A Trip to Rhodes

It took us quite a while to decide on a trip to Greece. A good opportunity arose through the Soulac Accueille association: mid-September, the best time to go, a well-organised trip, pleasant travelling companions, and an interesting itinerary – Rhodes.

As a group, we were of course put up in a tourist hotel of the tour operator type, very pleasant but situated so that travel to the more isolated parts of the island became longer and longer. Perhaps that’s the price to pay with organised holidays.

So we spent a lot of time on the bus, enlightened on the spirit of ancient Greece by experienced guides, and we traipsed around numerous curiosities of the island. Rhodes really is a very beautiful island, with small corners such as the acropolis, mountainous regions dominated by a monastery, and well-preserved ruins of an ancient city. And of course the town of Rhodes itself. That’s where we came across a quaint ritual, the traditional head-count before the whole group once again climbed aboard the bus.

The sea excursion close by the Turkish coast to the island of Simi was particularly interesting. We visited a monastery there as well as a small town also called Simi, hidden in a bay. But the highlight of the trip was the Valley of Butterflies: they were still there, vast clouds of butterflies!

If you take part in an organised trip like this you have to follow the crowd, as individual excursions are not easy to organise. That’s why taking part is a bit of a gamble. The advantage is that you can go back alone with prior knowledge of what you want to see. Soulac Accueille is anyway an excellent place for interesting travel destinations.

2019 Christian Büttner/Elke Schwichtenberg (Saint-Vivien), translation: Margaret and Richard Beasley