Rhodes 9/19/21

 

At each port a pilot comes on board to guide the ship through the last bit of water to the pier. In the case of Rhodes, it was less than a kilometer. At Kotor, we took on the pilot about five miles out because of the narrow spots and tight turns. In the case of Puget Sound it is many miles away from the port at a spot just off Ediz Hook near Port Angeles. 

In every port the Eurodam gets exterior maintenance. Today painters were working on the white paint forward and the crew was washing down the hull.

As you can see from the pics above, we tied up port side to, with the bow pointed southwesterly. From our cabin on the starboard side we had a view of the old city with its walls and fortifications.

The old walls are amazing. They date from various periods when they were erected or strengthened by various rulers or occupiers. If you are interested in learning more about the walls and their history, here's a link to a local person's blog with comments: The Walls And The Gates in Rhodes (theislandofrhodes.com)

As usual, I just captured what caught my eye. For a more complete guide of the old city, please see the link, above. These arches marched on up the road. Or perhaps they would more properly be called buttresses? 

I noticed a photo of this same old church in the referenced blog. I was intrigued by the stonework.

Along the roads and alleys inside there were shops of all kinds. Here classic Greek clothing was on offer and floating like ghosts in the breeze. 

Some of the smaller side streets were paved with cobbles like I've never seen before. The stones were in the size range of 3-4 inches and set at an angle in a strong concrete base. The stones were well worn but I didn't see any missing even after what looked like many years of vehicle traffic. I thought the photo was interesting because near the car you can get an accurate idea of the look, but in the foreground it looks like the stones are missing and the surface is a series of indentations. I'm not sure why it appears like tht. Must be a trick of lighting,

As mentioned, the streets were lined with shops, restaurants and entrances to small hotels. A thirsty couple were sitting at this table drinking cold beer. I stopped to admire their cold beer dispenser. They were nearing the bottom of the pitcher(?) but had slowed down considerably by the time we returned this way an hour later. The beer looked like it was still cold.

Many restaurants had employees on the street out front trying to entice people in with promises of wonderful authentic Greek food with seating with a sea view. The third floor of this colorful restaurant promised seating for 80 people.

At stops in other locations in Greece we saw banana plants with green fruit. This is the first time I saw a potted banana houseplant. It was on a sheltered porch with only afternoon sun so could only support a few fruits.

One of the many minarets/towers/spires to be seen around the old town.

This street-level window caught my eye. It offers daylight and fresh air but remains private, secure and watertight with curtain, bars, shutters and a small roof to shed the occasional rain.

Another eye-catching tower.

We enjoyed our visit to the old city, but passed on the restaurants, ice cream and gelato stands, and souvenir shops. We made our way back to the ship and had latte's in the Crow's Nest, enjoying the view.

The ship's internet was slow yesterday afternoon, then it became REALLY slow. So slow it would time out on the simplest tasks. I think there is only limited bandwidth and as people come back from tours in the afternoon, they all try to check mail and surf at the same time. I finally gave up and finished this Monday morning.