Symi - An Authentic Greek Island Experience

The glamour yachts are back.  We don't see as many huge megayachts as we used to but there is evidently still  money around, judging by this line up earlier in the week

A cat-nap

It is not all gin palaces and 'stink boats'.  We do see occasional sailing yachts like this one in Yialos.

Yes, this is Symi.  If you go up the mountain you enter a different world.  One of ancient forests, orchards and olive groves, mountain chapels and tumble-down terraces.

Cats and chickens living in peaceful co-existence on a corner in Lieni, an area on the top edge of the Pedi valley.

The voluptuously extravagant flowers of the wild caper bushes are a well-kept secret, only visible to early risers.  The tiny buds form in the evening, swelling over night and bursting into bloom at dawn, only to shrivel away in the morning heat.  The Greeks use almost every part of the caper plant, pickling and brining not just the immature flower buds but also the tender leaf tips and the seed pods.

A Symi scarecrow.

Blue and white.  The colonnade is part of Giorgio and Maria's taverna, a Symi landmark since the 1970s and still going strong, although the eponymous Giorgio and his wife have long since departed this earth.

The last gasp of the Kali Strata steps. The Olive Tree cafe is screened by the verdant garden on the left. Giorgio's taverna is the blue sign at the top centre.  There is a very charming small boutique selling artisanal sandals and other items immediately opposite the taverna entrance.  A bit higher up you will find the Rainbow bar and Boulmas/Lefteris Kafeneion, a butcher, a baker and various other shops.

The  blue studios at the Hotel Fiona in Chorio.

The traditional herb shop, just down from the Olive Tree at the top of the Kali Strata. They also sell Greek coffee and other ethnic delicacies.

Free range on the Kali Strata. There is no real division between town and country on Symi and many Symiots keep a small flock of hens and a rooster to supply the family with eggs and the occasional bird for the pot.

The lanes of Yialos abound with shops and boutiques to suit every budget and taste.  Symi has quite a reputation for its excellent shopping opportunities in the summer and you will find far better and more interesting items for sale here than in Rhodes Old Town.

Symi's new fresh fish shop, next to the Georgina's Market in Yialos.

Day visitors from Rhodes enjoying a seafood lunch at one of the traditional tavernas in Yialos.

Not all of the lanes are busy and bustling. Some of them are peaceful oases.

Symi is getting busier as July progresses.  Hot sunny days by the sea merge into warm summer evenings in the bars and tavernas.  Visitors grow browner by the day.  Most of Symi's beaches can only be reached by water taxis operating out of Yialos and Pedi.  Others can be reached on foot in Nimborio and Pedi and there is also a mini-bus service several times a week to take people across the island to Toli Bay for the day or down to Marathounda, the tiny seaside village near Panormitis.  On Symi you can go to a different beach or bay everyday, or find your favourite and visit it time after time. The choice is yours.

Symi is very popular with single travelers.  An advantage of staying on an island where visitors stay among the locals is that everyone quickly knows everyone else.  The locals eat at the same tavernas as the tourists, visitors travel on the same bus as the locals and shop in the same shops.  First names are quickly exchanged and no one remains a stranger for long. This is why people keep coming back, year after year, visiting friends and making new ones.  Symi is a totally authentic and unique Greek island experience.

There is still quite a lot of accommodation available on the island for this summer if you have flexibility with your dates.  Have a look at our travel blog to see what flight options connect with the ferries to Symi and drop us an email.

Have a good week!

Regards,
Adriana

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April Postcards from Symi

The spring flowers are setting seed and will soon be over for another year.  Only about a fortnight more of sneezing and then my hay fever should be over too!

The end of an era - Syllogos restaurant is now closed and the premises are to let.  Luckily Giorgio and Maria's taverna, next door, is still doing well and you can also stroll further up to Zoe's taverna for more traditional home-style Greek cooking.

The two traditional cafe bars at the top of the Kali Strata, just off the village square, are a popular meeting place in the evenings.  Easy to find and centrally located, they are a good stopping off point on the way home from a day on the beach or for enjoying pre-dinner drinks with friends before a meal at Giorgio's next door.This is also the  new venue for the Symi Gallery Sunday cinema club.  Look out for posts advertising what is on each week.

The narrow lanes of Chorio offer picturesque glimpses of village life.

You might think that building a house out of stone on Symi would be cheap, considering that the island has this resource in abundance. The thing to remember is that stone is very labour intensive.  Here two stone masons sit, in the shade of the trees in Lieni, chipping stones and rocks into appropriate shapes for building walls.

A spot of free grazing.

The vibrant reds and yellows of the poppies and daisies are giving way to the pale pink of bindweed and tiny wild chamomile.

Symi parking.  The horse was actually tethered to the boat trailer, waiting patiently for his master to come back.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office at midday today.  Still not much yachting activity but the only day trip boat from Rhodes still missing is the Symi Sea Dreams.

There are even a few day-trippers around including a lot of young families on package holidays to Rhodes.

Symi colours

April is drawing to a close and the temperatures continue to rise.  The island is all-set for a sunny bank holiday long weekend and the 10 day forecast mentions neither rain nor clouds so this is probably it!  Monday, 1 May, is traditionally celebrated in Greece by gathering wild flowers (whatever is left!) to make wreathes and garlands with which to decorate front doors.  I hope to share some of these with you in my blog on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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The Long and Winding Road - Sevasti and Wookie

Since Olympic Holidays took on Sevasti Studios in upper Chorio this year we have had many people pass through our Symi Visitor Accommodation office, wondering where this accommodation is. The easy answer is that it is next door to one of our own rental properties, Villa Wookie, but that does not help new comers very much.  While both are relatively easy to find when coming off the bus at the Lavinia stop at the top of Lieni, wandering home through the lanes after dinner in Chorio is more of a challenge.  The trick is to follow the signs to the museum, a route which is very well sign posted.

Keep going - the museum is the building on the left.  This is the last really steep bit. I love the little whirly toy in the plant pot on the terrace to the right.

The museum, closed for renovation this year.  You need to go up the steps and then turn left.

This rather striking red house opposite the museum is a good landmark to look out for.  If you carry on along the front of it that lane leads eventually to Stavros Church, the Kataraktis and all sorts of other interesting parts of old Chorio.  It will not, however, get you home to Villa Wookie or Sevasti Studios.

If you are staying in the Stone House, a new listing with Symi Visitor Accommodation, this is the little lane you need to look out for, about 20 metres along the lane from the museum.  The Stone House is the one on the right, behind the house with the umbrella.

If you are doing the route in reverse, the lane on the right leads to the museum.

When you are confronted by this rather uninspiring wall with a window, turn right and you will see...

The lane to your destination.  That is Sevasti Studios in the middle distance.

A little way up the ramp to the right in the photograph is the entrance to Sevasti Studios.  If you carry on straight ahead you will be at the Lavinia Studios bus stop.

Sevasti Studios. The lane up to the right in the picture is the access to Villa Wookie.

Of course, once you have explored the area there are various other routes through the lanes from Giorgio's taverna to the welcome bed and I won't say that this is the quickest, but it is the most straightforward for newcomers as as long as you can find the museum home is not far away.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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