Good bye September! Hello October!

Celestyal Cruises called into Symi on Wednesday afternoon.  With the current uncertainty regarding Turkey and Egypt as cruise ship destinations, Greece in general and Symi in particular are seeing a lot more cruise ships.  They only stay a few hours and it is good publicity for Symi.

Salamis Filoxenia from Cyprus is another cruise ship that is a frequent visitor to Symi.  In this case, however, the passengers are not in pursuit of hedonistic pleasures  and all inclusive banquets but are predominantly Greek Orthodox Cypriots visiting the main religious sites in the Dodecanese.   As Symi is home to 3 well known monasteries dedicated to St Michael, the chief of which is Panormitis,  Symi is a place of pilgrimage.  

The  colourful scene from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office balcony on Thursday morning.  As you can see, the fishing caiques are moving back into the head of the harbour now that the summer excursion boats are heading for the boat yards.

Just in case you hadn't noticed them in the previous photo, I zoomed in on the pigeons to bring them to your attention.  I don't know who is feeding them but this is a new phenomenon  Perhaps the pigeons have taken over from the lonesome duck of previous years. They certainly look fat enough.

Smiling down serenely from a pediment on the Kali Strata.

There is no way of escaping steps on Symi. This is idiosyncratic collection of random flights connects Villa Papanikola, just visible with the cream paintwork and dark blue shutters, with the mid section of the Kali Strata. The piecemeal nature of such routes is because each property owner built his own access steps when he built his house.

This flourishing fig tree must have its roots in the cistern of this ruined mansion on the Kali Strata. As Symi has no rivers, lakes or streams to provide a water supply, every house has a cistern.  Originally used to harvest rainwater from the roof in the winter, these days most houses get top ups from the municipality with varying degrees of frequency during the summer.  There are very few places where there is a continuous water supply and most neighbourhoods only receive water for a few hours a week.  Cisterns, pumps and water shortages are a fact of life here

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The Last May Postcards from Symi

Greek sponges, pumice stones from Nissyros, handmade leather goods - these are all to be found along the waterfront in Yialos, Symi's harbour.

At the back of the square in Yialos, beyond the cafes, pizzeria, bakery and gyros bar, you will find some boutiques, an agronomist/plant shop and the nautical museum with an antique and bric-a-brac shop below. The building on the right is the Symi town hall.  The ground floor offices house the water department and also KEP, the Citizens' Advice Bureau, which handles much of the day to day bureaucracy involved in living in Greece these days.

The nautical museum. This is now open after an extensive refurbishment.  Historically, this building is interesting in that it was the first house on the island to have electricity and had its own private generator.

Wherever you go in the harbour, there are interesting shops and cafes.  You won't find any chain store outlets here.  Each place is unique and the majority are family-run.

There are so many delightful and unexpected little details in Symi's architecture, it is worth paying attention when you walk about.  How many of you have spotted this face in the harbour?

Yialos is much busier now.  There are many more yachts in the harbour now as it is the start of the sailing season.

Reflections from one of my favourite peep holes on the Kali Strata.

After a very wet winter the creepers and vines are really enthusiastic.  Whoever owns this house on the Kali Strata is going to have to hack through a jungle to reach the upstairs windows.

Just visible on the right hand side of the picture is the Poseidon departing for the Agios Emilianos day trip on Tuesday.

The Blue Star Diagoras departing for Piraeus on Wednesday afternoon.  This is the early option for Wednesday arrivals in Rhodes as it leaves Akandia at 15.00 and arrives in Symi at 16.30 - much better than hanging about until 19.00 for the Panagia Skiadeni. 

Cylestial Cruises coming in, hot in the wak of the departing Blue Star on Wednesday afternoon.

These big boats manage to dock in Yialos without the assistance of tug boats - just good seamanship, bow thrusters and reliable mooring men on the quay. 

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