Saints be Praised!

Here they are not only praised, they are worshipped and celebrated.  Tourist publications list Saint Days and the festivals that mark them in villages and monasteries throughout the island.  Road signs direct you to chapels and monasteries ranging in size from the smallest of structures to large sprawling complexes.  What has struck us is the numbers of them we have found open - even in the most remote locations and no signs of vandalism. 

The small chapel for Saint Paul below is perched on a slight incline near the highway in the middle of grain fields at the southern tip of the island. 

We were the only ones there on Sunday morning and found the door to the chapel open and a candle already had been lit.

Today we walked the Stations of the Cross - something usually done in our town of Kirkland on the Friday before Easter - here it can be done as often as you want at Moni Agias Ypsenis (Monastery of Our Lady) just outside the town of Lardos on the eastern coast.

The Stations lead to a large cross on the hilltop that overlooks the Monastery complex; home to about 12 monks we were told.

Lindian Village Luxury

We are baskinng in the lap of luxury on the southeastern coast of Rhodes.  We are settled in at Lindian Village, a member of the marketing group, Leading Hotels of the World; certainly not a place we would normally be staying but in keeping with our 'find the deals' approach to travel, Joel happened upon a deal while researching hotels a few days ago.

Actually, Lonely Planet  travel guide had listed it as the author's choice, noting 'if you could afford it.'  This season we can.  I should note here that tourism is down; way down according to the folks we have talked to along the way.  The economic turmoil, protests that it generated and then Iceland's volcano are all being listed as contributing factors to the downturn in tourism.

We nabbed a Mediterranian room for the rate of 105E per night -- 50% of the normal rate -- about 130USD, with the current rate of exchange.  We were greeted with a welcome drink, driven by golf cart to our villa room and then pampered with a welcome bottle of wine, water and fruit plate.  The rate includes a full buffet breakfast with champagne each day (and the buffet rivals that of some of the best cruise ships we have been on).  The beach is like out of a movie. 

The resort is offering a 50% off rate through the end of June - if you found yourself in this part of the world, we would highly recommend taking advantage of the deal being offered.