Sun 30.Sep.2012
Rhodes, Greece
It's Showtime
What a difference a season makes. Winter in the old city is the cast members rattling
around in a huge set. In Summer the production is in full swing. Once-solitary lanes
are busting with visitors, and shops to sell them stuff. Businesses I thought
were abandoned, or at least defunct, are open and spilling out into the streets.
It is like the difference between a bare frozen wood and a squaking, screeching, crackling
rain forest.
Today was a slow Sunday - only a single cruise ship in the harbor. Light crowds
strolled the city streets. Most of the week, the old town has looked like
Disneyland on a weekend. The sheer energy of it all is an undeniable treat.
There will be plenty of time for solitude and reflection in a couple of months.
This vine and this bush are growing beneath my window this year.
St. Fanourios Street, an actual arterial, even though too narrow for cars.
A multi-cruise-ship afternoon down at the harbor.
Daytime temperatures have been in the low to mid 80s F, about 30 C. The Do Not
Swim
signs at the commercial harbor are there for a reason, but that doesn't stop people
from plunging in.
At the other end of the harbor, by that medieval wall, is a sign asking people not to
throw their trash in the ocean. There is also ample evidence that people
ignore it. sigh.
Freeze Dried Hedgehogs.
It is a treat sponge bathing with a real sponge, the kind that used to be a sea critter.
They feel great on the skin, and hold a most improbable amount of water. The only down
side is that they fall apart under the wear and tear of use more quickly than plastic
sponges.
Contents Copyright 2012 Jeff Bulf