Rodos Park Pool 27-9-21
This was our first escape from the UK now that International travel is once again permitted as the risks relating to covid have been addressed. We have the pleasure of an EasyJet to Rhodes where we have accommodation and are organised.
Arriving at the airport is instructive. To travel at the moment one needs a passport (obviously), tickets (even more obviously) and then proof of covid vaccinations plus completion of a form for each person notifying the authorities of whereabouts at the destination and all of which has to be completed electronically. Precise requirements depend on the destination.
There is a queue for the check in at the airport and a young lady whom we can see is seeking to check the existence of the relevant documents for each traveller before allowing them to actually drop their baggage. Many of them are seeking to display the information on their phones – and inevitably there is a lot of swiping going on as they seek to find the boarding passes, the vaccination records and the relevant forms. Quite a significant proportion have no idea of the need for the form to be completed for the destination country and are being sent away to complete them online – which is not always the easiest thing to do in the timescale needed.
Needless to say we are prepared – it is all printed out in order and can be easily checked. It is noticeable that the older travellers prefer paper to their phones – and compared with most we progress very quickly and the lady thanks us for being organised. I wonder she maintained her composure given the lack of documents among some of the intending travellers.
Magpies Rodos 27-9-21
With the difficult bit done we are eventually off into the wide blue yonder and our destination was the excellent Rodos Park Suites and the best sight was the sunshine and the pool which greeted us the following morning. Plus some pretty large magpies trying to hide in the trees. The trouble is that they are bit big to actually hide.
A decent hotel and we were able to eat outdoors in the evenings. The team delivered some good meals and we were able to enjoy some very decent local wines which the hotel staff were keen to demonstrate the ability of the local wine makers. Greek wine has come a long way over the years and we had a good week. There will be some individual posts on other aspects of the island.