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?