Greece: Cycling Through Seven Islands with the Double Fours

Do animals have a belly button?
How can a volcano be sleeping if it doesn’t have eyes?
What do fish eat?
Where is the shadow of the sea?
How come the rules in Greece are a bit different?
Where are our bike boxes?
Why is Kai sad?
Which side to ride on? Which side is the right side?

This is just a fraction of the questions we got from our four year old while we were cycling together in Greece over five weeks. It didn’t matter how many times we told him he should be cycling on the right side, he still kept on asking about 500 times a day, or so it seemed. Cycle touring with our son Neil is not something that is new to us, since we’ve been touring with him since he was seven months old. Each trip is very different because of his age and changing riding abilities. This trip was completely different though, since we added a new component to the ride. It was the latest addition to our family, our second son Kai, who was just under four months at the beginning of this trip.

I’m sure that now a few people are wondering if we are are a bit crazy – we’ve been wondering that ourselves every now and then too. I mean who goes bike touring in Greece in the middle of the winter with a four year old and a four month old?!?! But this trip was everything we needed – relaxing, easy pace, lots of sunshine, magical Greek Islands and lots of bonding time for our new family of four and especially for the two brothers.

Rhodes – Quiet Roads, a Busy Road, and a 4th Birthday
We arrived to Rhodes on a sunny afternoon in mid February. We were told that it had been a rough winter in Greece. However when our taxi driver pulled into the narrow alley where our Airbnb host was waiting for us, all we could feel was warmth and sunshine. They both agreed that in this part of Greece there are about 60 days of rain a year and magically they had just ended. They promised it was going to be all sunny. It turned out that they were almost right.

Our trip in Israel prior to our arrival to Greece was a bit rough. Neil got sick on the long flight from San Francisco to Tel Aviv and was sick for the first few days in Israel. Then we all took turns being sick. However, the moment we arrived to Rhodes I had the feeling we left all the sickness behind and we were in good spirits to start a new adventure. We took it easy for a few days exploring the narrow alleys and cobbled stone streets of Old Rhodes. Most of the touristy places were still closed for the season, which actually added to the atmosphere. It felt like we got to see the place as it was and not the touristy scene, which apparently is very much a thing during the summer months.

Gili and Neil took their time putting our bikes together, especially our new cargo bike AKA Big Bird, while Kai and I just wandered the streets, finding new alleys on every corner, getting lost a few times just to discover that we were actually a few meters from our place.

Then when we felt a bit more energetic we finally left for our first and biggest mission of this trip – to ride around the island of Rhodes. It is the largest island in this group of islands (the Dodecanese) and around 200km to circumnavigate. The first day was a combination of a busier road to get out of Rhodes Town and then quieter roads along the sea till we finally reached our destination for the day, about 50km later.

The next day was very hilly and our progress was slow. The road became even quieter and felt very remote and isolated. Not a single car passed us for most of the day. In the late afternoon we reached the small village of Monolithos, up high in the hills, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the far distance and surrounded by olive trees we felt very accomplished. Although we had only ridden for two days, we had climbed the largest hill on our route, and things seemed to be in order. Kai was getting into the routine of the trip and was taking his naps when needed in the trailer. Neil was mostly cooperative and was keen to ride his own bike but also understood when it was a good time for him to sit on Abba’s bike. We found a small hotel for the night in which we were the only guests, we ate our dinner at the only taverna open, in which again we were the only customers. It gave us a lot of time to socialize with the owner, cook, and waiter of the place, Manolo, who had a lot of good stories and a very optimistic view of life.

After our third day of riding, and looking at the forecast and seeing that some rain was expected, we decided to take a couple of rest days. This also gave us time to celebrate Neil’s fourth birthday. The place we decided to stop at was an out of the way village named Gennadi. Finding a place to stay there proved to be challenging but a woman working at the bakery took it as her personal project to find us a room. Eventually it seemed that the Panorama Hotel opened up just for us and we were given the royal suite – which was a cute room all painted in blue and with a bed which one had to climb up a ladder to get to, which Neil was of course excited about.

The “rain” turned out to be only a few drops but it was colder and especially windier than before. On the day of Neil’s birthday we actually woke up to no electricity as the wind knocked down a power line in the area. We had a modest birthday celebration for him with a few balloons, a profiterol (cream-filled cake) from the local bakery and candles. Neil was excited and it was all that mattered. We decided to stay an extra day in Gennadi due to strong winds and by the time we actually got going from there we felt like we got to know the place and some of the people there quite well.

It took us two more days of riding to get back to Rhodes Town. We spent a night in Archaggelos, an out of the way town, where Tsambikos, a lovely old man, hosted us for free in his hotel which he opened up just for us. On the last day of riding the coastal road became larger and busier, which we didn’t like at all. We managed to detour to some small side roads that led us right by a string of big resorts, all of them closed for the season. Finally back in Rhodes Town the first goal we set ourselves was accomplished. Now it was time for some relaxation on a tiny island, or so we thought.

Symi – Road Construction in Paradise
We took the big ferry (Blue Star) from Rhodes to Symi which brought us to Symi Port at 7:30pm, not exactly the middle of the night but it sure felt like it. Those big ferries seem to have no system for loading and unloading vehicles and passengers. Cars and trucks were getting on and off at the same time with no particular order. Neil was almost run over by a big white van and then the road was just pitch black. We had to cycle a very short distance to our Airbnb but the road was very narrow and dark and with the ocean on one side without any railing or protection. After this experience I swore we would not take any night ferries again.

Finally we arrived to our cute Airbnb and could relax for the night. In the morning, stepping out of our room we discovered that Symi was some sort of magical island. The houses were very colourful, the ocean was dark blue and the boats danced in the sea. While it was colder than usual the air felt very fresh. Symi seemed to be everything you’d expect a Greek Island to be, including the “neighborhood fixture” – an old man who was always in the city square, which was also exactly where our apartment was. And while he spoke no English he took a special liking to Kai and always smiled and made silly faces to him.

However, the ideal scene wore off the next morning when we woke up around 7am feeling the earth shaking and our ears exploding. It turned out that the “off season” in Greece also means “construction season” and in Symi’s case a wonderful opportunity to bury all the electricity lines underground, hence the loud noise. While we were suffering, this was a dream come true for Neil – seeing all those big machines he only knew about from books, right from our doorstep was like a dream come true. While Symi isn’t a big island it is still. hilly and steep. We managed to do two rides to different parts of the island, and the ride downhill back to the town was another highlight for Neil.

Kos – Hot Springs, Flamingos, and The Road to Nowhere
In order to avoid another night ferry experience, for the rest of the trip we used the very efficient and fast catamaran (Dodecanisos Seaways) that takes mostly foot passengers. Our next destination was the island of Kos which after Symi felt very big and at first glance not very attractive. Kos Town reminded us too much of Tel Aviv including the very impressive bike trails. We rode to our Airbnb and sighed in relief that there was no road construction nearby.

We spent one day riding to Therma Beach where Gili and Neil dug a very impressive hot spring for us. It was a unique experience sitting in a natural hot water pool overlooking the beautiful sea. Neil actually enjoyed it so much that he asked to go again the next day. We preferred exploring something different so we rode to a Alikes Salt Lake where we found flamingos!

When it was time to leave Kos Town we crossed the island, climbing quite high through the village of Pyli, and then had a very impressive descent to Kardamena, our next destination. In Kardamena we found a ridiculously cheap Airbnb (€17 a night) right in the centre of the village. We enjoyed this cute village very much and our timing coincided with some sort of a holiday that included traditional dances by the children in the main square.

We thought we’d explore Kos a bit more but sometimes things don’t work out as planned and in many cases it’s for the best. The day we left Kardamena we climbed up a quiet and good road that ended mysteriously at the sewage plant, so we found ourselves back at Kardamena. As we were wondering what to do we learned that that day there was a ferry to the island of Nisyros, a volcanic island that otherwise was a bit more difficult to get to logistically – we were sold.

Nisyros – Volcano Island
For Nisyros I decided to make an exception and agreed to catch a ferry in the evening just because it was a small ferry. We arrived at night and had to bike a short distance to our hotel. After all the nice apartments we stayed at, the hotel felt very dull and was a bit of a disappointment. However in the morning when we opened the window we discovered we were overlooking the sea and some small islands and everything felt better. Also, the hotel had a natural hot water pool that the owner agreed to fill especially for us. Needless to say it was another highlight for Neil and the first time ever in a pool for Kai.

The real highlight of this island though and perhaps of our trip was riding right into the crater of a volcano. We left the narrow alleys of Mandraki, and started climbing. The views of the never ending ocean below us were magnificent. Soon however the road turned into gravel, something we did not expect. It did not make us turn around and we kept on going, pushing the bikes a good part of the way. It was so worth it though. When we saw the crater beneath us it was incredible. I’ve never thought I’d ride right into a crater, let alone with a four year old and a four month old. We rode right into the crater and then climbed up on the other side and had a long downhill back to town. There we had the only injury on the trip when Neil fell off his bike and scraped his elbow and finger.

Kalymnos – The Climbers’ Island
After our epic adventure on Nisyros we all felt we needed some down time. Luckily the weather suddenly took a shift to the worse. That also caused us to have a rough sailing to our next island causing Neil to eventually throw up. When we arrived to Kalymnos Artemis greeted us and showed us the way to our next Airbnb. We discovered that the place we booked was a villa which was very fitting because we mostly spent our time on Kalymnos hanging out inside while it was pouring and taking long strolls along the promenade to look at the colourful boats.

Kalyamons is also known as a climbers’ hangout and the roads there seemed quite steep and therefore we took a break from our bikes for the three days we were there. One day we took the bus, which was an adventure in itself and then caught a tiny boat to a tiny island named Telendos. We went for a short hike there to a beach, where we had a nice Greek picnic.

Lipsi – The Forgotten Island
We had about a week left after Kalymnos and we were debating if we should spend a whole week on Leros, the final island we thought we’d reach. But looking at the map we noticed there was another island not too far off named Lipsi. Just the name raised our curiosity and we decided we’d spend a few days there before heading to Leros. Taxia from Mira Mare Studios welcomed us at the terminal. She was quite shocked to see us on bikes as it was obvious she is used to driving everywhere on the tiny island. Lipsi felt forgotten not only because we almost missed it, but also because of the laid back feeling of the island and the general sense that not much was happening there.

There was hardly any traffic because there was basically nowhere to go. We still managed to explore three magnificent beaches on different corners of the island, and eat at one of the best restaurants we ate at in Greece, a chef restaurant named Manolo. Neil made friends with Valentin, a seven year old Albanian who had never ridden a bike before. Neil generously offered him a turn on his bike and the kid was stoked. Gili helped him a little bit with his balance and on the next day he was basically riding by himself already.

Leros – Our Bakery Obsession
While we were on Symi I came across an article about immigrants and refugees in Leros. While it was an interesting article, at the very end of it there was a mention of an excellent bakery in Leros where the specialty was a yogurt cake and mandarin marzipan. That alone was a good enough reason for us not to miss out on Leros.

We arrived in the late afternoon since for the first time there was a fiasco with the ferries and the morning ferry we planned to take never arrived. The accommodation options seemed very limited and unattractive, so we didn’t book a room before arriving. We were also sure we had arrived to Lakki. But when we checked the map it turned out that we had actually arrived to Agia Marina, the very same town where the bakery was, and we were in fact only a few meters away from it! Gili made friends quickly with the people there and they promised they would help us find a place to stay. One of them also turned out to be the owner of this amazing bakery. Needles to say we tried the yoghurt cake and marzipan a few times during our stay.

Eventually we found a place to stay in Pandeli and after getting lost twice on the way we finally made it there in the evening. The room we had was small but cozy, and had the essentials like a washing machine which turned out to be quite essential on this trip, due to many diaper explosions. We explored the island too, going to different beaches and cycling up to the top of the hill behind Pandeli to Kastro, a impressive medieval castle. Alas, when we arrived to the top it turned out it was closed, but the ride there and back was still lots of fun.

Rhodes – Second Time Around
We left Leros on a windy afternoon and had more than four hours to go on the longest ferry ride we had to do, all the way back to Rhodes. Kai made friends with a woman who lives in a refugee camp on Kos and was going with her son to Rhodes to a medical appointment. She knew absolutely no English and our knowledge in Arabic is very limited. However the way she communicated with Kai was beyond any language. She laughed with him, held him, hugged him, and held him up high in the air saying “Tayara, tayara, tayara“, which Gili remembered means airplane in Arabic.

Once in Rhodes we came back to the same apartment we stayed when we first arrived five weeks before and everything felt familiar now. The next day we caught the bus to Lindos. Lindos is a cute and very touristy little town, but unfortunately all the restaurants were still closed for the season so we found very little to eat. We spent some time on the beach taking a nice swim and we also walked up the Acropolis of Lindos to enjoy the views and the impressive ruins.

A Few Hours in Athens
When it was time to leave Rhodes we arranged with the same taxi driver to take us back to the airport. It turned out that our departure date was very fittingly the 25th of March, also knows as “Greek Revolution Day”. Many of the streets were closed due to a parade but our taxi driver managed to find a way through the maze and get us out of town and to the airport.

Since we had a seven hour layover and we discovered that it was very easy to reach the city from the airport by metro, we decided to check out Athens for a few hours. Big cities tend to be very tiring even if it is just for a few hours. We walked around Plaka which turned out to be a very touristy area, but we still managed to see some sites and enjoy the holiday atmosphere and a final Greek dinner.

Back at the airport it was time to say goodbye to Greece and it was a bittersweet feeling. I was very happy we managed this trip so well, something that was not obvious with a four year old and a four month old, and was sad that it came to an end so quickly. Kai was a trooper on this trip and despite the millions of diaper changes and washing his many dirty clothes, he was so easy going and it was such a special time with him. Neil enjoyed the trip so much that he already announced that he wants us to go to Greece again on our next visit to Israel…