Two days ago, one could have been forgiven for thinking it was one day last January. For a few hours, starting around 9.00am, and lasting until around 2.00pm, here in Kiotari it rained like it has never rained in July in living memory. The video below shows our view from the lounge-diner at home. Had it been shot in January, one would have not raised an eyebrow, but for it to be July 17th, well, that's got all the locals here talking about how no one's ever seen the like of it.
To be honest, for a fella with the worst comb-over in history to be running a country, plus claiming that global warming is 'fake news', is a bit rich. Anyone with hair like that automatically disqualifies himself from being taken seriously in my book, I'm afraid. I remember twenty and more years ago reading articles in the Sunday papers, and watching programmes like "Horizon" on BBC 2, and being told that, owing to the melting of the polar ice caps, the sea level around the world would rise by a metre within our lifetime.
That has yet to happen, but the reason is simple. All that water may not yet have made the oceans rise, but it is instead floating around in the atmosphere, thus increasing humidity and producing more extreme weather conditions, including unseasonal deluges. On the plus side, I turned off the watering system because the garden received a welcome soaking. Every cloud... eh?
Anyway, enough of my layman's science and meteorology, why did I call this post "Slumming it"? I'll tell you. Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin (just can't resist using that little phrase at every opportunity I'm afraid).
See, this is our first season with neither of us working since 2007, but I believe I've already mentioned that a few times. We had all sorts of plans about how we were going to go to this beach and that beach and eat out more often, but still we seem to be slipping the stick into first gear where all that is concerned. But, this morning we did finally do something we also hadn't done for 12 years, we took the regular bus service into Rhodes Town. During the summer season we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choice as to what time to catch a bus. They're all over the place like an orange rash at this time of the year and so we plumped for the 9.50am bus from Kiotari, which got us into town, right in the thick of the action behind the New Market in Mandraki, at a respectable 11.15am or so.
Of course, by the time the bus is trundling through Pefkos or Lindos, it's standing room only, but boarding at Kiotari one has a great choice of where to sit. We were able to sit right behind the driver, with a nice view ahead over the top of his head. I have to say that the whole experience was really great fun. Plus one can't help but be well impressed by these drivers, who get spoken to in Italian, Russian, Polish, French and a few other languages as well, apart from English, and yet they cope admirably. Plus, they're in regular communication with each other all the time, enabling them to adjust their routes subtly, depending on how full each bus is.
For example, we were only ten minutes into the journey when our driver (bus no. 5) was talking to a colleague (No. 39) about a little clutch of people waiting at a certain bus stop who wanted to go to Lindos. They'd make decisions on the run about who'd stop for whom. As we drove through Lothiarika they passed and re-passed each other depending on which people wanted which destination. It was all accomplished with great fluidity and good humour. As we pulled up at each stop, the driver would open the front door and call out:
"Where you going?"
Depending on the answer he received he'd either cock a thumb and shake it backward, at the same time saying "Bus behind, two minutes!" or he'd say, "Yes, please, come, come!"
When we got to Faliraki, it was the first and only time we turned off the main road and took a convoluted route through the maze of hotel and apartment-lined small roads on the outskirts of the resort. At one point we pulled up right behind another bus that was currently interacting with ours and watched as some people boarded it, while some came walking back to ours and jumped aboard. Two rather fetching young ladies they were, and our driver asked them: "You want Rodos?"
To which they replied, "No, Tsambika Beach." Which, as it happened, was already behind us. Seems that the other bus (a different one from earlier on) at this juncture was heading south once it got out of the village. Our driver quickly closed the door, told the girls to hang on and put their money away for a moment, and instantly hailed the other driver with his radio and said, "Hey Manoli! These two dolls want Tsambika! Hold on and I'll catch you up, then you can have them, OK? - No, I haven't printed tickets yet, you can do that once they're with you. Although I'd rather they stayed with me!"
We rounded a bend or two, came to a halt behind the other bus and the girls were able to jump off of ours and run to get aboard the other one.
What also amused us was the fact that each time our bus passed another coming the other way, the drivers would hail each other over their radios with a "Hey No. 7!! How you doing today? Good health and kalo dromo [literally: "Good road"]. We''ll sup a frappé together this evening!" and other expressions of matieness.
All in all, it was a nice trip, further enhanced by the fact that I didn't have to concentrate on driving among the hordes of quad bikes, scooters and snail-creeping hire cars that, it has to be said, make driving for locals on Rhodes during high season both frustrating and hazardous (no offence!). I could sit back and let the bus driver take the strain. Plus, no worries about parking once we got into town.
OK, so financially it doesn't make a lot of sense for two people to go to town by bus. It would cost about half as much in petrol if we'd taken the car. But the sheer pleasure of simply looking at the view all the way there more than made up for that.
Once we arrived in town we were able to hop off the bus and go straight to the Aktaion Café, where we could use the loos and order a couple of freddo Espressos and a delicious slice of bougatsa. Then it was time for an intense interlude of people-watching. Bliss. After that we ticked off a few things on our 'to do' list and finally headed to the Top Three to see my old mates from my excursion days, where we could wait out the final half an hour or so before taking the bus home again.
Of course, it was a genuinely warm and double-cheek kissing reunion with Spiro and Dimitri, accompanied by bear hugs. I was rather sad to hear that the excursions aren't going well this year, with most of the "Rhodes By Day" trips being done by minibus, something that was unheard of for June thru September (even into mid October) when I was doing it. Looks like I got out just in time, although I'm sad for the person who took over from me, because they seem to have lost out. As we arose to leave and my better half attempted to pay for our drinks, Spiro physically stuffed the money back into her purse and told her in no uncertain terms that he'd be offended if she didn't put it away forthwith. I assured him that we hadn't come simply to get a free drink and that sooner or later I'd want to pay him. His reply? "OK, Gianni, this one's on me, and you can buy me a beer another time!"
On the way back I was amused to see just how much like a home-from-home the driver on this bus had made his working environment. Check out the photo...
Apart from the basil plant and ubiquitous frappé, there was also a small pack of tissues, a nice lace doily around the jar that contained the basil, some wet-wipes, a few bus timetables for anyone asking for one, and other stuff besides. Something that also demonstrates how crime rates here are still lower than many other parts of Europe, is the fact that all the drivers have clips holding bank notes and coin holders all within full sight and easy reach of the general public. In other countries drivers nowadays are behind a toughened glass screen and you have to use a little steel tray to exchange your cash for your ticket.
All in all, a relaxing and fun day out.
To be honest, for a fella with the worst comb-over in history to be running a country, plus claiming that global warming is 'fake news', is a bit rich. Anyone with hair like that automatically disqualifies himself from being taken seriously in my book, I'm afraid. I remember twenty and more years ago reading articles in the Sunday papers, and watching programmes like "Horizon" on BBC 2, and being told that, owing to the melting of the polar ice caps, the sea level around the world would rise by a metre within our lifetime.
That has yet to happen, but the reason is simple. All that water may not yet have made the oceans rise, but it is instead floating around in the atmosphere, thus increasing humidity and producing more extreme weather conditions, including unseasonal deluges. On the plus side, I turned off the watering system because the garden received a welcome soaking. Every cloud... eh?
Anyway, enough of my layman's science and meteorology, why did I call this post "Slumming it"? I'll tell you. Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin (just can't resist using that little phrase at every opportunity I'm afraid).
See, this is our first season with neither of us working since 2007, but I believe I've already mentioned that a few times. We had all sorts of plans about how we were going to go to this beach and that beach and eat out more often, but still we seem to be slipping the stick into first gear where all that is concerned. But, this morning we did finally do something we also hadn't done for 12 years, we took the regular bus service into Rhodes Town. During the summer season we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choice as to what time to catch a bus. They're all over the place like an orange rash at this time of the year and so we plumped for the 9.50am bus from Kiotari, which got us into town, right in the thick of the action behind the New Market in Mandraki, at a respectable 11.15am or so.
Of course, by the time the bus is trundling through Pefkos or Lindos, it's standing room only, but boarding at Kiotari one has a great choice of where to sit. We were able to sit right behind the driver, with a nice view ahead over the top of his head. I have to say that the whole experience was really great fun. Plus one can't help but be well impressed by these drivers, who get spoken to in Italian, Russian, Polish, French and a few other languages as well, apart from English, and yet they cope admirably. Plus, they're in regular communication with each other all the time, enabling them to adjust their routes subtly, depending on how full each bus is.
For example, we were only ten minutes into the journey when our driver (bus no. 5) was talking to a colleague (No. 39) about a little clutch of people waiting at a certain bus stop who wanted to go to Lindos. They'd make decisions on the run about who'd stop for whom. As we drove through Lothiarika they passed and re-passed each other depending on which people wanted which destination. It was all accomplished with great fluidity and good humour. As we pulled up at each stop, the driver would open the front door and call out:
"Where you going?"
Depending on the answer he received he'd either cock a thumb and shake it backward, at the same time saying "Bus behind, two minutes!" or he'd say, "Yes, please, come, come!"
When we got to Faliraki, it was the first and only time we turned off the main road and took a convoluted route through the maze of hotel and apartment-lined small roads on the outskirts of the resort. At one point we pulled up right behind another bus that was currently interacting with ours and watched as some people boarded it, while some came walking back to ours and jumped aboard. Two rather fetching young ladies they were, and our driver asked them: "You want Rodos?"
To which they replied, "No, Tsambika Beach." Which, as it happened, was already behind us. Seems that the other bus (a different one from earlier on) at this juncture was heading south once it got out of the village. Our driver quickly closed the door, told the girls to hang on and put their money away for a moment, and instantly hailed the other driver with his radio and said, "Hey Manoli! These two dolls want Tsambika! Hold on and I'll catch you up, then you can have them, OK? - No, I haven't printed tickets yet, you can do that once they're with you. Although I'd rather they stayed with me!"
We rounded a bend or two, came to a halt behind the other bus and the girls were able to jump off of ours and run to get aboard the other one.
What also amused us was the fact that each time our bus passed another coming the other way, the drivers would hail each other over their radios with a "Hey No. 7!! How you doing today? Good health and kalo dromo [literally: "Good road"]. We''ll sup a frappé together this evening!" and other expressions of matieness.
All in all, it was a nice trip, further enhanced by the fact that I didn't have to concentrate on driving among the hordes of quad bikes, scooters and snail-creeping hire cars that, it has to be said, make driving for locals on Rhodes during high season both frustrating and hazardous (no offence!). I could sit back and let the bus driver take the strain. Plus, no worries about parking once we got into town.
OK, so financially it doesn't make a lot of sense for two people to go to town by bus. It would cost about half as much in petrol if we'd taken the car. But the sheer pleasure of simply looking at the view all the way there more than made up for that.
Once we arrived in town we were able to hop off the bus and go straight to the Aktaion Café, where we could use the loos and order a couple of freddo Espressos and a delicious slice of bougatsa. Then it was time for an intense interlude of people-watching. Bliss. After that we ticked off a few things on our 'to do' list and finally headed to the Top Three to see my old mates from my excursion days, where we could wait out the final half an hour or so before taking the bus home again.
Of course, it was a genuinely warm and double-cheek kissing reunion with Spiro and Dimitri, accompanied by bear hugs. I was rather sad to hear that the excursions aren't going well this year, with most of the "Rhodes By Day" trips being done by minibus, something that was unheard of for June thru September (even into mid October) when I was doing it. Looks like I got out just in time, although I'm sad for the person who took over from me, because they seem to have lost out. As we arose to leave and my better half attempted to pay for our drinks, Spiro physically stuffed the money back into her purse and told her in no uncertain terms that he'd be offended if she didn't put it away forthwith. I assured him that we hadn't come simply to get a free drink and that sooner or later I'd want to pay him. His reply? "OK, Gianni, this one's on me, and you can buy me a beer another time!"
On the way back I was amused to see just how much like a home-from-home the driver on this bus had made his working environment. Check out the photo...
 |
| Don't you just love it? Note the frappé (now empty) and the Basil plant in its vase!! Just one or two air-fresheners hanging from the mirror too. |
Apart from the basil plant and ubiquitous frappé, there was also a small pack of tissues, a nice lace doily around the jar that contained the basil, some wet-wipes, a few bus timetables for anyone asking for one, and other stuff besides. Something that also demonstrates how crime rates here are still lower than many other parts of Europe, is the fact that all the drivers have clips holding bank notes and coin holders all within full sight and easy reach of the general public. In other countries drivers nowadays are behind a toughened glass screen and you have to use a little steel tray to exchange your cash for your ticket.
All in all, a relaxing and fun day out.
Thanks John--we love the bus in Rhodes well. The fact that you KNOW where you will end up, but don't know exactly how you'll get there
ReplyDeleteWe came home on the 17th from our second visit this year!. It was great to watch the lightning from the balcony opposite Lindos town hall!
ReplyDeleteOn the bus into Rhodes a lady jumped on, only to find it was the wrong bus. The driver told her not to pay, he then took her about 2 miles dropped her at the correct stop. Then told her what bus to get, the price and what time it would come! Great service!
Years ago as kids on holiday on the mainland we travelled from Kamena Vourla to Athens on the bus, a great trip sat with families and a menagerie of animals. We had bought our tickets in advance so when we got on people already seated had to give us their places and stand not that they seemed to worry. There was a red light above the driver which was constantly on as we sped down the highway. When we stopped for a coffee break, honestly, I asked a guy what the light was for. He said it was to let the driver know when he was going too fast.... Happy days.
ReplyDelete