Travel Biography - Week 121.

An End to One's Life's Chapter.

Of the 20 photos here, two are of the wedding, the other 18 are from our honeymoon album. With 106 pics in the album, I hope that I have selected the most memorable.

My feelings were somewhat mixed. That Friday back in 1999 was to be my last day of bachelorhood. My 47th birthday had just gone. Just two years earlier, while I was backpacking around the world, I never dreamed that I would marry before the end of the decade, century, and millennium. Rather, I was pondering on what life would have been like growing old as a singleton, with loneliness my only companion.

But Alex was determined to pair up with me. As I took off to Singapore in 1997 to visit Australia, and then continue on to California, I was already in her sight and mind. And so, just over two years later, I felt nervous as I reclined in the quietness of my apartment. She spent that day at her parent's home. That afternoon, I visited our local sauna at Coral Reef Waterworld, a leisure pool and spa suite, a twenty-minute walk away from home through the back of the woods. Sitting alone in the heated cabin, I knew this was the last of everything. Or was it? 

After arriving home that evening from Coral Reef, Mum phoned. She asked whether I was sure that this was what I wanted. Later, Alex said that she too was asked by her Dad the same question.

The Big Day and the Flight out to Rhodes.

After a very anxious wait for the bride to arrive, she was escorted by her father into the church. I felt a massive sense of relief. She could have changed her mind at the very last minute, a fear I'm sure lies deep within every waiting groom sitting on the pew or standing at the altar, especially if there's a delay.

Our big day.

Our Reception.

At our Hotel, Rhodes.

Lardos Beach, Rhodes.

And so, that unforgettable morning, we were wed. The ceremony, including the signing of the Register, took an hour. The Reception followed in the church's back room a short while later. Yet, how did I really feel? On one hand, happy to finally tie the knot and my status changed from bachelor to husband, from single to married. Yet, I anticipated the future. Even at Reception, behind the smiles, I had a premonition that testing times would eventually follow, yet, I felt confident that not only our future marriage would hold, but grow strong and robust through these coming trials.

My younger brother, Robert, was the best man. He was also the escort who drove us to Gatwick Airport drop-off after the Reception had ended. After hugging my brother farewell and wishing him the best of everything, we were finally alone as we made our way to check in for our flight. This flight was only the second in my entire life shared with another person - after flying out to Spain with a college mate 27 years earlier in 1972. Thus, I felt that this was so different after taking to the air so many times on my own between those years.

I'm aware that there may be many couples who won't reveal where their honeymoon destination was, perhaps in keeping with tradition. But they seem happier to say where they went to for all other subsequent holidays. We were perhaps the exception. On our wedding day, quite a few knew where we were heading for our honeymoon. That included both family members on both sides and closest friends. There was nothing to hide. We were heading to Rhodes, one of a group of 12 Greek islands, and also the largest of the Dodecanese.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that since 1972, I never went on another package holiday until 2007. However, by the time I realised that I had forgotten about the honeymoon, it was too late to correct the error, as that week's blog had already attracted many readers. So, let me set the record straight. Our Honeymoon in 1999 was the first package holiday since 1972. However, I'll go as far as to say that had I not met and married Alex, chances were that I would never go on any package holiday until perhaps old age, if at all.

My lifelong dislike for package holidays was borne out of the 1972 package trip to Spain. To me, that was not Travel but Sunseeking. It was one way to escape the dismal British summer for a spell of warm sunshine, with sand and sea thrown in. But in 1972, rather than an escape to the sunshine, it was Sun, Sand, Sea, and Alcohol. It was something I never wanted to experience again. Yet, there we were, about to go on another package holiday. But with a big difference. It would have none of the intoxication. Hence, the only difference between our honeymoon and independent backpacking was that both the package flight and the single-venue hotel were arranged in advance for us by the travel company, Thomsons.

The Acropolis, Lindos.

The Acropolis, Lindos

Lindos Bay

Lindos' main souk.

St Paul's Bay as seen from the Acropolis, Lindos.

North entrance into St Paul's Bay.

Our Arrival at Rhodes. 

We landed at Rhodes Airport late into the night, and we had to ask for the appropriate bus to our hotel, which was quite a long ride from the airport. Eventually, we arrived at Hotel Lardos Bay, on the southwest coast of the island. Being late at night, we were shown our room, itself a short walk from the Reception across the large quadrangle that contained the sunbathing area, hotel pool, and a freestanding bar.

The holiday was two weeks long, and it gave us a chance to learn about the island, its geography, history and culture. Remembering 1972, I hardly touched any alcohol. Instead, we enjoyed viewing the night scene with perfect contentment without any intoxication spoiling the romance. But being who I always was and who I still am - one for a quest for adventure, Rhodes offered little backpacking per se. 

Fortunately, there were two activities which came close. One was diving. I was not snorkelling this time but scuba diving - breathing underwater using air tanks fixed to my back. The other activity was a one-way hike from our hotel at Lardos Beach to Lindos. With adequate preparation, Alex was willing to accompany me on this six-mile, 10 km walk along the coastal road to this beautiful historic town which boasts the restored ruins of the Acropolis and the natural lagoon formation of St Paul's Bay. The hike wasn't our first visit to Lindos. Earlier in the honeymoon, we took a bus to Lindos to explore the town more thoroughly, noting the spectacular narrow strip of a peninsula jutting into the inky-blue Mediterranean. Lindos Beach was on our side of the peninsula, and we hired a pedalo for an hour. Poor Alex became anxious for our safety as we pedalled way out to sea to some small rocky islands!

Scuba Diving at Kallithea.

Our boat is to the right.

About to have our first Dive.

The diving was booked soon after arriving at our hotel. The day was halfway through the holiday. That morning, the coach escorted us to Mandraki Harbour and Marina at the island's capital, Rhodos. At its entrance from the sea were two pillars, one on each side of the entrance. On each pillar, a deer stood, one male, the other female. These pillars marked the traditional site of the giant Statue of Colossus, erected in 280 BC, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.

The boat, with probably up to thirty people on board including the staff, sailed out of Mandraki Harbour to head directly south to Kallithea Springs, a narrow inlet between two headlands and reputed for its clear waters. Here, the boat docked at one of the two diving platforms. My group, up to ten novice divers, were the first to don our suits and dive into the sea. Unfortunately, my wedding ring shot off my finger and was lost somewhere on the rocky seabed. Thinking that the ring was easily replaceable, I still made an effort to enjoy the dive. After the dive was over, after informing one of the supervisors about my wedding ring, he dived down and retrieved it! How he found such a small yet valuable object underwater on the uneven floor was surely a miracle, yet was I relieved! I made sure that I was more careful during our second dive a couple of hours later.

Between the two dives, we were free to explore the environment. The Kallithea Thermos was in a dilapidated state in 1999, and derelict. But I heard through the grapevine that it was earmarked for full restoration. According to the photo of it on Google Maps, this was accomplished, looking more like a museum piece than an actual hot bath.

The second dive, two hours after the first one, was okay, but having lost my coordination, I needed guidance from the supervisor. This was still very new to me, and it was very different from snorkelling. However, all ended well afterwards with a desire to remain in the water for longer. But with the others, I too had to board the platform. On both dives, Alex remained dry on the platform and watched. In all, it was a good day but with a lack of experience, I still had a long way to go with scuba diving.

At the Master's Palace, Rhodos.

Hippocrates Square.

Temple of Aphrodite.

One of the souks, Rhodos.

A Visit to the Island's Capital.

The chief city of Rhodes is Rhodos. It consists of the Old Town centred on Hippocrates Square, the Palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights, and the ruined Temple of Aphrodite. The medieval Old City was the centre of our attention. It was surrounded by the city wall with several gates, the most noted was the Sea Gate which led into Hippocrates Square, a well-known tourist spot. Outside the city walls, to the east is Mandraki Harbour, to the north, the island tapers at Elli Beach, from where we enjoyed a view of the Taslica Peninsula of Turkey. The rest of the New Town is an uninteresting urban sprawl. At Rhodos, we spent most of our time within the city walls and along Mandraki Harbour.

As I saw it, there were distinct similarities between Rhodos and Jerusalem. Both have a walled medieval Old City. Both have the New City attached to the outside of the city walls, the streets of both Old Cities were narrow, and the main souks of Jerusalem were roofed over. The streets of Rhodos were all open to the sky. Yet both had that distinctive medieval feel, as I walked through history, and now the experience shared with my new love.

One of the deers at Mandraki Harbour.

Close-up of the deer.

At Platia Simis, Rhodos.

Relaxing at Mandraki Harbour.

On days when we didn't leave the hotel, we spent much time sunbathing by the irregular-shaped pool. As I mentioned earlier in this biography when writing about Arlie Beach in Australia, many hotels have irregular-shaped pools designed that way to look at rather than swim. Hence, under the hot summer sunshine, a raging thirst develops. And it's no accident that very close to the pool there is the drinks bar. Also, salty peanuts were sometimes provided in a dish and were available for the taking. Package holidays really are money-making machines!

Two weeks after our wedding, it was time to head for the airport.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Week: Alex and I are preparing to visit Israel. And I nearly hit the roof.