We’ve had a lovely day, but I’m not feeling too well right now. Burning cheeks and shivers. Keeping myself hydrated and Leon’s gone to find some food as I don’t want to be away from the loo. You know that odd feeling you get when your belly gets a bit bigger and growls and could be diarreah on the way? Yeah that. Hopefully it will pass anyhow before the flight home. My head is banging & I’m wrapped up in my cosy flight clothes.
Anyhow, the day today began with a drive over to the west side of the island. We were heading for the Monolith, but I saw a dam on the map, and I don’t recall ever seeing a dam, so we take a detour. I hope to see a beaver too. High hopes, which Leon manages my expectations. This part of Rhodes is much more mountainous and arid, it feels more akin to the dappled mountains in Croatia/ Bosnia than Greece. Once we get to the huge boulderous dam, once side is a beautiful lake, and the other half the remains of a dry river. We park up and have a walk to the rivered side. It’s so peaceful, not a soul around. I always get the willies about crocs or gators (thanks Australia!) when around this sort of still water, so we didn’t stay super long, before we continued on to the Monolith. Many narrow and sheer ‘drop off the side of the mountain’ roads later, we arrive at a part we can pull over, and admire the STUNNING views across the valleys, and can see the monolith (a small white church atop a huge rock with hundreds of steps up to it). There are a few local traders up there, and I try a few of their wares and get a couple of lovely little bits, an olive oil skin cream, a coffee ouzo drink, and some local orange honey.
We continue on down this even more narrowing steep road towards the base of the monolith. Neither of us care to walk up all the steps and continue down to a beach with huge Sandy variegated chalky looking boulders that have fallen over the years. A couple are sat directly under a Boulder that looks precariously placed over them, reminding me of a Wylee Coyote cartoon! I certainly wouldn’t have been that brave. The Boulder was as big as a few houses! Would have squashed you like an ant if the time had of been for it to slightly shift. Another beautiful but choppy and windy beach with some caves. I watch amused on at some young women contorting themselves into no doubt the perfect Instagram pose, at one point, the petite blonde with a tiny neon yellow bikini on was flat on her back in the pebbles where the waves break, with her legs in the air, while her friend obliged to take seemingly endless photos in the biting wind. Whatever floats your boat!
We have to drive back along the rather nerve wracking road, as we realise this beach is a dead end. Drat. One of those mocking goats starts bleating again. Ok, well, what goes down, must go up! Our little 1l petrol Skoda citigo did us proud though, and we made it, obviously. Going through monolith village was a bit stressful and the sat nav kept taking us into derelict tiny dead ends. But Leon held it together and got us back out unscathed. For first time driving a manual on the wrong side of the road, he’s seeming pretty confident, although assured me he was also sh*tting bricks.
When we get back to our apartment, we need some chill time and Leon goes to the beach and I chill on the balcony for a while, and follow him down about half hour later, once I’ve caught up with an old friend on the old socials. On the way out of the apartment, the cutest little kitten is meowing at me, rubbing round my legs, and trying to follow me. It broke my heart to walk away but I had to, promising it some meat when I return. Once on the beach with Leon, I find myself some tree shade, and read my book, seeing Leon from the corner of my eye, hop in and out of the sea, dry, repeat. Happy as a pig in poop.
Some very loud German families were a bit near, and a bar with a seemingly 1 track playlist was blaring a monotonous din, so we relocated a few trees along, which was more restful.
About 5pm we come back to the apartment, via the supermarket. As I’d spotted the cute kitten, I wanted to get him some ham. An old and very poorly older cat with an infected stump of a tail and another kitten joined as well. Once felines are fed, and my good juju is done, we went back indoors. This is when I began to feel a tad unwell… unsure which way it was going, I had a hot shower to try to ease my head and neck pain. It didn’t really work. I’m resisting pain killers, as I’ve not eaten and I’ve been told you shouldn’t have pills on an empty tum. So water and rest it is for now, until Leon returns with hopefully more than a packet of hobnobs, as he so famously did back nearly 20years ago! If he does though, it will make me laugh a little. Or he’ll feed it all to the poor kitties, and that would be ok too. It’s always harsh being in a country that doesn’t look after what we see as pets in our homelands. I know from Jill in Paulerspury that we looked after her cats, is so wonderful, chaperoning vets & vet nurses to go out to different countries, tirelessly trying to spay as many as they can to stop the inevitable suffering of many.
Update, Leon is back with a pizza. Not a hobnob in sight. Xx
Dam, sans beavers Dry side Wet side Peaceful dam lake Sick Pizza
