First Impressions

From the airplane, Rhodes reminded me of Hawaii, a vast expanse of blue water with clouds and islands scattered about. The airport was filled with a lot of different languages besides Greek, there was English, Swedish, German, Russian, and some we didn't recognize. Hardly an American accent to be heard. The airport restroom was markedly different than the sleek accommodations at the Munich airport. Luckily, I did have my own paper.

Tina on the Aegean.

After changing some dollars into Euros, we gathered our luggage and went to wait at the bus stop. Yes, we are being cost conscience, but we were also warned by the "Rough Guide" that the taxi drivers like to take you where they think you should go. Mostly the places that offer them a kickback for every guest procured.

Fishing boat with Turkey in the distance.

Jeff asked a local fellow waiting at the bus stop where the bus was going and how much it would cost. He didn't speak English, but he wrote down the desired information. A very impressive bit of friendliness considering how many tourists come here every year.

These were the really nice houses away from the main street.

Once on the bus, the city whizzing by the windows didn't look particularly impressive. A lot of small businesses, one after another geared toward tourism, many with that faded patina of age. Several buildings looked half finished with re-bar sticking out of them. Later we learned that the owner saves on taxes if their building isn't finished!

We were trying to read the bus stop names, but we just kept seeing the same Greek phrase. Finally, Jeff realized it was "BUS STOP" in Greek letters. Apparently the city funds didn't cover bus stop signs. Jeff asked the bus driver for Avra Beach, and he seemed to understand what that meant. I was relieved since I was envisioning us with our four pieces of luggage riding around the island for hours with no idea of where we were! Getting off the bus was a bit disorienting, but soon we located the Napoli Restruant. The staff knew to take us to the apartment just around the corner.

The apartment WAS this nice!

Nice kitchen.

The courtyard with flowering jasmine mmm...

I felt such anticipation at the apartment door. Would it be as nice as the photos, or would it be a long month of disappointment? It was perfect, and even better than we had hoped. After twenty six hours of travel time, we hit that futon bed and slept for sixteen hours. (Once we figured out how to open the darn thing!)

Jeff's Corner: My first impression; I suspect Greece is the New Mexico of Europe.