Wednesday 17 November 2010

Greece 2010, Last Day



We didn’t have any real plans for the final day of the holiday so after we had finished our breakfast and completed most of the packing we set off for a final walk and just to be certain that we wouldn’t unexpectedly find ourselves in Rhodes town again, this time we walked along the beach in the opposite direction. Actually it was Kim’s suggestion that we walk that way because I don’t think she was prepared to take any chances!

As we walked we passed by a succession of rather scruffy little beaches each set out with rows of under occupied sun beds and umbrellas. The sea was choppy again and this had the unfortunate effect of washing up considerable amounts of litter and debris and on account of this we weren’t inclined to stop and swim.

At one beach there was a heated argument between the sun bed operator and some blanket people who had arranged themselves on a flat spot of sand in between the loungers and this had upset the man who collected the money presumably because it was depriving him of revenue. They all seemed to get unnecessarily excited about it and there was a lot of shouting and arm waving but eventually the blanket people gave in and moved of this part of the beach to another without sun beds and to be honest this looked like a much better spot to us anyway.

In the distance, not too far away, we could see a windmill so we agreed that we would walk that far and then turn back. This took us into the next village and resort area and when we had reached and seen the rather disappointing windmill that was now an art gallery we did just that. We retraced our steps until we reached the Ixian Grand where we walked through the gardens and the lobby area really just to reassure ourselves for a second time that we hadn’t missed anything by not stopping there.

There was an interesting bar at the side of the road on the way back with random furniture, old photographs on the walls and a sign that promised the best beer in Rhodes so we took the challenge and stopped to sample it. Actually it tasted pretty much like all of the other beer in Rhodes but we weren’t complaining about that.

After we had returned to the Caravel we thought we should go for one last swim in the sea and Kim had found the perfect spot on a private beach belonging to the posh hotel opposite. I was a bit reluctant but Kim persuaded me to go and as it happened no one challenged us so we enjoyed a last dip in the Aegean, for this year anyway.

The day was sliding away quickly now so we spent some final time around the pool, completed our packing, checked out and then had a final meal in the hotel restaurant before calling a taxi to return us to the airport. Predictably the driver overcharged us by €4 but we didn’t complain, just withheld any tip. Unusually the Easyjet flight was on time so we left Greece on time and arrived back in Liverpool slightly ahead of schedule.

It had been an interesting and enjoyable two weeks and useful in a way because after four years we had begun to wonder why we kept going back to the Cyclades. Rhodes and Symi were nice but our holiday there reminded us just why we like Folegandros and Ios, Serifos and Amorgos so much and exactly why we will probably be returning there again next year.

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