«via Rhodes»

My own task here was prosaic enough. I had been accredited to the occupying forces as an Information Officer. Gideon's own business was more obscure; he made several mumbling attempts to describe it. Finally he squared his shoulders and produced a crumpled movement order which he handed me to read. I could see nothing very strange about it. It informed me that Captain A. Gideon was proceeding to Palermo via Rhodes on duty. 'You don't see anything odd about it?' he said with a chuckle, and with a touch of fatuous innocent pride. 'Neither did the provost-marshal.' He beamed at me and explained. He had long ago noticed that the legend 'will proceed from X to Y' on a movement order was sufficiently well-spaced to allow him to insert the word 'via' followed by the name of any little corner of the globe that he might wish to visit. He had spent a good part of the war travelling unwillingly 'from X to Y' — but always 'via' somewhere or other where he really wanted to go. 'It's my form of revolt' he said coyly. 'For Godsake don't tell a soul.'

Lawrence Durrell. Reflections on a Marine Venus.