I'm quite proud of the title of this post. "Parallel Rhodes" is not only a clever pun, but it is truly the underlying theme of my trip to the island. Rhodes is a child of two worlds, one being the archaic beauty of long lost civilizations, and the other being the booming tourism industry that now threatens to overtake this once beautiful and historically important place. Please do not interpret that as Rhodes not being an incredibly beautiful island nestled neatly in the Aegean Sea, away from the seemingly endless political turmoil of the capital. Rhodes is unlike anything that I've ever seen before. It is stony shores surrounded by seas a shade of blue they never made a crayon for, with rolling hills and mountains blanketing much of the green and lush countryside. All of this coinciding with cloudless skies backed by the silent rhythms of the mountains of Turkey just 18 kilometers away in the distance. It truly is a Mediterranean paradise, but getting there is an Odyssey in and of itself.
The amount of travel I have done in the past week would probably have made Marco Polo weep. Starting off with my 12 hour journey home from Japan (if you want to read my proposal for the next big late night TV comedy, read the post below) I then departed on the equally taxing 10 hour air trip to Athens. Arriving exhausted with excitement in my heart but murder in my eyes, my group and I were herded through the bustling airport and to our dismay encountered hell on wheels: the bus. These bus rides that I will painstakingly mention throughout this noble tale weren't particularly lengthy or unbearable; however, they were so numerous in number that it is still agonizing to think about. You can only take the smell of diesel and the cheap fabric woven into ungodly shapes and colors that make up the seats of a bus before you are ready to chain the chassis up to a light pole "American Graffiti" style. I honestly don't know how the kids on the Magic School Bus could remain so enthusiastic about every trip. It is though, a necessary evil, and a minor complaint.
Athens isn't like any other major city I've seen before. There are no towering skyscrapers, bright audacious lights, or mass death and destruction at the hands of a Michael Bay asteroid/robot/plot hole. From the air, you would expect that no building was over four stories tall and that they all hired the same painter to tend to the buildings. Everything has a quaint beauty to it and you can just sense the history that this city has to offer. Though descended from ancient architecture and culture, everything is mostly modern except for the recognizable silhouette of the Acropolis out in the distance.Traffic is a nightmare with numerous unmarked one way streets, an infestation of mopeds and illegal parallel parking that would make a Manhattan traffic cop crinkle his neon vest. All of that makes the monotonous bus rides all the more frustrating with consistent stop and go traffic anyway across the city. The best way to get around is to walk and I don't mind that one bit, walking cities have more personality than mass transit ones. You are able to really immerse yourself in the city with your "boots on the ground" and Athens is no exception. On our brief tour of the neighborhood surrounding our dorms I really got an overwhelming sense of the culture just bleeding out of everything I saw and heard. The people are friendly, intelligent, thoughtful and cautious. Everything they do has a purpose and that is evident just watching the way they walk and talk to one another. Even their naps and built in "downtime" (2 PM - 5 PM approximately) all serve to refocus their efforts on the pleasures of the evening. Neighborhoods are usually centered around an open aired square that serves as the main focal point of community bonding and activities. It is interesting to see so many smaller communities woven into the greater fabric of Athens and I really enjoyed just walking around and watching the people go about their lives. Walks are long and hot, but I don't think anyone will mind coming back to the States with "Ahnuld's" calves.
After a brief two hour stay at our dorms here at the American College of Greece we were back on the road again, this time bound for Rhodes via ferry. Now when you initially think of a ferry, you think of a small, red boat that takes you, the family flatbed Ford and a U-haul across a small river or lake. This ferry, I believe, exceeded all of our expectations in terms of size, comfort and length of trip. Rhodes is located about as far east as you can go and still remain in Greek waters, close to the southern coast of Turkey and a 16 hour journey from our port in Athens. We were all surprised to climb aboard and see that this ferry more resembled a cruise ship than a paddle boat with cabins, restaurants, and a couple thousand transient passengers. The awe would have to sink in later though as we were virtual zombies being herded from one checkpoint to another by our fearless leaders Dr. and Dr. Kaplan (Mr. and Mrs. if you please). With digestible food in our bellies and a nice cool cabin to sleep in, we were happy campers. There was one exception however, though this ferry resembled a cruise ship, it definitely did not run like one. Located in a mid level cabin towards the front of the ship, trying to sleep on the open sea was nearly impossible at first. I was rocking back and forth like I was taking a nap below decks on the Oklahoma in December '41. At one point I even channeled my inner Ricky Bobby and commented to my roommate (Jimmy): "I feel like I'm on a space ship." Thankfully though, exhaustion won the war of attrition with nausea and I passed into a restful state of bliss.
To be continued above in Part II...
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