Stan and July Milosevic's Greece 2003 Vacation

Stan and July Milosevic's

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Day 9 - Monday, May 12, 2003

We're out of the hotel by 9:00 today. It seems like its getting later and later everyday. That's how holidays work though. We saw Bob and Brigitte waiting for the bus as we were pulling out and gave them a ride to Faliraki. They were going to spend the day visiting the beaches there. We headed back to Rhodes town to exchange some US currency into euros. Our first stop today will be the Acropolis of Rhodes which is on a hill behind our hotel. Its a small site but the one main ruin with four columns is cool. We walk around a little, take a few photos and head back out. We're going to Petaloudes, the Butterfly Valley. The butterflies are not actually seen in the valley until June so this was a very peaceful time to visit. It is a beautiful walk through a wooded valley with flowing streams tumbling into waterfalls and rock-pools. The whole walk is less than a kilometer. In such a hot country its nice to fine such a cool valley. The walkway through the valley is all stairs (146 in total) that take you up and down with the valley.

July at the Valley of the Butterflies

The attack of the goats

It is well worth the hour or so you spend here relaxing. One mystery about the butterflies is that no one seems to know exactly where they come from or how long they've been here. Time to go the the beach. One thing I wanted as to get a couple of good photos of the goats we've been seeing everywhere on Rhodes. Just as soon as I said it I see one one the side of the road on a rock outcropping. I pull over and get out. As I walk towards the goat he starts to get a little skittish. He backs into what looks like a little cave in the side of the outcropping. I get closer and he goes further in and I see there are more than one here. Great, I can take my pick. Next thing you know I hear something like thunder. I look around the rocks and I see thirty or forty goats coming out the back of the cave through a hidden exit. They are all crossing the road heading towards July and the car. She sees them coming, seeks shelter in the car and they stampede right by her. I did manage to fire off a few shots with my camera.

You wanted goats? You got goats. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. We head back out to Tsambika Beach to spend the day there. They suck another 7 euros from us for the loungers and umbrella. Another glorious day was spent on the beach. We had lunch right there too. Two hamburgers with fires, salad, and two drinks for only 8 euros. That's a little better. It was nice to get reasonably priced food. Late afternoon comes quickly and we pack our stuff and go back to town to the Internet cafe to mail back some more pictures. Unfortunately my floppy disk jammed in my camera rendering the thing useless. No more pictures to send back home for the rest of the trip. What do we now? I know, lets go back to the hotel and sit by the pool. 6:00 pm rolls around and we go back to our room to change for supper. We first return the car to Maria in the lobby and then have supper. We head to a few shops down the street to get a few souvenirs for people back home. We play some cards in the lobby. The sun really got us today and we are tired from our day of sitting on our behinds. Its time for bed and we go back to our room. The room however is very hot, the air conditioner is just trickling out a little cool useless air. We sleep with the sliding door wide open again. Its too hot even for the mosquitoes to bother us.

One of the local denizens

The hill overlooking the modern new town and Medieval town is the site of the ancient Hellenistic town of Rhodes and the Acropolis of Rhodes. In antiquity the population of the city was many times larger than that of today and extended over the eastern slopes of Agios Stephanos (later known as Monte Smith after the English admiral Sir Sidney Smith who established an observation post in 1802 to watch over the movements of the Napoleonic fleet in 1802) right down to the harbour. On the Acropolis are the remains of the Temples of Zeus and Athena and the partly-restored Temple of Apollo, then, as now, a landmark for ships at sea. Below is the heavily restored Stadium which is still used for occasional performances of classical tragedies. The small reconstructed 800 seat Theatre, more likely Odeon, sits beneath the site of the temple. Only the orchestra and three seats remain from the original structure, which was probably used for events associated with the cult of Apollo and maybe by the Rodian School of Rhetoric. A much larger theatre is thought to have been situated elsewhere on the same hill. On the left is the reconstructed stadium of which again only a few rows, in the middle of the curve, are original. To the east of the stadium lay a Gymnasium but little tangible evidence survives. The Temple of Apollo sits on a platform above the huge retaining wall behind the theatre, approached by a flight of steps, and excavations close by are the remains of a fountain house and possible Nymphaia, for the worship of nymphs. To the north, foundations of a Temple to Zeus and Athena Polias have been found.

Acropolis of Rhodes

Petaloudes or the Valley of the Butterflies. A quiet, forested valley in the heart of Rhodes.

Valley of the Butterflies


Valley of the Butterflies	Valley of the Butterflies

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