April 1st - April 20th It is true..THE most dangerous thing we have been doing is riding our bikes! We wanted to go to the Greek Island of Rhodes for their Easter Services, but the ferry was cancelled because of bad weather. Instead I fell off my bike and got about 8 stitches in my chin. The handlebar extension hit my chin as I was slowly falling off my bike. Many of the Turkish storeowners came rushing to my aide with paper towels, antiseptics and caring hands to set me on my feet!!! I was starting to get on my bike to continue on my way when one of the women told me that I needed stitches at the hospital. She gave me a mirror and I agreed. I called Rudy and he came with a cab. When the cab drove up to the emergency door, hospital personnel opened the cab door and showed me to a room. They cleaned my wound and in about 5 minutes a surgeon came to stitch me. They were quick, efficient, good and caring!!! When I came back to the boat, our cruising friends started to come by bringing their concern and gifts!!! The cruising hot line started to hum and Bunny from Onset, Wei and Ross from Gemini (candy), Jane from Callisto (candy) and Lois from Bidarka (cookies) all took turns to see if I needed something. I made a comment to Bunny that I didn't want to cook and she came back with a cooked chicken and a bouquet of flowers. The cruising community is a very close and caring group of people. It feels like we have known each other for years and years instead of a few months!!! Even though I didn't want to get hurt, it sure did make me realize how lucky I am to know people who are so caring and to be in a country where they care about everyone including strangers!!! Rudy and I re-scheduled our trip to Rhodes and left on Wednesday the 10th and returned Saturday the 13th. We rented a car and traveled around the entire Island of Rhodes the first day. The landscape changes from mostly volcanic rock to beautiful manicured farmland to the dunes on beaches like those of Long Island. Most of the restaurants were closed as the tourist season hasn't started, but the two main towns were opened (Rhodes and Lindos) and there was plenty to do and see. The second day went to the Old City. This City is still surrounded by a 100-foot wall. We visited the Castle of the Grand Master or Kastello. Grand is certainly a good word for the immense and huge rooms we visited. The ceilings were as least 30 feet high and sometimes higher with huge fireplaces that we could walk into in each room. The Byzantimes built it at the end of the 7th century. Then came the period of the Knights of St. John (1309-1522) when the building was modified and then repaired by the Knights. They converted into the administrative center for their state. Later it was turned into a prison by the Turks and remained as such until the Italians restored it. Most of the antiquities are gathered from other islands in Greece. The catamaran ferry we took going to Rhodes took over an hour and the Hydrofoil coming back took about 45 minutes. The car carrying ferry takes a couple of hours for the 20+ mile trip. We were glad to come back to Turkey and to our cruising community. It is going to be difficult to leave all these wonderful people!!!