Fire Station Stealth Camping | Rhodes 🇬🇷 E4

In the last episode, I finally got my bike from the best rental shop in Rhodes.

As I rode out, I noticed the sea, more blue than the Côte d’Azur in France. Absolutely stunning. But the roads leading out of the city toward the airport were narrow and packed with buses and trucks. Super stressful.

I made a quick stop at a grocery store to buy water, then again at the airport to fill up bottles and clean up a bit.

While resting there, I planned my next move: Butterfly Valley, as recommended by the rental shop owner. It was a 7 km ride there and 7 km back, a 14 km detour. I hoped it would be worth it.

What I didn’t know? It’s a brutal 6 km uphill climb. If I had known that earlier, I probably wouldn’t have gone.

When I finally arrived, I found out the site wasn’t officially open. Some parts were under construction, no butterflies in sight, and everything felt out of season.

Still, I wandered in, the place was empty and a bit abandoned, which made it oddly peaceful. Probably a great camping spot if needed.

After finishing the Butterfly Valley detour, I rode back and aimed for Embonas, the highest village near Rhodes’ tallest mountain.

As it got later, I realized I wouldn’t reach Embonas in time. Then I got lucky: I found an abandoned fire-fighting outpost with a view, shelter, and even drinking water. With only an hour of sunlight left, I decided to camp there.

Then I realized something stupid. I had lost the key to my bike lock, probably left it in a locker, and it fell out during the ride. Now I can’t leave the bike unattended for groceries or hiking.

I only covered 40 km today, and the 14 km to Butterfly Valley wasn’t really worth it. With just six days to ride around the island, I decided it’s better to sleep early and start fresh tomorrow.

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:31 Leaving Rhodes city
00:01:27 Ride to Rhodes Butterfly Valley
00:02:26 Exploring Rhodes Butterfly Valley
00:04:37 Riding to Embonas through Salakos
00:06:41 Found abandoned fire station

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[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] In the last episode, I finally got my bike from the best shop in roads. Fully loaded, ready to roll. Finally leaving the city behind and heading into the wild. [Music] This looks more like K azour than K azour I saw in France. Look at that color. So blue out of town tight full of buses and trucks trying to take me down with every overtake. I had to stay sharp, constantly watching my back and holding a straight [Music] line. Then I put over at mini market to grab some water. The sun was already strong and I hadn’t even reached the hot part yet. [Music] Lastly, I stopped at the airport, refilled my bottles, washed my face, pulled up my map, and started planning. Next up, butterfly volley. The bike shop guy said it was a mustsee. 7 km there, seven back, 14 total. How bad it could be. Finally, a quiet road. I hope that will be worth it. And I will see some butterflies. Yeah, man. If I knew it would be uphill for 6 kilometers, I would change my mind. Halfway up, I started regretting my decision. But I was committed, so I kept pushing. [Music] All right. So, here we are. Big butterflies. Don’t tell me it’s closed. What’s going on? It’s closed. Yeah, but you still can’t go through the way. Really cool. Anything. Oh, nice. Thanks. Have a nice trip. [Music] Woohoo. You had the lady. Entrance is for free apparently. When I finally got there, the place was half abandoned. Gate open. No staff. Definitely [Music] offseason. What a nice place. But no butterflies. [Music] I wondered around for a bit, but I saw no butterflies, no crowds, just silence. It was peaceful, but was it worth the detour? Honestly, no. But at least I had the whole wallet to myself. [Music] Now we are going back to the intersection and our next mission is to get to Ambonas which is the village underneath the highest mountain here on the roads island should be 22 km so pretty doable and if everything goes well I might hike to the top of the mountain today. Yes, finally first water fountain after 30 kilometers or so. Then I stopped at the church with drinking water. Perfect place to take a quick break before the climb. So the unwritten rule is that if you see a church in countryside, there’s high probability that there is drinking water too. It was getting late and Ambonas was still far off. I wasn’t going to make it before dark, so it was time to start looking for a base to camp. [Music] What an ice slime. Would love to have a bottle of Coke. Yeah, as you could hear, dogs loves [Music] me. Near Salakos, the landscape started changing. Forested peaks, fresh air. I could feel it. I was finally entering the mountain [Music] zone. Wow, check this view. We are high but not that high. And then jackpot, an abandoned firefighting outpost, a roof, water tap, even a view saved, quite basically perfect. It’s uh 6, so I have pretty much like 1 hour of sunlight and there’s no one. So, this seems to be a perfect spot. There seems to be a water as well. Yep, water is working. So, I started unpacking, setting up the cam. Felt like I was winning again. Then I realized the key to my bike lock. It was gone. Somewhere between the uphill climb and butterfly volley. Now I couldn’t leave the bike alone. Not for groceries, not for hikes, nothing. I’m so stupid, but I lost my key to the bike lock. Damn, such a bad luck. Okay, guys. I think I will definitely camp here. This place is too good to pass by. I mean, I have a shelter. I have a water and I will set up my camp here once the sun goes down and I will rest, wake up early and think about how to st my bike since I don’t have a bike lock and I still want to hike but I don’t want to leave my bike unattended. [Music] So, I only managed 40 km today and with just 6 days to circle the island, I knew I needed to refocus, get some sleep, reset, and start strong in the morning. But more about that in the next episode. [Music] Okay, guys. I just uh set up my bed earlier. It’s 8 and I’m totally totally dead after yesterday night. So, see you tomorrow in the morning and good night. [Music] [Music]