Written by Karen Watts
Photography by Chris Watts
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The answer is different for everyone and by the very nature of the island, multi-layered. People come for the light, the festivals, Lindos, the beaches, the fishing, the views, the romance and the beauty. The island is special and if you let it, it will grab your heart and it won’t let go.
It has been an interesting 8 days since I last wrote. We have met some amazing people from all over Europe, learnt things from many of them and had quite a lot of fun. It can be so easy when you live some where, particularly a predominantly gorgeous Greek island, to get caught up in life, heat and survival, to forget what you have and what made you fall in love with it all in the first place. All of this week’s visitors came for different reasons and left with different perspectives. These are some of their stories and I would like to thank every one of you for letting me “see” the island I call home within the context of your particular reasons for being here.
Last weekend George & Maria came to Rodos for the Soroni Music Festival. Tragically, I was completely ignorant that such a festival existed here, especially as it has been staged consistently for the last 9 years. The festival is held on the site of St Sylas Monastery in the forest to the east of Soroni village. St Sylas allegedly came to Rodos with St Paul the Apostle. Maria and George informed me that there had been festivals on the site since the time of St Paul’s visit. Interestingly, it transpires that George is a musician himself and I love that an Athenian can come to Rodos for music while we ex-pats go to Athens to get our “rock fix”. You don’t know what you’ve got till an outsider shows it to you https://www.youtube.com/user/giorgoschrns
A day or two before regular Lindos Lovies, Brian & Gill, arrived on the Blue Star from Piraeus. They have been coming to Rodos twice a year for 9 years and Brian contributed to one of the very first blogs in this series about Lindos Kalliopi Kitchen 6 “Lindos Life”
This year Brian & Gill decided to make their first holiday of the year something of an adventure and drove here. I urge anyone who has not driven from other parts of Europe or the UK to do so – it is an adventure I would not have missed for the world. Yes, things can go wrong, but half the fun of arriving is the journey itself.
Brian also informs me that this season, Caesars restaurant has a new menu and it is apparently fabulous http://www.caesarslindos.com/
Remember your adventures and treasure them for you will have them with you for always.
Earlier in the week we found ourselves on Lindos Main Beach at Palestra http://www.palestralindos.com/ – it is on the far left if you are facing the sea. Palestra has an advantage over most of Lindos’ restaurants and bars in that you can park right next to it and it has one of the best views of the village and the Acropolis. Sitting round a large table almost right on the beach with six different nationalities, drinking wine, laughing and talking as the moon rises over the Acropolis is, to my mind, what island living should be about – Dave, Jane, Stacey, Michalis, Renata, Masha & Alex – thank you all for being beautiful people on a perfect night in a stunning location.
It was for Maria, George, Gill, Brian, Jane & Dave that I made last week’s Pide Bread Kalliopi Kitchen 66
11 days ago Juraj and Petra arrived from Slovakia. 9 days ago, at Philosophia under the magical fairy light tree, Juraj proposed, 8 days ago we photographed this beautiful couple as a momento of one of the biggest moments in their life. On the West Coast, just south of Kalavarda and just north of Kameiros is Akrogiali (Kalavarda – Tel: + 30 22410 40038), a small family fish taverna, a mostly sandy beach, clear warm water and stunning sunsets over Turkey made this particular evening truly special. We wish Juraj & Petra all the love and happiness in the world.
Remember how romantic the island was when you first came. Keep that love alive.
We were commissioned to photograph 3 generations of a delightful Dutch family staying in Gennadi, about a half hour drive south from VLK. Gennadi has one of the nicest and cleanest stretches of coastline on the east coast. And being a bit of a drive from Lindos & Pefkos the beach is never crowded so we chose the shoreline as a location, tried not to make the little kids cry too much and captured a truly loving family celebrating their togetherness.
While in Gennadi Village we discovered the best Chocolate Frappé on the island. Chocolate Frappé is this season’s choice of non-alcoholic drink for Chris and we make comparisons everywhere that he has one. In Gennadi find Café Central – it is not difficult, Gennadi is small. Ice cream, real chocolate chunks and chocolate sauce make this the best we’ve had this summer.
On our return back to Rhodes Town that evening I saw two things that I have not witnessed in quite some time – things that make this island so very special. Mostly, full moons here rise red. They are not really red, it is dust from Africa being blown into the atmosphere and finding its way on the wind here. As the moon rises and until it reaches about 30 degrees above the horizon it is blood red and awesomely captivating. The other occurrence, just before Kiotari, was the emergence from the woods on the side of the road a Dama dama.
The Dama dama is the native deer of Rodos. Smaller than Northern European Deer this shy creature really is beautiful. So if you are driving that road in the evening, keep your eyes open and your foot near the brake as a glimpse of this white spotted lovely animal is rare.
Open your eyes to see what is around you.
And finally, I spent a morning on Agathi Beach with a three year old. Agathi, just a 10 minute drive from VLK, is one of the lovliest beaches on the island. Soft golden sand, clear shallow water teeming with fish, a beautiful ancient chapel, Agathi is popular with tourists and locals alike. I recommend going early in the day – by midday last Sunday there was very little parking left and the sand was burning. I also thoroughly recommend going with a small person – try to remember being that young – it makes you laugh.
Photographing our lovely Dutch family led me to think about people who choose to come to the island, stay in a villa and therefore are “self catering”. While it is obvious that on many evenings a family of several generations will go out to eat, there are also times when some would like to stay around the home. Different generations, however, means different activity desires, different eating habits and times and this is something of a juggle for the main food provider unless he or she wants to spend their entire day in the kitchen. So both of this week’s recipes – one traditional Greek and one my own – can be made at the beginning of the day and either gently re-heated as and when required or eaten tepid. Both should be accompanied by lots of local bread and butter and salad.
The quantities for both recipes will feed 6 people easily so if you are looking to make them stretch further for more people, just double or triple the ingredients accordingly.
Prawn Saganaki
A Gluten Free Recipe
Saganaki is a traditional Greek dish that can be made with any main ingredient, what ever that may be, and is baked in the oven with garlic, tomatoes and Feta. You can use mussels or mushrooms, cheese or carrots. But I particularly love it with Prawns.
3 tbsp Olive Oil
500 gr Tomatoes, peeled and slice (You can use tinned but fresh tastes better).
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
I/2 Pimento, Romano or Florina Pepper, de-seeded and thinly sliced
750 gr Prawns, fresh or frozen, de-headed and shelled
1 Bunch of Greek Parsley, finely chopped
100 gr Mild Feta, or any good Goat’s Cheese
Sea Salt
Preheat the oven to 180°.
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the tomatoes, garlic, pepper, prawns and parsley and cook gently over a medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and cook for a further 2 minutes, add salt to taste and transfer to an oven proof dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
A Summer Stew
A Lactose Free Recipe
Belly Pork is one of my favourite cuts of the animal, it has enough fat to keep the meat tender during cooking, is relatively cheap for big feasts and is known locally as “Beikon” or “Pansetta”.
650 gr Belly Pork, diced
120 gr Lardons
1 Onion, peeled and chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
8 Sticks of Selena (a local herb of the Celery Family), finely chopped
1/2 Red Pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 Romano Pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 Large Potato, peeled and chopped
85 gr Orzo Pasta
1 Bouquet Garni made with a handful of fresh Parsley, Mint, Basil and Oregano (or what ever you have to hand that is fresh)
1 lt Water
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Heat a large heavy based pot. Add the belly pork and lardons and cook over a medium heat, stirring, for 4 – 5 minutes, or until the fat runs. Add the onion, carrots, selena, peppers and potato and cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes.
Add the bouquet garni and pour in the water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the orzo and cook for a further 7 minutes.
Remove and discard the bouquet garni and season to taste.
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