Being able to go back to Greece and spend another 2-½ weeks there was so much fun. I was able to spend another birthday in Thessaloniki and then visit my friend Chelsea on the island of Rhodes. My time in Greece went by way too fast.
Just like last year, the day before my birthday was a travel day and I was again on my way to Thessaloniki to spend yet another birthday not only in Greece but in a city I know and love. Getting from Skopje, North Macedonia to Thessaloniki, Greece was an easy bus ride and before I knew it I was in Greece. Since I arrived before my hostel’s check-in time I decided to go to Aristotelous Square to get a delicious gyro for lunch. After lunch I wandered down to the water to walk around for a little while before going back to my hostel to check in. I stayed at the same hostel I had stayed at last year and funnily enough I was also in the same room as last year as well. After checking in I relaxed in my room for a bit and I used that time to get some admin done before going out to dinner later that night in the busy Ladadika neighborhood. The next morning was my birthday, so after having a nice relaxing and slow morning I eventually wandered out in search of a nice place for a birthday brunch. It was so nice walking around Thessaloniki. I really enjoyed knowing my way around the city and where I wanted to go. It all felt so familiar, like a home away from home. After a delicious birthday brunch I casually wandered around the city enjoying the different sights and sounds. While wandering around I found a shop that only sold bougatsa, which is a great traditional Greek pastry. I decided to treat myself to a piece and it was delicious. Afterwards I continued to wander around the city and found a nice sunny open area to relax and people watch for a while. That evening I met up with Rachel, someone I had met a few weeks prior in my hostel in Berat, Albania, and her boyfriend and together the three of us went on a sunset pirate ship cruise around the bay. It was really fun and the views were beautiful. After the evening boat cruise we decided to go to an escape room in the city and then afterwards we went out for a late dinner at a traditional Greek taverna in the Ladadika neighborhood. All in all, it was another great birthday spent in Thessaloniki. The next day was my last day in Thessaloniki and I spent the day wandering around the city going to different shops in search of a new pair of pants and in the evening I went out for one last dinner in the city.
The next day was another travel day, so I headed to the airport for my flight to the Greek island of Rhodes where I was going to visit my friend Chelsea, who I originally met in Turkey and who I hung out with again in Thailand. Chelsea was living in Rhodes and working as a singer at different resorts on the island. We were both excited that we were able to find a time in our schedules when we could meet up and see each other again. After arriving in Rhodes, because of Chelsea’s work schedule, I ended up spending a while hanging out at the airport before taking a bus to a restaurant along the water where I got dinner. Later that evening Chelsea came to the restaurant to pick me up before her show at a resort on the island. Chelsea was singing with two other women and it was a lot of fun seeing their show; they did a great job. After their show we all hung out at the resort for a while before going back for the night to the house where Chelsea and the two other women she was performing with were living. Then the next day, since Chelsea had to get some online work done for another job she has, I spent a nice, relaxing day at her house. The house she was living at through her job was in a small town on the top of a big hill and to get to the main town, Faliraki, was a forty plus minute walk down the hill. That evening we walked down the big hill to Faliraki and went out to dinner together.
In total I ended up spending thirteen days with Chelsea in Rhodes and it was so much fun. While all of the days were different, they were also pretty similar. In the evenings Chelsea and the two other girls she performed with had shows at different resorts on the island and most nights I was able to join them and go to their shows. I was also able to meet other resort event workers who were their friends and it was a lot of fun meeting everyone. On one of my early days in Rhodes we took the public bus into the main town of Rhodes. While there we spent the day exploring the medieval city. It was a really charming old fortress area with lots of little streets to go down and areas to photograph. That day in Rhodes Chelsea and I had a nice lunch together as a belated birthday lunch for me, courtesy of my parents. On another day on the island I went down into the bigger town with Maria, one of the other singers, and we went to the beach together. Since Chelsea didn’t have a show on Wednesdays, we spent the day going to Lindos, another touristic town on the island that was further away. It was a charming town with all white buildings and it was cool exploring the different streets and enjoying the views. After a few hours in Lindos we decided to head to a different smaller town closer to where Chelsea lived and visit a beach there. We were able to find a quiet area away from everyone where the water was super clear and beautiful to swim in. That evening we went to a restaurant just outside of the town we were in and then went to the bus stop in hopes of catching the last bus of the night.
The buses on the island weren’t very predictable and tended to be late, so we waited at the bus stop for a while hoping the bus would come. Since it was almost 8:00 p.m. and the bus wasn’t supposed to arrive until 8:20 and we were not confident it would even arrive as scheduled, Chelsea made a joke about us trying to hitchhike back. Twice before this night I had hitchhiked up the large hill to get to the town where Chelsea was living, once with Chelsea and once with Maria, and both times we had been able to get a ride. Even though Chelsea was kind of joking, I figured why not try, just for fun and for good memories. Less than five minutes after trying to hitch a ride, a car pulled over and a super nice couple offered to give us a ride. When they stopped to pick us up they told us that they’d been to Rhodes before, and the husband was from Rhodes, and they both knew that the buses were unpredictable. When they drove past us and saw us trying to hitch a ride the wife insisted they turn around and give us a ride. They were so nice and we were able to share great stories. When talking with the husband who grew up in Rhodes, he told us that hitchhiking isn’t normal in Rhodes because apparently the locals aren’t as friendly and willing to pick up passengers. He was shocked that I had been able to get a ride twice before, albeit I had already walked up most of the big hill to Chelsea's town both times. Once we got to Faliraki we got out and only had the big hill left. After getting the first ride for the longest part of the journey home, we joked about seeing if we could get lucky and get another ride up the rest of the way. Since the two times I had tried prior it took most of the walk to get a ride we didn’t actually think we’d be able to get another ride and were prepared to have to walk the rest of the way. Surprisingly, right after we left the busy part of town we were offered another ride. This time we were offered a ride from an older man who had also grown up in Rhodes and who had moved away to Canada but now has a home in Rhodes that he lives in part of the year. He was so friendly and when we told him what town we were going to he told us that he had grown up there and told us some stories from his childhood in that town. We also found out that apparently where he lives in Rhodes is at the bottom of the hill near where he picked us up and even though he didn’t have to, he took us past where he had to go just to be nice. Learning more about him was really cool and it added to our great and successful hitchhiking experience. We ended up getting back home around the time the bus would have picked us up. By the time we got to Chelsea’s house we were riding an adventure high from how lucky we were that night in getting both rides and how great both experiences were. It was so fun and definitely the highlight of our day. I should mention that my mom was not as thrilled about our amazing hitchhiking luck and experience as we were when we later told her about it.
During my time in Rhodes, Chelsea and I went on another day trip to the town of Rhodes, this time to get tattoos. Back in Thailand when I was with my mom in Chiang Mai, Chelsea, my mom, and I went on an elephant excursion together and loved it and for months the three of us talked about getting matching elephant tattoos. While in Rhodes Chelsea and I went together to get the matching elephant tattoos; my mom is going to get her matching tattoo when we’re together again. While there I also decided to get a sea turtle tattoo to remind me of all the times I was able to swim with sea turtles in Southeast Asia and also simply because I love sea turtles. It was so fun getting matching tattoos. On one of my final days in Rhodes Chelsea and I went again to Rhodes town and this time we explored old Greek ruins of an acropolis and more. The ruins were super cool and we were able to get a bunch of amazing photographs there. The different day trips around the island exploring were a lot of fun, but I also really enjoyed the different days that we spent just hanging out at Chelsea's house. It was a lot of fun seeing each other again and by the time I left I had stayed at Chelsea’s house for thirteen nights. It was the longest I have stayed in one place in over thirteen months, so to say it was a different feeling not moving beds or locations would be an understatement.
Overall my time spent in Greece was amazing. I was able to spend another birthday in Thessaloniki and I was also able to not only visit a close travel friend but also visit the Greek island that I was supposed to go to on Friday, March 13th, 2020 when instead life was upended and I ended up on a flight home due to the start of the Covid pandemic. After being back in Greece for a third time, I can confirm I love the country and will be back again. The time I spent in Rhodes was so much fun and I enjoyed not only exploring the island but also having relaxing days just hanging out with a friend and not doing much. I cannot wait to go back to Greece again.
“Most travel, and certainly the rewarding kind, involves depending on the kindness of strangers, putting yourself into the hands of people you don’t know and trusting them with your life.”
- Paul Theroux
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