9-night DCL Mediterranean with Greek Isles cruise - Day 10: Rhodes

Rhodes

A lot of our all ashore times on this trip were early. Consequently, we were performing mooring operations early in the morning and as a result of that, I was awakened early to the vibrations of the ship’s thrusters. So I woke up at 5:45 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was planning on going to the gym anyway so it worked out, I just got a slightly earlier start than I otherwise would have. 

I finished my workout and went back to the room and showered while everyone else was getting up, then we all went to breakfast together at 7:45 AM. We ate at Cabanas and then finished getting ready and got off the ship to meet our driver Agi with Rhodes Taxi Tours for our private tour (it was a steal for 250 Euros). It’s worth noting that Rhodes was not on our original itinerary when we first booked the cruise. It was Kusadasi, Turkey. However, given how many times Disney has cancelled Turkish ports in the past, we didn’t figure we were going there so really it was just a waiting game to see what it would be instead. We sort of thought Mykonos, but then about four months prior to sailing we got the notification that it was Rhodes and we were excited because it looked like a great port. It, in fact, was great and Emmaline says that this was her favorite.

Our driver was really nice and seemed to be genuinely happy to share his island with us. He said he was excited when he heard which tour we selected (West Coast Tour) because he really loves that particular route because it isn't overly touristy. First we made a stop in the old town for a quick photo op. Nothing was really open yet, but we were able to take a look at the square and the walls of the medieval city.

After that we took a short walk to the Mandraki port and some beautiful columns built when the island was occupied by Italy. At this harbor entrance once stood the Colossus of Rhodes (rumored, but no evidence ever found; there’s also rumors of the statue existing at other sites of the island): a huge bronze statue and one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. While in the area, we also stopped into the Church of the Annunciation, which was lovely from the outside, but absolutely breathtaking on the inside.

After this, we wound our way to a hilltop, making a stop along the way to see one of their many beaches. We got to the hilltop overlooking the city and sea down below and the view was really beautiful. The ocean there is stunningly blue and across the sea, we could see Turkey in the distance!

From there we got back into the car and drove to Filerimos Hill. One thing that was really cool about Rhodes was that you could see the different eras of habitation from Greece, to Rome, to medieval and onward. At Filerimos we started by walking down a stations of the cross pathway with a very large cross at the end. On the other side of Filerimos are some Greek ruins (a temple to Athena) as well as an early Christian basilica and the remains of a Byzantine monastery. Through the site, peacocks and peahens scream and prance about. (Why are there peacocks there? I don’t know.)

After about an hour spent there, we got back in the car and drove to “Butterfly Valley” where thousands of butterflies migrate each year from June–September. We were visiting at the very beginning of their season and they are primarily nocturnal and it was also very hot so they weren’t super active, but we could spot them all over the trees and some were flitting around a bit. They are technically moths: Panaxia Quadripunctaria (Jersey tiger moth). We climbed all the way up to the top of the valley, about ⅔ of a mile. It was really hot, but thankfully shaded. Still, we needed to refill our water and get some food and refreshments at the top, which they were happy to sell us. Normally the driver picks up at the top, but because of a recent earthquake causing damage to the road, the road is closed so we hiked back down, which was faster than the way up. In the photos, the little triangular speckles all over are the moths. 

We left the valley and Roger wanted to grab a bottle of wine so our driver took us to a tiny little local bodega. Emmaline and I looked at all the crazy produce and bought some nectarines to eat while they tried to sell Roger unlabelled bottles of homemade wine. Eventually he got it sorted out. Our driver delivered us back to our ship and we boarded at around 3 PM. He was pretty excited to take pictures of Dumbo on the stern of the ship to show his daughter. It was the Fantasy’s first time in Rhodes and DCL hadn’t been there in a number of years (I believe the Magic was there in 2014, if I recall what someone told me). 

We went up to Deck 11 and had some snacks because we didn’t really have lunch except for some snacks at the butterfly valley and we were starving. After snacks, we all showered because we were super hot and sweaty from the day. After that Emmaline went and delivered some more of our gift exchange gifts, I worked on my trip report and Roger began yet another load of laundry. 

Dinner that evening was in Enchanted Garden and after that we raced over to the theatre to arrive for the 7:45 Flyboys show. Again, I was pretty baffled by the way they were handling the variety acts, but we made it on time and found some acceptable seats. The FlyBoys were actually pretty good. They reimagined songs with sort of a jazzy swing vibe and had some fun dance chorey to go with it. Then we regrouped in the room before I left to go to drawing class at 9:45 PM (Goofy - and I’m pretty happy with how he turned out) and then went to bed.