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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Everyday Life on Symi in August

The obligatory early morning view of Pedi bay.  We have had some wind which has helped to clear the haze and extend our horizons. Those hills in the distance are Turkey.

The delicate colours of Symi in late summer.  The hill with the houses is the Milos area of Chorio, so called for the row of 17th century windmills along the crest.  Yialos is just on the other side.  The hill on the left background is Nimborio, the one on the right is the island of Nimos and the one in the far distance is Turkey once again.  Symi is actually surrounded by Turkey on three sides and in the days of the Ottoman Empire, Symi was a major hub for the region. Those windmills were built to mill grain that was grown in  Greek-owned farms across the straits around Datca, Bosburun and Fethiye in what is now modern-day Turkey.

Prickly pears ripening in Chorio.

Picking prickly pears is a delicate business.

Roses in Chorio.  The flowers get smaller in the summer, stressed by the heat, and open very quickly.

Expect the unexpected on Symi.  I passed this enigmatic sign on my way to work this morning but did not have time to take a detour to investigate.

Yachts lying off Harani, seen from the Kali Strata.  That is Nimos in the background.

A typical scene from the balcony of Symi Visitor Accommodation where I work in the mornings during the week.

The nautical museum at the back of the town square in Yialos.  The folk and local history museum up in Chorio has been closed for some years as it is undergoing extensive renovation/restoration.  It is still not clear quite when it will reopen.

Crates of freshly baked bread at one of the bakeries in the harbour.  The early deliveries are the staple white loaves used by the locals and the tavernas.  The fancier breads arrive later and you can get all sorts of interesting types of grains including stone milled and multi-grain.  In a waste-not, want-not society, unsold bread is dried out in the ovens and turned into rusks.

While visitors are sleeping off the night before, the locals are up and about and doing their shopping when I come down to the harbour before 8 in the morning.

Whoever owns this one is fully co-ordinated - even the crew and the dog were charcoal grey and black!

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August Panagia Holiday 2015

Some of the motor yachts at this time of the year are the size of small ferries.

I wonder what the refugees waiting in line on the verandah of the police station (the white Italian villa on the corner) think of it all.  From war zone to refugee camp to long overland journey on foot and in trucks, then the dangerous journey across in an overloaded inflatable boat - it must all seem somewhat surreal to then be confronted by the obvious affluence of the megayachts visiting Symi in the summer. 

This big blue yacht has been in Symi all week.

Thursday afternoon, looking down from the area of Charitomeni restaurant.

Early morning and there's that blue yacht again. The sun is just catching the monastery on Nimos, an island separated from Symi by a very narrow and shallow channel of water.  Nimos is a barren place populated by flocks of goats.

The Panagia Skiadeni, our current daily connection between Symi and Rhodes.  Look at those bougainvilleas among the houses behind.

Excursion boats, fishing boats, yacht tenders, yachts both sail and power - Yialos is a busy place in August.

The Symi branch of the National Bank of Greece (Ethniki).  The ATM is just inside the entrance and we once again remind visitors that it is only Greek account holders who are restricted to 60 euros per day (420 euros per week).  Visitors and foreign account holders can make withdrawals up to their usual daily limits.

Steps in Chorio.  Look at how the ochre ones change direction.

A touch of the exotic - lantana on the Kali Strata

The first fortnight of August is traditionally the busiest period in tourism in Greek. This year is rather quieter than usual as so few Greeks are able to take their summer family holidays but Symi is still bustling.  When I come down the Kali Strata in the mornings, visitors from yachts are toiling up, cameras in hand, to look at the mansions and examine the architecture for which Symi is famous.  When I reach the bottom, the grocers, supermarkets and bakeries are full of liveried yacht crews, picking up fresh bread and other provisions for breakfast on board.  Most food-related outlets open at 7 or thereabouts at this time of the year to catch the lucrative yachting trade.

The evenings are not as busy as they usually are for this time of the year and the tavernas and bars are quieter than usual, with fewer customers.  There was traditional dancing in the town square in Yialos last night and there is a recital at the clock tower tonight.  There will be the usual late night festivities at the Alethini on the Pedi road to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin.  Various posters are up around the town, advertising the different events.

We have been getting a lot of last minute enquiries for late August, September and October bookings so not everyone has been deterred by the hyperbole in the media regarding the situation in Kos and various other related Greek dramas. Please remember, sensationalism sells papers and draws television viewers.  No one is going around interviewing happy holiday makers lying on the beach at Nanou or eating an elegant lunch at Agia Marina because that isn't exciting or dramatic and doesn't reinforce preconceived agendas.  Please feel free to email us if you have any questions about what life is really like on Symi right now.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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October Postcards from Symi

The Mouragia - Yialos

Luxury charter yacht, Ginger, in Yialos on Wednesday.  The fashionable August set may be long gone but there are still a few rich men's toys to be seen.

The tourist shops along the front are still open for as long as the day trip boats from Rhodes continue to come.

There are quite a few cruising yachts and flotilla fleets around now as sailing conditions are good in late September and October.  Unlike the megayachts and gulets of high season which arrive with fully stocked pantries and professional chefs, these boats provide some much needed trade for the waterfront tavernas and cafes before they close for the winter as they are more likely to eat ashore.

Good quality sponges make great gifts - they weigh next to nothing in your luggage and will neither break nor leak!

Looking towards the head of the harbour where the Symi Visitor Accommodation office is located, above the Sunflower laundry. That is Lemonitissa church on the cliffs to the left. The mountain in the background is the Vigla.

Gypsy basket sellers by the bridge with a couple of priests chatting in the background.

The local tinsmith is another good source of souvenirs to take back, particularly if you want to spoil yourself.  You can watch him make lanterns and other household implements using the same tools that he inherited from his grandfather who was the tinsmith before him.  His shop is at the back of the harbour, not far from our office.

Sunrise over Pedi earlier this week.

A tamarisk tree in flower.

The Blue Star Diagoras swinging into Yialos at 7.45 this morning.  With the Panagia Skiadeni out of circulation the twice weekly car ferry is crucial to bringing supplies onto the island and providing vehicle transport.

It is nearly a fortnight since we had that wet weekend and the island is turning green.  The start of the rainy season is like a second spring as the weather is still warm and temperatures are optimal for germination.  Daytime temperatures are around 26 degrees centigrade, dropping to about 18 degrees at night.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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Dancing till Dawn.

The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation on Friday.

The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation early on Monday morning.  The yachts are getting bigger as summer approaches.

Looking towards Pitini and Milos from the clock tower in Yialos.  The scar of the motor road connecting Yialos and Chorio is just visible near the top of the hill, below the windmills.

 Symi town hall, overlooking the Symi town square. The mayor's office opens onto the balcony with the flag, just visible through the tree.  The hill behind is called Mavrovouni - black mountain.

Ropes of garlic, plastic buckets and clay pots - if you wait long enough, sooner or later whatever it is you need will appear on a truck.

Heading down to Yialos to vote.  

A lovingly tended garden on the Kali Strata.

The bottom of the Kali Strata, looking up at the entrance to the Old Markets Hotel.

Walking down to work early this morning, Symi was very quiet indeed. The only person I passed was a German tourist from a charter yacht, wielding a large and impressive camera.  Those who had been up celebrating and dancing till dawn had just retired and the losers were probably planning their next campaign. Popular mayor, Lefteris Papakalodoukas, has been voted in for a fourth term in office with his New Horizons party.  He won by a fairly generous margin, bearing in mind that elections here are to some extent dominated by family affiliations.  We look forward to the successful completion of the various projects that are in the pipeline and the commencement of assorted new ones, EU funding permitting of course.  Our congratulations go to him and his council team.

It is a vaguely hazy day today with high cloud that is unlikely to turn into anything.  Temperatures are comfortably in the mid twenties but it is still quite cool in the evening.

Any of you on the island who are reading this, the Dodecanese Seaways Dodekanissos Express is leaving at 6 a.m. this Wednesday, considerably earlier than usual.  This does seem to be a one off change to the schedule but if you have a flight on Wednesday morning, you don't want to miss this as the Blue Star may well be too late.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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