Rhodes and end season 2022
After Symi we could not resist to sail towards the island of Rhodes. To reach Rhodes we had to sail
most of the time inTurkish waters but this is not an issue as long as you are a civilian boat.
North of Rhodes you have several harbors but the most interesting one is Mandraki nearby the
historical centre of the island. The entrance of the harbor is easy to recognise as you have a couple
of deers that guard the entrance. Once moored you can visit the city with many old construction
such as the old castle located at the entrance of the harbor.
The whole port of Mandraki is protected by a big wall. If you go further you will see the commercial
harbour with numerous ferries docked. You have often two to three cruise ships as well as ferries
to go to the numerous Greek islands. Rhodes is strategically located as was was located between
the middle-East and Europa. Rhodes has always been a very important strategic island and it has
often been invaded. The first people lived on the island around 4BC but not much has been left.
Afterwards came the Turcs, the English, Ottoman, Italian and German invaders. The city as it
stands today has been build by the Knights from 1308 till 1521. Rodes played an important role
during the crusades. An important community of Jews also lived on the islandas as they had little
prosecution. During world war2 many Jews from Spain took refuge on Rhodes thinking it as a safe
place until the Germans arrived in June 44. Rhodes is very touristic as it has numerous beaches and
hotels. The airport sees a constant stream of planes landing during the day. But Rhodes has so much
to offer then beaches . The archeologicak museum is a must to visit. It contains a lot of historical
artifacts. In the past there was a hospital were the knights could be treated if they had been
wounded during the crusades. You can visit the hospital ward (60 meters long) were sick people were
treated. If you come early, at a time were you have a few visitors, the museum keepers love to give
you more details about the history of the place and how the patient triage was done.
Next to the archeological museum you have the caste of the lords. The place was seriously damaged
in 1850 by an explsosion but Mussolini decided in 1940 that he needed this place as a summer castle.
He did some important restauration. He also started to put some furniture inside such as valuable
gifts he had received from Japan but, unfortunately for him, he never could enjoy this place. The
old city of Rhodes contain also old Greek tempels but they are rather in poor condition. Around the
city byou have a big wall that protected the city. The streets are covered with cobblestones and it
is often used for movies. In the morning when the place is deserted you can easily imagine the
knights speeding loudly on their houses in the street of Rhodes.
Anthony Quinn Greek actor fell in love with Rhodes when he participated in the movie the “Guns of
Navarone”. After having visited Rhodes we sailed south towards Chalki island. the harbor is very
niceand the water very clean. Some big ferries come in the harbor and it is scary to see them
turning in the harbor as there is not much space. someof them are turning just a few meters in
front of the sailing boats. Luckily the crew know how to do this and you have the feeling that it is
easy for them. As the water was very clean we did a dive and found debris of an old wreck at 20
meters depth, with many broken pieces of amphora. As we were at the end of the dive we did not go
deeper but I am convinced that below you have the remains o a wreck.
Having spend 2 days on Chalki we moved to Alimnia an island located 3 miles east of Chalki. The
island offers a good shelter in case of strong winds. On the hills you find the remainsof an old
castle. There is also a few buildings that were build by the Germans as during the war they had a
small group of soldiers. Some German drawings are still visible on the walls of the ruins. A monastry
is also visible on the island. Kostas has started to restore the little church and if you need a place
to rest he has two dormitories for visitors. Most of his time he takes care of the church, his
vegetable garden and some goats. Do not hesitate to greet Kostas as he like to chat with visitors
and explain his life. Once a month he takes his boat to go to Rhodes to visit his sun and buy some
supply.
The end of the season was coming soon so we moved to Kalymnos for a few days before going to
Leros were the boat was going to spend the winter. We spend a few days in Leros to prepare the
boat for the winter by removing the sails, sterilising the watermaker, disconnecting electronics
etc... Everything was readdy by the 10th of october when the boat was hauled out of the water. we
concluded that our season was very nice in the Dodécanèse even if the wind was stronger then
anticipated. We retuned to Belgium two weeks later.
most of the time inTurkish waters but this is not an issue as long as you are a civilian boat.
North of Rhodes you have several harbors but the most interesting one is Mandraki nearby the
historical centre of the island. The entrance of the harbor is easy to recognise as you have a couple
of deers that guard the entrance. Once moored you can visit the city with many old construction
such as the old castle located at the entrance of the harbor.
The whole port of Mandraki is protected by a big wall. If you go further you will see the commercial
harbour with numerous ferries docked. You have often two to three cruise ships as well as ferries
to go to the numerous Greek islands. Rhodes is strategically located as was was located between
the middle-East and Europa. Rhodes has always been a very important strategic island and it has
often been invaded. The first people lived on the island around 4BC but not much has been left.
Afterwards came the Turcs, the English, Ottoman, Italian and German invaders. The city as it
stands today has been build by the Knights from 1308 till 1521. Rodes played an important role
during the crusades. An important community of Jews also lived on the islandas as they had little
prosecution. During world war2 many Jews from Spain took refuge on Rhodes thinking it as a safe
place until the Germans arrived in June 44. Rhodes is very touristic as it has numerous beaches and
hotels. The airport sees a constant stream of planes landing during the day. But Rhodes has so much
to offer then beaches . The archeologicak museum is a must to visit. It contains a lot of historical
artifacts. In the past there was a hospital were the knights could be treated if they had been
wounded during the crusades. You can visit the hospital ward (60 meters long) were sick people were
treated. If you come early, at a time were you have a few visitors, the museum keepers love to give
you more details about the history of the place and how the patient triage was done.
Next to the archeological museum you have the caste of the lords. The place was seriously damaged
in 1850 by an explsosion but Mussolini decided in 1940 that he needed this place as a summer castle.
He did some important restauration. He also started to put some furniture inside such as valuable
gifts he had received from Japan but, unfortunately for him, he never could enjoy this place. The
old city of Rhodes contain also old Greek tempels but they are rather in poor condition. Around the
city byou have a big wall that protected the city. The streets are covered with cobblestones and it
is often used for movies. In the morning when the place is deserted you can easily imagine the
knights speeding loudly on their houses in the street of Rhodes.
Anthony Quinn Greek actor fell in love with Rhodes when he participated in the movie the “Guns of
Navarone”. After having visited Rhodes we sailed south towards Chalki island. the harbor is very
niceand the water very clean. Some big ferries come in the harbor and it is scary to see them
turning in the harbor as there is not much space. someof them are turning just a few meters in
front of the sailing boats. Luckily the crew know how to do this and you have the feeling that it is
easy for them. As the water was very clean we did a dive and found debris of an old wreck at 20
meters depth, with many broken pieces of amphora. As we were at the end of the dive we did not go
deeper but I am convinced that below you have the remains o a wreck.
Having spend 2 days on Chalki we moved to Alimnia an island located 3 miles east of Chalki. The
island offers a good shelter in case of strong winds. On the hills you find the remainsof an old
castle. There is also a few buildings that were build by the Germans as during the war they had a
small group of soldiers. Some German drawings are still visible on the walls of the ruins. A monastry
is also visible on the island. Kostas has started to restore the little church and if you need a place
to rest he has two dormitories for visitors. Most of his time he takes care of the church, his
vegetable garden and some goats. Do not hesitate to greet Kostas as he like to chat with visitors
and explain his life. Once a month he takes his boat to go to Rhodes to visit his sun and buy some
supply.
The end of the season was coming soon so we moved to Kalymnos for a few days before going to
Leros were the boat was going to spend the winter. We spend a few days in Leros to prepare the
boat for the winter by removing the sails, sterilising the watermaker, disconnecting electronics
etc... Everything was readdy by the 10th of october when the boat was hauled out of the water. we
concluded that our season was very nice in the Dodécanèse even if the wind was stronger then
anticipated. We retuned to Belgium two weeks later.
Our Journey: 2022
