happened to him was that his wife got a job in Greece. He found that the relaxed lifestyle and the welcoming, supportive people have really helped him heal. His friend that he worked with wasn't so lucky. He committed suicide last year. On our last day in Greece John had to give his bike away. As the Austrian was also a bike mechanic, he was the obvious choice. It's amazing the people we meet and the stories they have.

Cats were everywhere. When we first arrived, one half-grown black cat attached itself to me. It was freakily obsessive about being with people. I had been sitting outside and, in an attempt to get away from it, I went in the room and shut the door. The cat thumped on the door, loudly and persistently. It was like something from a horror movie. The door had a window in it - one of those European ones that can lean in from the top. Soon there was a scrambling noise. The cat had climbed up the door and teetered at the top of the window! It was a long jump down but it finally summoned up the courage and jumped into the room. Seriously, I think this cat has a dependency issue.

It's sibling also hung around and it was much nicer. One day we walked up to explore the castle and the cat came with us the whole way! It must have been a 10 minute walk. What is it with the cats here?

Once we were at the castle, one of the staff members fed the cats. She told us that the tourists feed them all the time and when the tourists leave, the poor things go hungry. We saw many cats here and believe me, they were not hungry! People leave food out for them all the time.

One night I was walking through town and I saw four cats. They had cornered a small rat and were playing with it. They would bat it between themselves. If the rat tried to make a run for it, they would block it off and keep it cornered. If they were hungry they would have eaten the bloody thing!

They were still playing with it when a wedding party passed. The ladies that saw the rat were horrified! The wedding guests danced in the square until the bride and groom arrived then the whole group walked to the church for the wedding ceremony.

We explored the castle on top of the hill. Within the castle walls columns from ancient temples towered over the partly-restored ruins and the two stunning bays below. 

Although it was all so beautiful it was also a bit eerie and somehow artificial. It was a great place to visit but it didn't speak to us like other places in Greece did. My favourite part was when I had a walk nearby. As soon as I left the town, I was back in rural Greece - dry, scrubby land, gorgeous bays and ancient sites. 

I came across a group of donkeys, presumably they were the tourist ones having a day off, and some of them were so friendly! They were gorgeous!

Goats were everywhere. Some had cool horns.

This one stayed perched on a lookout for ages.

These gorgeous flowers pushed their way up through the rocks at various places.

There was an old abandoned windmill perched part way out to the craggy headland.

It was missing a door but its old staircase was still there so I could climb up inside it. The old hand-made wooden cogs were still intact, albeit in a serious state of decay.

At the end of the peninsula was a Hellenic period tomb. Strangely it was round on the outside and rectangular inside. It was perched on a rocky outcrop above the sea. What an amazing place to be buried! It seems only natural that a goat wandered around on top of it.

The days were getting cooler but we managed a couple of swims. St Paul's Bay was stunning - an almost enclosed bay that actually had a fair bit of underwater life!

We swum right out of the bay until we could see the castle on top of the hill. On the way we swum through a cluster of tiny jellyfish. Creepy.

We hired a car and took some trips around the island. We had a drink at a small village one day and the people there were incredibly friendly. We only ordered a coffee and a water but out came a piece of chocolate cake. It's the first 'extra' thing we've had for a while. The owner was very chatty and told us a lot about the history of the area.

We explored the ancient ruined city of Kamiros. It was huge!

What a position! The town looked out over the water and a huge temple towered over everything. It must have been amazing in its time.

Another amazing sight was Monolithos Castle. You could look across to Halki from here. 

One day I dropped John off for a bike ride then I explored Asklipeiou Castle. Again, I had it totally to myself. It was really good.

It was only when I left that I noticed the huge cracks in the walls. I don't think this castle will be around for much longer.

Meanwhile, John was slogging up and down those big hills back to Lindos!

The best place we explored though was this amazing canyon. We scrambled up as far as we could. Layers of coloured rock lined the canyon and water had sculpted out some cool shapes.

It was scary in places coming down though!

The sage and thyme here had seen more rain than elsewhere and was lush and green.

We also visited the Seven Springs Reserve. It's a pretty area for picnicking but the attraction for us was that we had read you can walk ankle-deep through water through a 150-metre long tunnel! Sure enough, we found the tunnel. It was about the same size as a person and was pitch black. It definitely wasn't for the claustrophobic!

We had forgotten to bring our head torches so we armed ourselves with the light from one phone and headed in. It was very eerie. John looked like something from a creepy movie silhouetted against the light.

It seemed to take ages to get to the other end. We emerged into bright sunlight at a gorgeous small lake.

We realised we couldn't return the way we came in case someone was coming the other way so we followed a track back to the car park. Peacocks and geese hung around the carpark hoping for food handouts.

We could have stayed in Greece forever but sadly, we can't. It's hard to imagine leaving here. This country has worked its way into our hearts. Our only consolation is that we'll be back again one day!

Bye for now.
Heather and John