Official Opening - Symi Festival - 'The 13th'

Symi regulars may remember a Kickstarter project a few years ago to raise funds to shoot a horror film on Symi called 'The Judas Curse', screenplay written by local writer in residence, James Collins. The film was shot on location on Symi with a combination of international actors and locals.

Now entitled 'The 13th', the film has already premiered at a Greek film festival in London earlier this year as well as at film festivals in Athens and Cyprus where it was well received.

The film is being shown on Symi on Monday 24 July at 9 p.m. at the undercover sports facility in Chorio - the big red building behind the Taxiarchis hotel in Chorio.  Admittance is free and everyone is welcome - unless they are very squeamish in which case, wait over at the Secret Garden and enjoy some live music instead.  Billed as an old-school horror film this could become the next best thing to the 'Blair Witch Project' so don't miss it!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

PS Symi felt the earthquakes off Bodrum and Kos but by all accounts the only damage reported locally was pictures falling off walls, broken jam jars in the supermarket and some broken wine bottles.  There were no reported injuries on Symi.

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A Typical August Morning on Symi

A cruise ship nosing her way into Yialos early one morning this week.

A typical August morning in Yialos, Symi  - yachts milling about while visitors queue up to board the water taxis in front of the Symi Visitor Accommodation office.

One of the many opulent toys to be seen on the Symi waterfront in August.

The kastro and acropolis of Symi with Lemonitissa church, as seen from the far side of the harbour.  The Symi Visitor Accommodation office is next to Pachos, the traditional cafeneion (coffee shop) in the yellow building on the far right of the photograph.

Lemonitissa Church, perched on the cliff above Yialos.  The Lemonitissa studio and apartment are among the trees to the right of the church.

Pedi Bay is still full of yachts anchoring overnight.

Shadows on a wall in Lieni, Chorio. The golden light of September is already creeping in.

Olives, prickly pears and citrus trees in an old garden near Kampos in Chorio.

Symi cats are fearless climbers.

Tinsel from an August party, tangled in a roadside weed near the Windmill restaurant in Chorio. It is months since we last had rain and the only plants surviving are those that receive incidental water from air conditioning pipes, washing machine outflows and the occasional scrubbing down of front steps.

A drift of  dry bougainvillea petals, swept into a pile by the wind.

Although there are still plenty of people still about, Symi is definitely quietening down and there were lots of people bumping their wheelie cases down the Kali Strata this morning.  This does not mean that the cultural life of the island has come to a standstill, however.  High season on Symi runs until the end of September. This weekend there is the opening of a new exhibition at the Symi Gallery on the Kali Strata and also the annual party at the monastery on the little island of Nimos.  The water taxis provide a shuttle service to take people over for the celebrations and once again the music and dancing continue until the small hours.  With many of the locals working in shops and so on until 10 p.m. or later at this time of the year, they can only get off work to join in these festivities very late at night.  The exhibition of Ged Horton's photographs at the Symi Dream Gallery higher up the Kali Strata is on-going.

A new exhibition is opening at the Symi Gallery on the Kali Strata this evening.  Stimulating conversation, thought provoking art and Greek wine - from 7 p.m. this evening.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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See You Next Year!

On my way to work this morning I spotted this sign on the door of the clinic in Chorio, announcing that various medical specialists would be in attendance at the clinic tomorrow, Tuesday 26 November.  These peripatetic medical services are very important in the islands, particularly now that we no longer have the medical hydrofoil and the winter ferry service is so infrequent that it is very difficult for islanders to go to Rhodes for the day to see medical specialists.



Moss and weeds growing in the whitewash on the Kali Strata steps.

Symi is a curious mix of ruins and rebuilds, hi-tech and no-tech.  The pale yellow buildings with new red roofs are the Gymnasium, the academic high school. 



Symi has effectively closed for the winter. Only businesses that are essential to the local community are open now and those who worked long hours through the hot summer months are having a well-earned rest before embarking upon whatever work the winter has to offer.

Lean days ahead for taverna cats now that everyone has closed for the winter.  Time to hang about the fishing boats instead!

The view from my office balcony today.  It is another wild and blustery day with heavy rain forecast. 

This will be my last blog until February as I am off to South Africa this week on my annual visit to my family there.  In the meantime you can keep up with what is happening on Symi through our webcam and James Collins' daily diary on Symi Dream.  I know that I will certainly be keeping an eye on Symi that way!  You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Thanks to the wonders of modern technology we are also able to answer your enquiries wherever we are so please do continue to email us.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas with your loved ones wherever you may be and I shall see you all again on Symi in the New Year.

Regards,
Adriana

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It's All Happening on Symi

The peaceful pebbled yard of St John's church in Yialos.



Pedi bay is virtually empty these days now that the main holidays are over.



The only other pedestrian I saw on the Kali Strata this morning was a solitary calico cat.



Most of the neo-classical houses lining the amphitheatre harbour have balconies or terraces with views of Yialos. The television aerial on this one is an unusual touch as these days there are so few terrestrial channels available that most people have satellite dishes.



When the Stani ice cream man arrived on Symi a few years ago there was something of an aesthetic outcry but nowadays he is accepted as another quirky part of the Symi landscape.



There is a new photographic exhibition opening this evening at the Symi Dream Gallery from 5 p.m. onwards.  Everyone is welcome.  Please join us for a glass of wine.
Poster by Jordan Blakesley - Symi Art.  Based on a photograph by Ged Horton.

It's all happening on Symi at the moment.  Apart from the opening of the Travels with my Camera, an exhibition of photography by Ged Horton, the nail biting is over as the necessary funds have been raised through Kickstarter for the filming of The Judas Curse, a horror film to be shot in the back alleys and ruins of upper Chorio in October.  The screenplay is by local resident writer James Collins.  It is hoped that this film with its well known cast will bring the island some much needed publicity and revenue in these difficult times and also open up new opportunities for employment for the island's young people as it is intended that this will be the first film of many.  Many thanks to all of you who have contributed to this project.

Dodecanese Seaways have now put up their ferry schedule to 27 October which effectively takes us to the end of the season.  Sometimes I really do wonder where the months have gone!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi is as Beautiful as Ever

Deserted at 8 a.m, on a Monday evening these steps are thronged with people attending the Symi Dream Gallery wine night.   This is the upper section of the Kali Strata, the 'home run' as it were.  When one gets this far on the climb up from the town one knows that cool refreshments under shady vines are not far away.

Yialos and Harani as seen from Pitini.  The church on the hill to the right is Evangelismos, the church of the Annunciation.  On the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March and again for the Dormition on 15 August the access to this church is lined with burning braziers.

I wonder what stories this little cottage in Pitini could tell.  All the houses round and about have been rebuilt and restored over the years but this tiny cottage remains untouched.

Harani from a slightly different angle.  The Nireus Hotel, Sofia's House, Sofia's apartment, the Marika Hotel, the Aliki Hotel and Vaporetto restaurant and Despina's apartment are all along the left hand shore.  Villa Nicola, Villa Karnayo, the Kostas Kleanthi studios and various small cafes are along the facing shore, culminating in NOS beach at the start to the road to Nimborio.

Yialos, Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour.
The houses are ranged in tiers up the cliffs and hills that frame the harbour and in this part of Symi it is very difficult to avoid steep steps and still have a view.  The view is, however, always worth the climb.

The police station and the Nireus hotel dwarfed by the masts of big Turkish gulets moored by the clock tower.  The area to the right is Harani. The area to the left is Yialos proper but that particular stretch of the water front is also known as the Mouragio.

As you can see, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and Symi is as beautiful as ever.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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The Joys of Spring - My Walk to Work

The wild hollyhocks are in flower.  The recent strong winds have knocked their spires into various crazy angles but they are still delightful.  My little Olympus camera does not really do the color justice - a voluptuous satiny pink.

A defiant clump of poppies, hanging on despite the rising temperatures. With midday peaks around 30 degrees the flowers don't last very long.

Looking across to the windmills from Lieni, Symi is still predominantly green.  The dust of summer has yet to settle on all those shiny new leaves.

Clumps of daisies, plumes of grass. 

Symi is famous for its beautiful neo-classical architecture. While the houses seem quite uniform at first, close attention reveals all sorts of little details, like this carefully cut stone work above a doorway on the Kali Strata.

Or this eye on a pediment, also on the Kali Strata.  In this part of the world, houses and boats are often marked with eyes to protect them from evil.

The fascinating staircase leading to the current home of the peripatetic Symi Gallery.  Gallery events are advertised on their Facebook page and you can see more work by Ian Haycox on his website.

Two beautifully restored mansions on the Kali Strata.  Symi is so steep that very few properties have gardens and those that there are are usually full of useful things like lemons and oranges, as is the case with these two.

It is such a bright and cheerful time of the year here on Symi.  The sun is shining, there are people about, everything is growing and looks fresh and perky - only the most determined pessimist could be gloomy in such circumstances.  That said, this was the quietest election I have ever experienced on Symi.  Usually Pasok heartland, there was no reason for dynamite and victory toots last night.  Coming in third was a definite shock to moral and there was a lot of discussion going on in the cafeneions and lanes this morning.  New Democracy, who won by a very slender majority, have 3 days in which to create a coalition government.  If they fail, there will be another election.  For tourists this will have little impact, except that those coming to Greece from outside the Eurozone may well benefit from the fact that the value of the euro has dropped slightly on the results of both the French and the Greek elections.

Tomorrow is VE Day, a local public holiday.  If you are on Symi, come down to the harbour and enjoy the annual parade.  If you aren't on Symi, photographs of the parade will be on the Symi Dream site as they will be covering the parade as usual.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

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