Day 6- Rhodes, Greece

Day 6- Rhodes, Greece
Today we went to Rhodes, Greece, the first of the five Greek isles that we will be visiting. This was the third stop on the cruise. We got up early and went to a nice breakfast in the dinning room. We then packed up and ventured out to shore without a plan or any idea of what there was to see on this isle. As we walked off the gangway and into the city we caught glimpse of a scooter/quad rental shop. Sean immediately went inside to inquire about renting scooters for the day. After finding out that the rentals were very reasonably priced, we decided to rent a scooter and a quad. David and Lyndsey were a little hesitant to drive a quad around the city, but with a little encouragement from Sean and Mom, they hopped on and went for it. Going off a map that the rental guy gave us, we made our way to the town of Lindos, which was about an hour and a half dive down the coastline of the island. Here there was the Acropolis on top of a mountain, surrounded by a quaint village of white houses. At the bottom of the mountain was a gorgeous beach where the water was so clear you could see forever. We stopped here and swam for a bit. We then hopped back on our rides and drove back to the city of Rhodes. The city is surrounded by ancient walls that were built to protect against invaders. Rhodes is the Eastern most island of Greece. It was conquered by the Ottomans and then later taken over by the British. Because of it's proximity to Turkey, it was a vital stronghold for the Romans, the Turks, and the British. This led to the walls being built. We entered the city through gateways in the walls. We all started to get really hungry so we drove to the old town part of the city and parked our bikes. We then walked through the city streets that were made of small stones. We found a café and had a really yummy lunch. We then spent the rest of our time ashore touring the old town and shopping in the shops that lined the beautiful streets. This town was cool because it was like going back in time. We were walking through the streets of an ancient castle/ fortress, yet there were ice cream shops and restaurants all around. With about an hour to spare, we went back to the bike rental shop. Sean and Mom's scooter was out of gas by this time, but they weren't ready to return to the ship. So, David and Lyndsey decided to head back to the ship and let Mom and Sean take the quad out for one more spin before we set sail. They toured a little bit more of the coast and visited a residential area of the island. After returning from their ride, they chatted with the rental guy for a bit. He explained that Rhodes is the best of all the Greek isles because it has everything; mountains, waterfalls, and beaches. He said that it used to be the most popular isle when cruise ships went to Egypt. When Egypt became too dangerous for cruise ships, Rhodes was no longer a popular port and since then the tourism economy has dropped. This has been the best day of the cruise by far. We had an awesome time touring the island on the quad and scooter and we are all very grateful that Sean talked us into doing it.