A wander around the upper village the other day resulted in a couple of interesting photos. With the first one, I was attracted to the straight edges and lines of the building behind the ruin contrasting with the stones and texture of the foreground. (That’s about as arty as I get.)

The second one gives us a chance to be armchair architecture archaeologists if we fancy it, and we do that by wondering how what’s left behind tells us what was once there. Or, we can guess. A fireplace on the left means that must have been the kitchen area, and as further evidence, there are the remains of the plate rack — the alcove to the right of the fire arch. A doorway into the next room/main building. Two arches supporting it all? A cellar? A tunnel between buildings? Further investigation is needed, but it’s a private plot, and high up, so I’m not going scrambling.

Just shows you what you can find when you explore the back lanes of the village, as this ruin is not alone. It’s interesting how many people say they’ve never walked around the village lanes because they are afraid of getting lost. You can’t, really. If in doubt, head downhill and you’ll either meet a road or, eventually, the sea. That is if you don’t meet a dead end, in which case, you double back. It’s well worth the effort of climbing up the steps or taking the bus or a taxi, and then getting off the beaten track. Just turn off the main path and see what’s around the corner. Explore.

I shall be doing more of that later because it’s a lovely day here, crisp, but calm and sunny so far, and perfect weather for taking a walk.

By the way, ‘My Life in Ruins’ is the title of a comedy film featuring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Richard Dreyfuss. It’s set in Greece, where it was filmed, and is a fun thing to watch. I believe it was renamed ‘Driving Aphrodite’ for the UK release, so it has two titles, but it’s the same film.

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There’s something of a conspiracy against pedestrians going on in certain streets in Rhodes. In some cases, the pavement is only about 18 inches wide, and yet, there’s still a tree in the middle of it, or a lamppost. This, I believe, is a way of keeping down the weight of pedestrians. Too much around the middle and you can’t pass between the tree and the wall, so you are compelled to step sideways into the road risking life and limb. If someone’s coming the other way, you have that terrible decision of which way to step and often end up doing the stranger dance, where you sidestep in the manner of a foxtrot only to end up mirroring each other. There should be an unwritten rule that you always step to the left or the right, so we all know what we’re doing.

As you might guess, I did a fair amount of walking around Rhodes the other day (nine miles in total), and all this for a quick checkup at the docs as part of my annual health insurance. You’ll be pleased to know, as I was, that everything is ticking over nicely in the ticker department, tubes clear, levels fine, blah-di-blah. The half hour with a consultant cost me €20.00, and the appointment was at my convenience. Don’t get me started about how wonderful the health service is here, I’ll never stop going on about it.

That view, if you were wondering, was from the waiting room, and I took the photo to remind myself to tell you that the Plaza should be reopening soon. (Next week, I think.) this is the hotel where many Symi people stay or hang out while waiting for the day to pass before the ferry leaves, or when on their way to and from the airport. It’s been closed for a while for a refurb, and the last time I saw it, some of the balconies were missing. They are all back now.

Also noticed in Rhodes, there’s a new Goody’s, which is a viable alternative for Mcdonald’s which is also undergoing a refurb so that’s closed too. The orange blossom is out, even on trees that already have oranges on them. If these are the same trees as they have in Athens, then the oranges aren’t for eating, and the trees are purely for decoration. (And for forcing overweight pedestrians to walk into oncoming traffic.)

And lastly, this building which I liked the design of. It’s on Canada Street if you want to go and gawp. I passed it on my way to do some man shopping at Pappou. Man shopping is when you know what you want, you go in, get it, come out and carry on as you were. This I did for some tea bags on my way to the boat. Tea bags which need to be immersed in hot water, which is what I am away to do now. Have a fun weekend.

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Yesterday’s stats: Miles walked, nine, worst giros in the world ever eaten, one. Rather, half a one, but I’m not telling you where it was, only that it was in Rhodes, where the weather was just right for wandering aimlessly around shops and sites. There will now have to be a few photos of the excursion to fill these pages over the next few days, not that I took many photos. I’ve still not exhausted the images from the last trip, but we’ll get there.

Let’s start by leaving, and the walk down to the harbour.

Where the boat backs in…

And from there to my favourite spot, out the back in the fresh air. I say fresh, it is as long as you don’t stand in the direct path of any fumes from the funnels or the vehicles below. Once you’re on the move, it’s fine.

Although the sea was calm, it took a while for the ship to dock in Rhodes, creeping ever starboard to the quayside, and I mean, inch by inch. We got there in the end, though, and everyone poured off. I had plenty of time before my appointment, so wandered around the coast path to Akandia gate, and then took a cut-through to miss out the tourist harbour entrance and the road with very little path. Onwards to Mandraki for a pit stop at the best public toilets in this part of the world. Clean (they’ve got new stone sink surrounds, it looks like), locks, seats, music playing, cleaners on hand so they’re always spotless, and for the gents, YouTube videos playing above the urinals so you can watch cats being daft while you do your biz. After that, it was off to Zara’s for a sweaty look around. Sweaty because I only have to walk three paces and I’m dripping, yesterday was warm enough that I didn’t need my jacket, and the escalators at the shop weren’t working. In clothes shops, menswear is inevitably on the top floor or in the basement, have you noticed? M&S, top floor, H&M, basement (was, now it’s women’s clothes down there and men’s seems to have vanished), Zara’s, top floor, Pull and Dump or whatever it’s called, basement. We’re always up and down stairs, and in most of these stores, M&S in particular, they seem to have the heating on full blast even in summer. That’s one reason I rarely try on clothes, it’s too darn hot. Besides, it’s not nice to put a damp shirt back on the rails. Anyway… I’ll finish for today with a nice shot of the outskirts of the Old Town at Mandraki.

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Looks like we’re in for a wet and windy today, so that’s me staying at home. I’m out all day tomorrow in Rhodes (unless the weather stops the boats), so I’ll save my energy for that, and spend today at the desk and/or on the sofa. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours at the kitchen table with our godson. He’s currently building a Yamaha something, and I am working on another Phantom of the Opera, taking myself back to when I used to make these models when I was about 12. The Cutty Sark is as finished as it’s going to be and in the sitting room. I’ll try and get a decent photo of it one day.

What’s happening out and about? Don’t know really. I saw some visitors on Sunday. At least, they looked like they had just come off their sailing boat, dogs included, and were exploring the village, maybe looking for somewhere to have dinner.  The first charter flights arrived in Rhodes last week or at the weekend, so that season has started early for someone somewhere. I remember being in Rhodes in March one year, years ago, and the hotel telling me they already had visitors from Germany, and when we were there in February, there were already two cruise ships in, and sightseeing and tourist buses were running, though maybe just for the one day. I wonder how it will be tomorrow. I’ll let you know when I get back online on Thursday.

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The village square has seen some party action this weekend. I assumed it was something to do with the carnival held just before Clean Monday, but then Clean Monday isn’t until March 18th. The Patras Carnival apparently started on January 20th and runs until March 17th, which seems like a long day out, but I’d not heard of any arrangements for our festivities here. Perhaps it was a birthday or other party, as last night, the kafeneion was blasting out up-to-date music (Boney M and La Bamba). There were paper streamers everywhere, and signs of a silly-string fight left behind as evidence of a good time had by all.

We passed through as the whatever-it-was was winding down and made sure we turned off our doorbell when we got home, so littluns weren’t tempted to press it as they passed. That happens a lot if we leave it on because there’s a light on the button and a handy escape route via steps over the road. The game is to see if you can press the bell and make it to the corner before the grumpy old foreigners come out to shake their fists in the manner of a comic book neighbour. We don’t, actually, we ignore it while one of us says, ‘I’ll turn the alarm off,’ and we call it the alarm because that’s what Neil calls it. It’s like the landline phone we no longer use. If anyone wants to phone, they have to use the mobile numbers or email, and if they want to call in, they have to message first so we can leave the gate open. Either that or rattle the doors. Anyway…

Weather check. Wet and stormy on Friday, so bad that there were no boats, so I was right to change my appointment in Rhodes; I’d never have got there in time. Better over the weekend, but still cloudy, warm, 80% humidity on Sunday morning, though a bright and clear day, and the wind dropped. Today’s tasks include buying boat tickets for Wednesday, only €11.00 return with the Blue Star after my discount, and with my M.A.N. card, I’ll eventually get some of that back into my bank. The doctor’s checkup will cost me €20.00 under my insurance, and if I have a giros for lunch and do nothing for the rest of the day but walk, the whole day away should cost me no more than €40.00. You can bet it will, though, because it’s a 10-hour day from getting on the boat to getting off, and all for a one-hour appointment, if that, so what else can one do but shop? I can’t even do that as funds currently don’t allow, so I intend to wander as I wait for the day to pass.

But that’s for Wednesday when I shan’t be here, I’ll be there. As for the rest of the week, today it’s piano and model building, as it will be on Thursday, and maybe a couple of walks now the weather looks more outdoor friendly.

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