I think today is the first time in a couple of months I’ve had to put on a shirt. Mind you, it is the middle of the night for many, and it is actually 30° outside, so it’s not cold; just feels it after two months of something slightly higher. It’s good to see and meet up with returning regulars and to meet new visitors. Several of late had been here for the day and decided to come back for longer, which is how many people come to be longer-stay visitors. We’ve had a few bewildered folks wandering the village looking for their Airbnb accommodation; the ones who don’t get met at the port. That can be something of a double-edged sword.

On one side, there’s the excitement of an adventure about being given the treasure map and being left to follow it on your own. Off the ferry you get, and armed with your message from the owner and a map on your phone, off you go. ‘It says we go up this wide road,’ says one intrepid traveller to their companion. Only, the road on Google Maps is actually a set of 380+ stone steps going up a hill. Only, the map doesn’t show you the gradient (or the steps, clearly), but they struggle upwards, because it’s all part of the quest. Then, summiting the Kali Strata, the map shows a left turn, but which one? The instructions say, ‘The one with the blue door,’ and again, the same dilemma. Off into the lanes, with the image from the website on one screen, the map on the other, heads down, occasionally looking up to say, ‘It must be that one,’ and off into another lane. There, to try various private gates and doors, and to search among stones for the hidden key, or to look in a wild fig tree for the lockbox, because they’ve already cracked the combination clue and know how to get in, but not how to find the portal through which to enter. Hopefully, they find the end of their quest in good time before nightfall. If/when they do find ‘home’, they’ve spent so long looking down at a useless Google map that they then have no idea how they got there and can’t get out again. All part of the fun!

On the other hand, others arrive to be met by an owner or representative, slide into a comfortable taxi, and are transported up the winding road with spectacular view of the port, and then down into the maze of lanes, and up some steps, and remember to turn right here, not left, then right at the ruined building, and there you are.

We stayed in an Airbnb in Athens a couple of Christmases ago. Taxi booked to meet us at the airport (a Welcome Pickups transfer has always been excellent for us), off into the city, arriving later at an address, and then, out come the instructions. ‘Orange tree outside the main doors…’ And there’s the lockbox secured to the orange tree, there’s the combo, and in we go. That’s not so easy to do around here.

Here’s a more recent memory than those I have been recalling. These days, when staying overnight in Rhodes, we have been using the Castellum Suites; an all-inclusive hotel behind the old town. Very welcoming, modern, clean, very friendly and overly generous. ‘Check in is at three, but although it’s only 9.30, of course you can check in now and why not have breakfast while you fill out the form? Yes, have lunch too, and all your meals and drinks from now until you leave…’ (This is usually in the winter, mind you.) Once, though, I thought I’d ‘save money’ and booked into a Rhodes Airbnb for a night for €25.00. Gaining access to this property in the New Town took me and another visitor arriving at the same time a phone call and fifteen minutes to get through the lockbox stage. Then, once inside, the single room I had was reminiscent of a British boarding school in the 1950s (I’ve seen documentaries). Single bed, nothing else, no towels in the shower box, etc. Dinner out was a basic affair and another €25.00 without drinks either side, and I went without breakfast. The Castellum would have been cheaper, and was certainly easier to get into.

Anyway. Didn’t mean to witter on, but after spending yesterday with a raging headache for no reason, this morning the mind is clearer. Sorry about that. You can get on with your day now, as will I.