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July 17, 2008
Temporary Rhodes
Pefkos is a busy, busy resort, providing everything the tourist could ever need. We hope you like our little village and have a lovely time in the sun! And for many, it's like a second home.
'We come back here every year,' say one couple, and others do the same.
Of course, Pefkos only exists for six months of the year. For the other six months, it doesn't. Come the end of October, everyone packs up and goes. restaurants close, shops close, boat trips stop, pools are emptied, hotel cleaners paid off - and everyone leaves for home, miles away.
Pefkos is a place for tourists to come - but not a place in itself. It has no secret life to invite people into. Rather, it exists so long as tourists exist - but no longer. In fact the tourists are the locals in Rhodes, for the locals only come here to earn. Come October, it is a ghost town and silent streets.
A sense of self that is not dependent on others; a secret life which bubbles over with joy and hidden invention - that's worth a journey. Pefkos is great - but not a role model.
Posted by Mr Bojangles at July 17, 2008 09:14 AM