Shopping like a Cowboy. Rhodes Part Two.

After the fingerprinting was done, I had plenty of time before my next appointment, so we wandered around a little while, window shopping and bumping up the step-counter on my phone. I think we’d already walked four miles by then, and we were to manage 10 by the end of the day. A walk along the seafront showed hundreds of sunbeds, mostly empty at that time of day, with a good few meters between each umbrella and people already at work waiting for custom. As the morning went on, the streets became busier, but still not as busy as they would have been in ‘normal’ times. Later, there was time for shopping, and I needed new shorts and shirts, because last year, I didn’t bother as there was nowhere to go apart from the Rainbow Bar (which opened yesterday, btw). So, my personal shopper took me hunting in various clothes shops.

There was no need to book an appointment as you had to do a few weeks ago, but masks are compulsory, and every shop had hand-san all over the place. Some also had a card system so they could monitor how many were in the shop at one time, and H&M had a rather hunky security guard on the door who refused to frisk me. Shopping as a man is easy. You go in, see something you need, say ‘That’ll do’, pay and leave. The checkout lady at M&S once said to me, ‘You men are so fast,’ because I’d gone in, gone upstairs, found what I came for and was down again within five minutes. She seemed quite grateful or impressed. No idea why.

I had my optician’s appointment at 11.00, but I was early, and it was hot outside, so I thought I’d wait inside Optical House, where Mr Loukaidis gave me a coffee while he got himself ready. Full check-up, update on my vision, frames chosen, and all done and dusted in a friendly and professional atmosphere, and where, each time I go, I feel like I am being treated as a member of the family. Glasses will be delivered (for free) to Symi via courier as soon as they are ready. Perfect. And on to lunch…

As you might see, I didn’t take photos of everything, but we had lunch at Koukos, a guesthouse/café/bar in the pedestrian street, sitting outside enjoying the shade before going our separate ways for the afternoon. Jenine had an appointment elsewhere, and I just wandered gradually back to the harbour. By then, I was walking like a cowboy recently off his horse, suffering from what my nephew calls ‘chaffage’, but as long as I stopped now and then, I was fine. I took a pit stop at Nimmos, just inside Akandia gate, where Aris from Symi and his son run a traditional taverna. Odd to be served by a chap who was three when I first met him and who is now a six-foot, strapping man with fluent English, and we had a good catch-up. After that… More walking, a trip to Pappou where I scoured the shelves and finally found four packets of Typhoo tea (that’ll do for the next couple of weeks), before heading to New Mouragio, the taverna on the corner by the harbour gates. There, I asked for a glass of wine and turned down the offer of something to eat. The waitress was horrified that I was drinking wine in the afternoon without food (I was still full from lunch), and so I ended up with a massive free plate of mezethes and, for some reason, half a litre of white. Luckily, Jenine returned and helped with both. It’s only a five-minute walk to the boat from there, if that, so there was no stress when it came time to head home.

There will be more from me tomorrow, but I have no idea what that will be.

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Fingers and Thumbs. Rhodes part one.

Apologies for my absence yesterday, I hadn’t prepared anything for Tuesday, and tbf, but the time Tuesday morning came, I couldn’t be bothered. Later in the morning, like now, I prepared this, so we’re now back on track. (Btw, tbf = to be frank.)

So, the adventure that is a day out in Rhodes…

Begins at 3.15 with a stereo alarm from either side of the bed, just to make sure I don’t oversleep, something I rarely do anyway, but you have to be sure. That’s followed by an hour of pottering around, repeatedly checking the passports, tickets, money even though I’m not going on a flight, and meeting Jenine in the village square at 4.30.

A chatty walk down to the port, arriving just as the boat is rounding the corner and starting to back in, getting on, and sitting out the back with a cup of tea. Well, a cup of hot water to which you can add a teabag and accessories before watching the sun come up as you make the crossing. Arriving in Rhodes just after 6.00…

Walking around the bay where they have almost finished a new boardwalk, taking a stroll through the deserted Old Town (deserted because it’s so early, it was slightly busier later in the day), and coming out in the new town and heading for Gregory’s. Takeaway frappe x two, a pie and a bun, €6.00, which I thought was a good price. Then, breakfast on a bench in Mandraki, feeding the sparrows and watching the waking/jogging world go by. A wander about, waiting for an appointment with the police at 9.30. In the end, we got there at about 9.15, having gone to the immigration police first, where the charming officer we met had no idea where we supposed to go, even though it turned out we were supposed to go to the same building, only, around the other side. (I remembered your instructions, Lousie, and we were going to go straight there, but this entrance was in a rather nice garden, and we wanted to have a look…)

The fingerprinting officer was equally as lovely and had a good sense of humour. It didn’t matter that we were early, and we were seen to straight away. It was a simple affair: check this piece of paper, sign it, and stick your fingers onto two pads. Jenine went first, and there was some kind of issue, so fingers were recleaned, the scanner was given another wipe, and they tried again. Apparently, the officer said, women’s fingers are often more difficult to scan because they do more work than men. There was some debate about that and a few good laughs. Eventually, I mean after about five minutes of trying, she was able to scan her thumbs, and all was well. I took my turn and was done in five seconds. ‘That’s because I don’t do any work,’ I muttered. More laughter, here’s your paper, your card should be ready in about four weeks, have a nice day. And so, back out to the sunshine and time for shopping. More about that tomorrow.

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I’m not here

Well, I shouldn’t be here. I am here now, early on Sunday morning, preparing this for Monday when, all being well, I should be in a police station in Rhodes. Don’t panic! I’m going there to give a fingerprint for my biometric residency card. I was over in Rhodes five weeks ago to fill out the forms and then waited three weeks (Easter being one of them) to receive a call from the immigration office to go and get fingerprinted. That date was set for two weeks after the call – just so you know how long a wait to expect if you’re going through this process yourself. I’ve also got an appointment with the optician, and I must try and get some decent clothes. I think, since this time last year, all I’ve worn are the same two pairs of shorts, two shirts and the same hoodie. There’s been no need to ‘glam up’, but now, with hopefully a better summer approaching, I may have the chance to get out of the house more, and Sports Direct football shorts and an old Slazenger T-shirt won’t cut it.

Today’s photos are from Neil.

I nipped into Yialos on Saturday to raid the bank, buy boat tickets and see if anyone had any decent tea for sale (no). It was good to see so many people out and about again, but not so thrilling to see a lack of masks, especially tourists who must assume that they are safe because they are not at home. It was a fine day, and the weather had been dry of late, though sometimes windy, and it wasn’t too hot when I climbed back up the steps to do some shopping in the village. After that, I was back to ‘The Clearwater Inheritance’ as it had come back from the proofreader, and a final readthrough of that is on my ‘must do’ list as soon as I am back from Rhodes.

The Poseidon has started its around-the-island trips again now, and many, if not most, other holiday businesses are up and running. So, there are plenty of places open for eating and drinking, though not that many customers to go around. Once I am back from Rhodes, the week ahead promises more of the same for me. Editing, writing, dragging myself up the hillside at least four times during the week, and getting on with work. Luckily, Neil is still going out on his early walks and taking his camera, so there are plenty more photos to come.

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Going out with a bang

I was sitting on the sofa yesterday at 4.00, drinking my cup of tea and aghast at the headlines from the Guardian as usual, when there was a loud bang from somewhere outside. The lights dimmed, the internet went off and came back on again, and the flickering continued for a few minutes. Things settled down soon enough, and I went about my business, only to find the pump wasn’t working, and there was no water in the taps. On further investigation, we discovered that one of our three circuits was out, but the other two were working, so I ran a long extension cable across the courtyard to plug in the water pump, so we were only without power in the bedroom, and one wall of the house, including were the TV pugs in, not that we need it at 4.00 in the morning. Later, while writing this, actually, the power went off again, so perhaps someone is fixing whatever went bang, and we’ll be back on all three circuits soon. I hope so, otherwise, I won’t be able to post this, and there would have been no point in writing it…

Oh, it’s just been sorted, and we’re back to normal. Now all we need is for the mains water to come on (it didn’t arrive on Wednesday) as there is only a couple of inches left in the tank.

And now, some end of the week photos. Have a good weekend.

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Taking to the road

I took another wander up the hillside the other morning just as the sun was coming up. Varying the route I have been taking of late, I followed the main village ‘road’ across the square, up the lane past the bakery (now closed), and turned left at Zoi’s Taverna, not yet open for the season. Down the slope past the ‘new’ playground and café, and turned right at the bins. From there, I trudged uphill along the main road, which is a good way to warm up. The first slope isn’t too severe, and it almost feels flat at one point. Around ‘chicken corner’ and up a steeper slope to Lavinia, where a middle-aged man presented me with a wheelie on a very noisy off-road motorbike the other day. (Get some therapy.)  There, just past the new-ish bin hut and the gang of straggly cats, I stopped to admire the sunrise.

Continuing on, I made the last push to the cemetery. After there, the road flattens as its heads out around the hillside, rising steeply only now and then. Along that way, you pass the enclosure where my friendly goatherd keeps his pens, and that morning, he was among them doing some paperwork. I assume that’s what he was doing as, I noticed, he now has an office desk and a chair in the enclosure, and he was sitting at it. He looked as if he was about to interview a kid for an apprenticeship or give Old Billy his final warning. Perhaps he was about to interview a nanny; who knows? We exchanged waves, and I decided against taking a photo as it would be rude, and carried on. Around a corner, along a gentle rise, past Yianni’s house high on the hill to the next bend, where I paused to sip some water and watch the bay light up in gold.

Continuing on and up, I checked my pedometer to see if I had made my target yet and found I hadn’t, so I pressed onwards and upwards a little further. Once I’d passed my target for the day (I am building back up slowly), I stopped to try a panoramic shot of the valley in which You can see from Datca in Turkey all the way down to where a few boats were anchored in the bay.

A few steps more for good measure, and I turned around and headed back. That’s the best part of the walk, as it’s all downhill from there. Along the way, I got a toot’n’wave from the mayor driving up the hill, said hello to others strolling up to tidy graves at the cemetery or see to heir sheep on the hillside, and followed the main road back into ‘town.’ Back up the slope to Zoi’s Taverna, a hill that always takes me by surprise because it’s steep after coming downhill for so long, back through the village gasping beneath a mask, and across the square where Nikitas sits outside his empty peripteron. The last uphill leg is around the S bend to the house, but by then, I am warmed up, and the incline presents no problem. Home, shower, cup of tea and to the desk, all by seven. And so started another day.

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