RHODES - Pefkos, is it our fault it's not Greek?

OK so our few days in Pefkos weren't a horror story, but what I didn't tell you was that there was a nasty looking spider on the ceiling of our apartment which we had to remove, Nick's bed was broken and we had to ask for it to be repaired, there was no hairdryer (well I suppose that's not a valid complaint), the bath and toilet were grubby and Nick saw a cockroach scuttle across the bathroom floor and disappear down the open drain, the pillow cases were grubby and we had to ask for them to be changed, the floor needed sweeping, the fridge made a terrible racket, the furniture was tired and worn and the room was hot, but if we wanted air conditioning, we had to pay extra. Mosquitoes of course, were free.
The apartments were cheap, but that shouldn't be an excuse to provide them in a less than satisfactory condition. I definitely wouldn't recommend them to a friend and I couldn't wait to move on to our next destination, but had to suffer several more nights of karaoke before making an escape.
During the day, we easily managed to forget about our apartment. The beach was beautiful, even if it was a bit narrow. The only problem was the people. A pair of exhibitionists frequented the beach and generally sat themselves near our sun beds. She sat on a towel half naked (they were definitely not going to buy a sun bed for the day) and he stripped off to his shorts and stood the entire time posing and doing crossword puzzles. It was bizarre. They didn't do any harm and they were both in reasonable shape for their age, but there was no explanation for their unusual behaviour and we could only imagine that they wanted everyone on the beach to admire them, which of course nobody did.
Beach vendors brought fresh pineapple, melon, grapes, donuts and even offered massages. Like everyone else, we declined due to the high prices and the fact that the town was only about 50 steps away and we could get everything we wanted there at half the price.
I began to people watch. I couldn't help it. There was a constant stream of northerners walking past all day long, intermingled with the occasional Germans. The first thing about the beach walkers was that most of them were either chunky or fat and I began to realise that I could spot married couples from a distance. They mirrored each other - the way they walked was the same, with their steps being almost synchronised. What was more fascinating was that the curve of their stomachs, the bend of their necks and the curve of their backs were also identical. As they got nearer it was possible to see that the fall of the mouth and the jut of the chin were also the same.
This beach was beginning to freak me out and I began to wonder if Nick and I were mirror images. I immediately put a smile on my face and straightened my back. Then for the first time since my fall, I appreciated having a sprained ankle because Nick definitely wasn't hobbling around like I was. What with tattoo clubs and identical couples, I was beginning to think that maybe I was in some kind of alien land and if I stayed on the beach too long, I would become like everyone else.
But then I noticed the twinkling of the water. It looked like diamonds scattering in the sun's rays. And I heard the cry of the sea, easing in and out, edging closer then edging away. Then I saw the curl of the wave crawling up the beach and suddenly a child would appear, happy and laughing and bring me back to normality until the next cloned couple walked by.
Having made Pefkos sound like an alien planet, I would like to balance this with the fact that it has one of the most beautiful tavernas overlooking the sea. They played decent music too, and Nick and I got into the habit of going there to watch the sunset. I'd have a glass of wine and he'd have a glass of beer. It was the highlight (or lowlight) of the day because the sun went down over a mountain range across the bay whilst the sea lapped lazily on the shore. It was magical.
Another plus in Pefkos' favour were the free fresh water showers along the beach. A nice touch although I did see one man go flying because the concrete surround was so slippery.
The night life was not something I could get interested in. Perhaps I'm too old for loud, brash singing, beer swilling and smoking. It doesn't appeal. Instead, we went in search of food and then took ourselves back to our Lemon Tree apartment.
Pefkos doesn't even have any decent shops (not that I could have bought anything anyway), but the 'shops' are all tacky and sell the same old stuff. I even got stopped by another tourist who was aimlessly wandering around a supermarket and said, "Where are the shops?" And I had to confess that I'd been there three days and hadn't found them, at least not any worth looking at.
For me, it was a disappointing resort. The only animals we saw were moth eaten cats and there are so many of them, that there are cat feeding stations where you can officially place food and water for the poor old moggies. There is a neutering programme to keep the numbers down. But there are none of the usual goats, donkeys, sheep, hens or cockerels that are synonymous with Greece. Pefkos seems to have lost its identity and has given itself over to become a resort of tavernas, supermarkets and holiday complexes as well as Lemon Tree Apartments. What's worse is that the food isn't up to standard and on occasions I did wonder if we were even being served by Greeks or whether the Turks had moved in. The one taverna that claimed to be a family owned 'Traditional Greek Restaurant' served us with a Greek salad without any herbs, oil or vinegar. If we wanted those, it was a 'do it yourself' job. Their attempt at spaghetti napolitana was spaghetti containing lumps of garlic in tomato sauce and basically no imagination. If my only experience of Greece was a holiday to Pefkos, then I wouldn't want to visit the country again, but I guess it suits those who love to sing and drink all night long, eat food that is more suited to an English palate and sit on the beach all day. Could this be the reason Pefkos is the way it is? Perhaps it has moulded itself around the tourists instead of sticking to its own traditions and retaining some Greek charm.
My only hope was that Lindos, our next destination, would restore all things Greek into the holiday.