We got up very early and after a hearty breakfast, decided to make the practical choice of going to Lindos by taxi. We were short on time and did not want to waste any of it on buses and the like. One way fare to the village is about 45 Euros.
As you leave Rhodes Town, the first diversion is that to the ancient ruins of Ialyssos.
Thereafter, one passes through the resort town of Faliraki with its popular beach.
In the right season, a popular excursion is that to Butterfly Valley or Petaloudes.
Or then wade through water in a dark tunnel to emerge onto a quiet, verdant spot with a delightful pool at Epta Piges.
In the distance is Tsampikas Beach, which claims the title of the "most beautiful beach on Rodos".
Our first view of Lindos, with the Acropolis majestically perched on top and enveloped by white houses below.
Once we arrived at the main square, the first order of business was to hike up to the Acropolis. We decided not to take the ubiquitous donkeys, and started walking up through the pretty village streets, our first look at the famous white washed architecture.
Lindos, in all its white washed glory, was the main background for the first half of the climb.
The route is also dotted with these local handicraft sellers, who proudly display their wares of Lindian embroidery and lace.
Two thirds of the way up, the view of the sea begins to enfold, and its picture perfect.
The climb up is however one to be handled with care as there are hardly any handrails for support, even on staircases like this one. Its not too steep, with most of the gradient increasing in the first third of the climb. The last bit required some scrambling over rocks. All told, budget about 25-30 minutes for a leisurely climb.
This archway, just before the final push up, was home to some of Greece's most beloved citizens. These cats were very curious to know what I was carrying in my day pack.
Finally at the top, we were greeted with atmospheric ruins, fabulous views, and best of all, hardly any people.
By the time we got back down, the hordes were heading up, which more than justified the early start and climb. We walked through some of the pretty lanes and alleys crowded with shops and bars.
We walked back to the start of the village, enjoying the glorious views and perusing the various restaurants and tavernas in a bid to decide on a location for lunch.
We settled on the venerated Mavrikos restaurant, located right at the central square of the village.
After lunch, we wandered about the village, generally browsing the shops and exploring the little white washed alleyways, before it was time to get a move on. Given how warm and sunny it was, neither of us wanted to go to the beach, and we decided to make a move and head back to Rhodes town.
The western side of the island is dotted with historic sites such as the Monolithos Castle perched picturesquely on a mountaintop.
Just before the road winds back into Rhodes town, is the pretty seaside resort of Kamirou, and the ruins nearby of Ancient Kamiros.
Rhodes' Mandraki Harbour is the site of the legendary Colossos of Rhodes, one of the Ancient seven wonders of the world. Destroyed by an earthquake, there are no remnants of this once magnificent structure.
We made our way back to the hotel and picked up our luggage. We took a cab back to the airport well in time for our flight to Iraklio on Crete. After checking in our luggage, we made our way to the gate and sat waiting for the flight to be announced. After quite a while, we ventured to the departure board to see what was going on and discovered our flight had been cancelled ! With no announcement to boot.
We returned to the check in counter and found out that the flight from Crete had not come in due to technical difficulties, and they were trying to arrange another flight via Athens. We went to the baggage claim and retrieved our luggage and waited to them to sort it out. In the meantime, we noticed a few local people who were on our flight making a beeline to another counter and then vanishing into the airport. We ventured over to find out what was going on, to discover that there was a Cyprus Airways flight departing almost immediately to Cyprus via Iraklio. We hurriedly bought tickets for the flight, told the Olympic people that we would sort out our refund on arrival in Iraklio and rushed to check in the luggage again. We literally ran through security and made it just in time for the flight.
Since it was a brand new aircraft, we were touching down in Iraklio within an hour. After thankfully retrieving our luggage, which I was pleasantly surprised to locate almost immediately, with fears to the contrary given all that had happened, we went to the Olympic ticket counter and processed our refund.
After this adventure, all we wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed, so we took a taxi to the Galaxy Iraklio Hotel and checked into our wonderful room. Dinner was room service and then sleep beckoned all too quickly and easily.
