Looking to get away from the tourist trail and for a quiet spot for lunch we took an afternoon drive.

With no real plan in our heads we just headed south. Following the coast we drove through Gennadi. We went past the holiday villas that have sprung up along the main road towards the turning to Lahania.

We kept on driving until there were no more buildings and finally decided to head to Plimiri. Once a turning that was difficult to find, a new all inclusive hotel has now opened up so there are lots of signposts.

To be honest I was a little anxious, Plimiri a natural bay with a wide stretch of beach that goes on for about 4km, with sand dunes, would the new all inclusive have ruined it all?

We arrived at the harbour end of the bay and were pleasantly surprised, it all looked as quiet and sleepy as ever. There’s one fish taverna with a few sunbeds on the pebbly beach. Further around the bay the beach kantina with home-made wooden seating and a few beach beds is no longer there. I don’t know why but they didn’t get the license for 2016.

The all inclusive has beds on the beach further around still, with water sports going on but far enough away that you can’t hear any of it. So it’s not as pristine as it once was but not completely ruined.

There are a few stories around about Plimiri. One is that there was once a village and community here that was wiped out in a tsunami. Hence the name Plimiri coming from the Greek word ‘plimmira’ meaning flood.

Having heard mixed reports of the fish taverna it was time to check it out.

We were taken through to choose from a wide selection of fresh fish, which was then grilled outside.

We went for the sea bass. It was all so good we ate it all before I remembered to take a photo.

Behind the taverna you’ll find an old chapel, Olga will open it for you, this building is believed to be from the 19C dedicated to Zoodochos Pigi (Life-Giving Spring) and built on an ancient temple, from which many architectural and marble capitals are preserved.

If you are interesting in visiting the chapels on the island I found this very useful link.

Then we headed further south turning in along the coast looking for really unspoilt beaches.

We found some wonderful spots that we will definitely be returning to. I won’t tell you exactly where they are, but if you explore the area between Plimiri and Kattavia and find the chapel of Ag. Georgios you’re close by.

On the way back we also stumbled across a few more remnants of Rhodes past. Near Kattavia there are lots of buildings from the Italian era and remnants of WWII but that’s for another post. You can also find Italian buildings n the hills and Rhodes new town.

Before reaching home we stopped off for a frappé by the roadside at the kantina in front of the cliffs near Lardos beach and watched the sunset over Pefkos. A perfect way to end a road trip. I wonder where we’ll end up going next?