My parents left while I was sleeping, early in the morning from Rodos Palace (it's more of a resort than a palace) on Sunday. I awoke about 9, packed my stuff and went for a swim in the pool.
The day before I had asked the friendly staff at Rodos Palace (who were really not so friendly, but actually fairly rude)if there were any boats to Tilos in the afternoon. The woman at their information booth said that there was only one, and it left at 9am. This didn't sound right, so I checked the internet, and it appeared there was one at 5:30pm, which suited me better.
As I was leaving the hotel I again stopped at the information booth to see if they knew when the bus came and how much it cost. She made up some information and off I went, fully convinced that the information booth is actually just some sort of ruse, but for what I'm not sure.
Anyway, the whole time I was in Rodos I barely saw any public buses, but it seems luck was on my side. As I was approaching the bus stop, the bus came! It was completely packed (probably because that was the first one to run that day!!! haha, T knows what I'm talking about), but I managed to squeeze on as the last passenger.
That's right, I actually managed to catch one of the elusive buses of Rodos.
I got into town and found a travel agent who sold me a ticked to Tilos on the 5:30 boat (wow!). It was much cheaper than the other ferry company, so I guess those Rodos Palace cats are affiliated with the other company? Anyway, it was only half past noon and I didn't want to walk around with my pack for 5 hours, so I asked the travel agent, Tony, if there was a place I could leave my bag. He said I could leave it in his store if I wanted, but that he was closing at 2. When it was clear that 2 was too early for me, he kindly offered to come back and open up the store for me when I wanted to pick it up, so we agreed on 4.
I wandered around the old town for a few hours which was nice. Since this was my first experience alone in the town, I now understand how forward Greek men are, but they're much easier to deal with (and even a little flattering), unlike the Egyptians I encountered.
When I went to get my bag, Tony offered me a lift to the ferry on his scooter and I accepted. I'm so glad I did, because it was hard to find where the boat was supposed to leave, and he helped me find it and waited with me for the ferry to arrive. He was super nice (and not creepy, and not hitting on me).
The ride to Tilos was rough and rainy. I arrived in the dark and felt a little worried about finding a place. Luck found me again, and I met another Tony who rented me a super cute little studio for quite cheap. I had the best balcony!! I also had a bucket and a drying rack so I did all my laundry that night. Sounds stupid perhaps, but this made me really fucking happy. Small things, I guess.
The next day, Monday, I went for a big hike to this beach for a swim, then through a gorge and up this mountain to an old deserted town. It was crazy! The town, Mikro Horio, was last occupied by a few in the 60s, but it's super old and most of the buildings are just ruins. There is still an operable church and what appears to be a bar or club (with a sign saying "we open at 23:00 every day"). Other than that there are just goats roaming the stony streets. It was like a ghost town- only a goat town (hardy-har-har) It was surreal and I didn't see anyone. I was the only person there! Now that's solitude.
I was kind of a retard though, and in lieu of bringing enough water, I brought my journal and a book. Of course, I didn't read or write the whole time, so I just had a heavy purse and I was super thirsty... it was easily a 15k hike that I did, plus a swim out in the ocean, and all I drank was 0.5L. I survived, of course, but when I got back to my room I drank about a litre of water and pigged out on digestive biscuits and chocolate with yogurt (the yogurt here is more like whip cream than yogurt).
I was planning on leaving Tilos yesterday, but then I found out there were no boats leaving the island. Luckily, I met these Brits who were sailing to Kos so I asked for a ride. It was amazing! They were a funny lot of older sailors from Brighton. 5 men and one woman. They were a tad dry, but they gave me a free lift on their 42ft yacht, fed me lunch in a Turkish bay where we went snorkeling, and they made me feel very comfortable. I had dinner with them last night, after I had secured a place to stay.
I swear, my luck has been insane. When we got to the marina in Kos last night, I had no idea where to stay. I went into the marina supermarket and the man running it called a place for me and got the owner, Alexi, to pick me up from the pier. I can't believe how nice the people here are! So different from Rodos... er, rather Rodos Palace. Tony in Rodos was super kind.
Okay, I just finished my application to U of Calgary. I think all my med school applications are in now. I really should go do something with my day though, since I've been on the internet for more than 2 hours now and the day is a-wasting.
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