
The quarter of the island we decided to explore this day was completely on the opposite end from the previous day's adventure. Our destination was the lighthouse on the southwestern end of the island. Driving was not bad except for some of the little towns where roads narrowed and people parked on streets. Of course meeting a full sized tour bus was a challenge but Bob was beginning to drive like a native. I, on the other hand, was still screaming like a tourist.

The lighthouse is a large structure sitting on the southwest point of the island. At first we thought that was all there was to see there but we noticed a trail, and never ones to turn down a chance to explore, we followed it around to the front side of the lighthouse facing out to the open sea.

On our way back, we turned off onto the road that led to the Kokkini Beach, better known as the Red Beach. We found the parking area and followed the others who were making there way along a path we figured led to the beach. Well, it did, in a way. If you truly wanted to get down to the beach, there were lots of boulders to climb over. We could see some sort of a road opposite from our viewpoint but it looked like gravel and if there were cars there, you couldn't see where they parked.

At the bottom, we found ourselves at the door to what looked like the kitchen. An older gentleman with scruffy beard and typical Greek cap perched on his head waved us in. He gave Bob a vigorous hand shake as we passed and we found ourselves outside again under a canopy on a graveled pier of sorts where there were a couple dozen tables set up with chairs.
We chose a spot and a sweet lady who looked like she was probably the Captain's wife handed us menus. She apologized up front for "No English" and then with gestures and a word or two, indicated that the usual waitress was still sleeping. No problem. At least there was an English version of the menu. We chose an appetizer and a dish that said it was meatballs with tomato sauce.

"Is that good?" Bob asked.
The lady nodded and scurried off to put in the order, and I suspect cook it as well. There was no one else in the restaurant but the establishment next to us looked as though there was a small tour group eating there. Had we made a mistake?
When our "meatballs" arrived, they were actually hamburger patties with very crispy and good potatoes on the side with a little salad as well. It was all very delicious. Even without the "tomato sauce." While we were eating, Captain Antonis came out and fired up the grill. I guess he was expecting more customers. He had a little trouble getting the fire started. I hoped his wife had more "meatballs" in the kitchen.
Lunch was a perfect example of why we like to travel on our own rather than with a tour company. You don't have those kind of encounters with a tour guide along. They take care of all of that for you. Some people are more comfortable with that approach and in some areas of the world I am too. But our lunch experience was fun.
In the car once more, we passed signs that indicated we were near the archaeological dig that has recently been reopened with an all new building housing the dig itself. We had planned to visit it on another day but we like the word flexible and applied it. I'm so glad we did.
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