Rhodes
Anecdote upon anecdote abound herein.
Go to Leros. Take a boat to Kalymnos or sit under the tree of Hippocrates in Kos Town (fat chance - can't be that old!).
Dream of the Apocalypse - it's not that bad - on the isle of Patmos ( I used to have a really nice hat from there).
Travel by a flying dolphin to the Baptist's home.....not making it up....
or......get hot in Rhodes, especially down in Lardos, Lindos & Pefkos.
Talking of which.......
Pefkos Beach Hotel, Pefkos
Pefkos means ‘pine.’ It’s a small but bustling resort not far from Lindos, on the south east coast of Rhodes. PBH is very popular with UK tourists and for many years was a Thomson hotel. In 2019 Thomas Cook & Jet 2 took over the main bookings. Ominous. PBH is so-named because it’s near the beach road and is not located on the beach. However, it’s central for all the nightlife and restaurants in a laid-back resort. Hospitality (the house, in Greek) is provided by the friendly Mingo family and especially the long-serving waiters and bar-staff in the hotel.
In the evenings at the pool bar you’ll find Costas (Markiou). That’s where the alternative entertainment happens. He loves his football, tennis & playstation but is an expert on cocktails. His brother, Tonni, is a DJ in Lindos - probably doing a season in the Red Rose or the Ice Bar. He loves his deep house music. You can find his mixes on Soundcloud or Mixcloud.
So, most evenings start or finish at the Pool Bar with Costas. Most nights he produces the exquisite Margarita for Anne. Once she’s had a couple she is willing to offer her tactical advice on the people’s game to anyone who listens. Costas loves a debate on football, though his love-affair with Cristiano has expired!
He was very impressed to learn that Anne had been Chief Advisor to the future England manager, Roy Hodgson. Here she is offering tactics about Swansea’s approach to the then West Brom coach.
Roy, with his Chief Advisor on tactics....of course, West Brom lose 3-0, comfortably. It may have had something to do with Roy’s pre-match meeting with his assistants. Clearly, each bottle represents a position on the field. The pint pot must be the ref!
Note that Roy is making notes, as Anne makes tactical suggestions.
Rumour has it she wants to manage AKA Athens!
Η σοφια των Πεφκων (the Wisdom of Pefkos)
”No Cristiano! No Party!” was Costas’ mantra for many years, when he was a huge fan of Ronaldo. Hence the image below.
Here he is, pictured with my youngest son, Jak.
It seemed to be catching………one taxi-driver said to us, “No money! No honey!”
The Pool Bar was exceptionally busy at times & occasionally Costas would get help from his mate, Pete. Panayiotis (Pete) is pictured below.
Fancy a millennium? Special cocktail. “Absolutely!”
Pete had some great sayings. “We all breathe the same air.” This is one of my favourites.
One of Costas’ sayings, “All the Money.” [if you like something a lot]
Costas is Sony & Apple mad.
A tourist once mislaid his phone and asked Costas, “Have you seen my phone? I think I lost it – it's a Nokia.”
He replied, “Do Nokia do phones?”
One day someone complained about the noise coming from our room, when we weren't even in!
Costas succinctly explained, “We have a word for people like this – Malakes!”
You can get good customised shirts in Pefkos.