July Postcards from Symi

Early morning calm in Pedi bay.

The Kali Strata steps have got their new coat of whitewash for the year. The bags of cement visible higher up was because some repairs were also being done to the steps.

The carpenter's cats enjoying a post-breakfast nap.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office yesterday - the short-lived cafe next door has been dismantled.

A line up of motor yachts this morning. As it is Eid, the end of Ramadan, we have plenty of Turkish visitors on Symi at the moment. Symi is a popular destination for yachts out of Datca as it is close and yet so completely different.

A bird's eye view of the bridge of the Blue Star Diagoras from the Kali Strata.

Looking towards the Kastro and the Vigla from outside the National Bank.  The yellow building in the left foreground is the customs house.  The little green structure between the customs house and the bridge is the fish market.  The red domed church on the Kastro, the hill in the middle, is Lemonitissa and the Lemonitissa studio and apartment are in a restored house among the trees to the right. The distant hill on the right background is actually the Vigla, the highest peak on the island and the location of all the radio, mobile phone and television antennae.

From the bridge, looking towards the entrance of the harbour early this morning.  You can see the ruins of the old windmills silhouetted against the skyline.  The windmills were used to grind wheat that was grown across the straits in Asia Minor as that was where the people of Symi had their agricultural holdings until 1922 when the Dodecanese were awarded to the Italians.

A mini armada of ducks coming in from yachts lying out in the various anchorages early this morning.  The supermarkets and bakeries open early so that crews can do their shopping before they set sail.

Groups of day trippers from Rhodes gather in various shady places to listen to their guides talking about the history of Symi.

Our patch of the waterfront looks very naked now that the cafe has stripped away its awning.