Same Day to Sizzling Symi?

The wild oregano has faded to dusty beige and the St John's Wort is one of the few wild flowers left to add interest to an increasingly arid landscape.

Pedi bay was very busy during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

The new stone house at the end of my road is taking shape.  It is a very labour intensive method of construction as the local stone has to be 'dressed' before it can be used.  Many man hours go into chipping rock into symmetrical shapes and useful sizes.  All new buildings in Greece, no matter whether brick or stone, also have to meet strict building standards for earthquakes and have to have a reinforced concrete earthquake proof framework.

Watch the birdie!

Looking down the Kali Strata from about a quarter of the way down.

At first glance there may only seem to be 2 boats in this picture but if you look carefully, there are also two big power yachts on this side of the harbour with only their bows visible.

One of the two butcher's shops in the harbour.  There is also now a proper fresh fish monger which opened this week.  I 'll have a photograph of that for you on Monday.

The view from the Symi Visitor this morning.  The fuel station sends a mini -tanker round to bunker the water taxis.  This service is also available for yachts if they don't want to go over to the bunkering jetty.

When the sea looks like this at 8 in the morning, the rest of the day is sure to be very hot.

Yachts lying off Harani on Monday.

It has been very hot this week with little wind to speak of apart from local catabatic winds coming off the mountain in the early evening. Everything seems to be shimmering in the heat.

Monday morning in Yialos.  There were similar scenes of tangled anchors for several hours on Monday as boats that had come over for Bayram tried to leave in a different order to that in which they had arrived.  It is much more sensible to anchor in Pedi than Yialos during peak periods.

There was also an Israeli flotilla in town.

There is no formal ferry service to Datca in Turkey as there just isn't enough demand.  It is possible, however, to arrange to go over on one of these boats for the Saturday market.  The contact details are advertised on the boats.

What was I saying about tangled anchors?

And so June draws to a sizzling close in what is being regarded as one of the hottest heatwaves to roll out of Africa in decades. The heat is only expected to break later next week but on Symi that doesn't make a huge amount of difference as once the rock as heated up, it stays hot until September.   Temperatures are in the forties during the day and the thirties at night.

Anyone who does not have to work is at the beach, enjoying cooling swims and frosted glasses that tinkle with ice cubes.  The rest of us find excuses to linger in the bank, the supermarket and anywhere else where the air conditioning is reasonably efficient.

The Symi Sea Dream is now back in service although the rumoured evening program from Rhodes to Symi has so far failed to materialise.  A new development on the ferry front is that the Blue Star Patmos has been replaced by the smaller Paros and has managed to fit in another Symi route.  She passes through Symi at about 2 a.m. on Sunday mornings en route to Rhodes (yes, I know!) and then leaves Rhodes again at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, getting to Symi about an hour and a half later, en route to Pireaus.  For more information, please see our travel blog as well as the Blue Star website.

Our travel blog also shows some flight possibilities that connect up with ferries to Symi so that you don't have to overnight in Rhodes.  You could yet get to Symi this summer!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Midsummer Symi

The Cypriot cruise ship, the Salamis Filoxenia, nosing her way into Yialos on Monday afternoon, as seen from the Symi Visitor balcony.  Symi is a traditional port of call for Greek Orthodox religious tourism as both Panormitis and Roukoniotis are important monasteries dedicated to St Michael. As the ship is too big to get into Panormitis bay, pilgrims take taxis and mini buses across the island to visit these holy sites. The boat stays in Yialos for about 6 hours before heading on northwards to Patmos, to visit the place where St John the Divine wrote his Revelations.

Repurposing is nothing new here.

Mummy hen and family, wondering if they should cross the road or not. They actually roost in a shrub on the right and she hasn't lost anyone yet!

Hand made wooden chairs and baskets for sale in central Chorio.

In Greece your garden pots and outdoor furniture come to you by ferry and truck. These pithoi come from Crete and haven't really changed much in design since the Minoan days in Knossos.

Looking across the Pedi valley from central Chorio towards the Vigla, the highest peak on Symi

Looks like the weeds came back after the whitewashing was done.

The random light rain showers through the early part of June have kept the sage bushes on the mountain sides vaguely green for longer than usual. The domed building on the top right edge of upper Chorio in this picture is Agia Trianda, one of the biggest churches in the town.  The upper reaches of Chorio may seem remote and inaccessible now but there was a period, before the Kali Strata was built, when this was the focus of main village and a thriving community.  If you stroll around up there, among the ruins, you will see many buildings that were obviously shops, cafes and other businesses in the 18th century and even earlier.  In those days, the access route was the old donkey path, the Kataraktis, as well as through the terraces of the Pedi valley which, if the Turkish traveller, Peri Reis is to be believed, was an elegant garden of orchards and vineyards ranging down to the sea.

A vegetable garden at the bottom of the Pedi valley.  It is now so hot nothing grows unless it is specifically watered and even then it is a bit of a struggle.  You are looking at tomatoes ripening and assorted bolted greens.  When the temperatures start to rise, so do the lettuces and greens, unfortunately, which is why fresh leafy stuff is strictly seasonal around here.

The view from Charitomeni restaurant at Pithini is one of the best on the island.  It is a great location for yacht watchers and on Friday evenings you can see the Blue Star ferry come in on her way from Kastellorizon and Rhodes to Pireus.

The elegant O'Mega, photographed in Yialos last night, once again from the terrace of Charitomeni restaurant.  It is unusual to see such a large vessel lie alongside but in the absence of evening ferries, why not?

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Greetings From A Quiet Island

That could be you on that water taxi, heading for Agia Marina, St Nicholas, St George, Nanou or Marathounda! The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation at 11.20 this morning.

On Symi it is always worth looking up!

This year the seagulls have been replaced by fish.  Apologies for the loss of sharpness - I cropped this from a larger photo so that you can get some idea of the detail on that mobile.

Looking through a window on the Kali Strata to the opposite side of the harbour.

The figs are plumping out nicely in the ruins.

A line up of motor yachts from Turkey.

Boats clearing in from outside the EU have to dock at the clock tower first to go through customs and immigration before being allowed to berth in Yialos or anchor in Pedi.

Symi is still very quiet considering that we have passed the halfway mark of June, a month that used to be one of the busiest in the year on Symi.  While there is a lot more boating activity in the harbour, mainly due to Ramadan as many Turkish boats come over then, there are still very few visitors actually staying on the island.  There is still plenty of accommodation of all kinds available on the island as those hotels that don't work with package holiday companies have availability and we also have houses, studios and apartments available.

Where I live, up at the top of the Pedi valley, the ambient noise in the evening is the buzz of cicadas and the tinkle of sheep bells rather then the murmur of distant conversations and snatches of music on the air.  There are far fewer people about and many houses are still closed up which is sad.  Houses with their shutters closed and no lights visible on summer nights are an unusual sight.

As I write this, the Salamis Filoxenia has just winkled her way into Symi harbour so at least the Cypriots have not forgotten us!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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June Postcards from Symi

Half past 8 on a Friday morning and you can already see that it is hot out there.

There are more boats in, mostly Turkish-owned as Symi is a popular cruising ground for Turks based in Datca, Bodrum, Marmaris and Bozburun.

Symi's strict architectural code means no awnings on balconies on the Kali Strata. There's no rule against ice cream parasols though as that is temporary shade.  And, of course, the colour goes nicely with the balcony rails.

The Blue Star speeding past the entrance to Pedi, en route to Rhodes, just after 8 this morning.

A bougainvillea on a smallholder's cottage in the Pedi valley provides a bright pop of colour.

There are lots more sailing yachts in Pedi these days.  On the right hand side of the bay you can see the path to St Nicholas beach quite clearly. There is a similar path to Agia Marina on the other side but as that tracks inland it is not so obvious.

The view from my desk at the Symi Visitor Accommodation office on Wednesday.

Looking across Yialos from outside the National Bank of Greece. You can just make out the ruins of the old windmills silhouetted against the skyline.  In the days of the Ottomans, Symiots had farms on the surrounding coastline of Asia Minor and brought their grain harvest over to the central hub, Symi, to grind it into flour.  Now there is a border in between and the last functioning windmill fell into disuse in the 1950s.

The view from one of my favourite 'keyholes' on the Kali Strata.

The ferry office for Blue Star ferries and Dodecanese Seaways. Symi Tours also organises tours and bus trips and is also the local agent for booking flights.

I have always loved the shopfront at Merakles taverna in Yialos.  

A modern Greek tragedy at the bottom of the Kali Strata.

An eruption of Plumbago. The locals call it Blue Jasmine but unlike its namesake it has no fragrance.  

A quiet snooze spot in Chorio.

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Colour Coordinated Cats

Spotted on the Kali Strata earlier this week.  Note the mouse hole in the top right drawer.

The vines grow lush and green at this time of the year and the leaves are still tender and fresh for dolmades.

A colour coordinated cat.

The bottom of the Kali Strata with some more elegant cats.

It was just one of those mornings where everywhere I looked there seemed to be colour coordinated cats.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation balcony on Wednesday morning - a returning fishing boat.

Sorting out a fouled anchor in Yialos.

The Symi Visitor Accommodation office with the Sunflower laundry below.  The Sunflower is the only laundry on Symi.  It is open 6 days a week and also provides a yacht service by arrangement so if you need to do something about those salt-encrusted towels, pop in and see us!  The famous Symi Visitor webcam is mounted on the balcony railing. That is Pachos, the traditional Greek kafeneion (coffee shop) to the left of the photo.  I took this very early in the morning so the boutiques on the other side were still closed.  Many of the shops in the harbour only open in time for the excursion boats which come in later in the morning.

Looking across the bridge in Yialos to the National Bank of Greece. The ATM is inside the vestibule.  The Alpha bank is further along the waterfront, about half way to the clock tower, and also has an ATM tucked away inside so as not to violate the island's strict architectural code.

Eating out on Symi doesn't have to be expensive.  The island has dining options to suit all budgets, from the humble gyros to posh seafood platters and gourmet Greek cuisine.  

Friday morning's view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office.

It is hot and humid on Symi at the moment. We had some very light passing showers yesterday - the sort where you think 'Oh! It's raining!' and dash outside to bring everything in only for it to stop as soon as it has started, leaving a few splat marks in the dust.  Day time temperatures are around 30 degrees centigrade, dropping to around 22 degrees at night.  The humidity is very high at the moment so it feels much hotter.  The water taxis to the beaches are busy as anyone staying on the island who doesn't have work to do heads for a cooling day by the sea.

The island remains very quiet for the time of year.  After the day-trippers return to Rhodes in the afternoon Symi seems very empty in the evenings.  A rare cruise ship anchored off Nimborio yesterday and brought guests ashore in small boats in the late afternoon to explore the town. Apart from a few Greek and Turkish registered yachts and motorboats, the harbour is very quiet overnight, as is Pedi.

The Symi bus has now started its summer schedule so there is now a 3 o'clock bus up from the harbour and an 11.30 bus from Pedi in the evenings.  In the busiest weeks of August the last bus from Pedi is after midnight but that is still many weeks away.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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