36 26.860N 028 13.596E Mandraki Marina, Rhodes, Greece

Pipedream
Fri 22 Oct 2010 06:28
We left Tilos at first light after filling with water. With everyone taking showers etc. we are going through water at record pace. The pilot book said Rhodes was difficult to get a berth so we called ahead and got a booking agent. So far this has worked out great... but we haven't paid him yet. When we arrived we were told to back into a spot with just a corner of a concrete dock to tie our stern to and no way to get of the boat. Our booking agent showed up and said that it was unacceptable and arranged for us to move to another section of the marina. We are now in the commercial area where the dive boats are located backed into the main street of Rhodes along the water front. Lots of car, bus, and people traffic.

We took a quick walk around looking for a place to eat last night. Many upscale stores Saphora and many others. This must be the fashion capital of the Greek islands... We went by an umbrella store with three big windows full of umbrellas with unique designs on them. More women here wearing boots and scarves than anywhere else in Greece so far. We at a little outdoor taverna with pictures of everything on the menu on the walls. Our waiter had fore arms and huge hands like Popeye. I asked him if he had done any fishing and he said he had been a fisherman for 22 years.

Chuck and Judy will be leaving us here to fly to Athens and then on back home. We will likely rent a car and explore the rest of the island before they leave. It is something like 22 Euros to taxi to the airport and a car rents for 35 Euros here.

I've been trying to get the lay of the land on surrendering my transit log for Greece and entering Turkey. We will likely re-enter Greece at some point and need another complete set of Greek documents. Turks and Greeks are not the best of friends and do not make it easy to move from one country to the other... like George and Florida... Chomp a dawg or something.

Katie made a top 5 list of things to see and do here so as soon as she wakes up we'll be off. We will hang here until we get a good weather window for the 140 mile trip to Kemer... more later. Make sure to take a look at Katie's blog in a day or two she will be posting more pictures as soon as we find a good internet connection. www.katiesailing.blogspot.com .