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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Some August Postcards from Symi

A patch of blue on the Kali Strata.

Bright petunias in Chorio.

A welcome sight - the water ship at the clock tower this morning.   Symi is a famously dry island with no natural water reserves so it is dependent on the water ship. This is one of the reasons why we don't have swimming pools! The other is that the island is a heritage site and the architecture is protected so even if there was enough water and sufficient flat land to build pools, the archaeologia who protect Symi's architecture, would not permit it.

A few clouds above the Kastro and Lemonitissa church early this morning.

More clouds on the horizon.

The discreet entrance to the Old Markets boutique hotel near the bottom of the Kali Strata.

The view from our office at 9 this morning.

The big ketch had a few anchor problems...

... which took the best part of an hour and three dinghies to resolve.

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Peace and Tranquility

Cloud Nine, a luxury mega yacht, dwarfed by the incoming Blue Star Diagoras this morning.

The peace and tranquility of Pedi Bay in the early morning.

Central Chorio including the Little Blue House, the Taxiarchis Hotel, the Sunrise Cafe and various other well-known holiday landmarks.

The Windmill restaurant in Chorio is now open for the summer season.

Wild thyme growing amongst the rocks along the road connecting Yialos with Chorio.

There are butterflies everywhere at the moment.

Over-nighting gulets departing from Yialos in the early morning.

The Mouragio and Harani areas of Symi harbour, showing the clock tower, police station, Nireus Hotel, Sofia's House, Merchant House, Aliki Hotel and Tsati bar.

The little tug boat that serves the floating crane, bustling back into town for supplies.

A water ship paid us a visit this week. As Symi has no natural water all water either comes from the small desalination plant on the Pedi road or is brought in by ship.  This is one of the reasons why Symi is famous for NOT having swimming pools, water theme parks, golf courses and other water hungry tourist attractions.  

Cloud Nine docking yesterday afternoon with a yacht passing under full sail in the background.

Symi is buzzing in summer season mode.  Every time I look out of the window there seems to be something new going on.  Megayachts, water ships, tug boats and ferries jockey for space with gulets and more humble sailing vessels, day trip boats, water taxis and excursion boats.  The temperature continues to rise relentlessly into the thirties and even at midnight it is around 20 degrees centigrade.

A major piece of news is that the clinic in Chorio is now closed.  Apparently Euromedica, a private hospital in Rhodes, is going to be opening up in the Chorio premises, providing an economical alternative to having to take a day off work and go to Rhodes on the ferry every time one needs to see a specialist.  Dr Xambikos Zanthos will be permanently based at the clinic in Yialos, next to St John's church, instead of dividing his time morning and evening between the two premises.

Have a lovely weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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One View, Two Different Mornings

One view, two different mornings.  Every day brings its own surprises and this weekend we were also visited by Eclipse, currently the world's largest superyacht which anchored off Nimborio.  I didn't get a picture of it myself but you can see more about it on this link.  The rocky hillside in the background of the photo of the Eclipse is typical Symi shoreline.

 

 

 

 

Someone has made an early start from Yialos and is already under sail.  Another boat is chugging out of the sleepy anchorage in Pedi Bay.  It is hard to do justice to the delicate colours and light on the water with my little Nikon.
 



Jasmine is in full bloom in gardens all round the island and in the evenings one can also smell the heady fragrance of night-scented jessamine, known as nichtalouloudia by the Greeks.

Although the season is drawing to a close and the ferry timetables are barely providing a service from this week on, this is one of the busiest Octobers we have had in many a year and there are still plenty of people about.  Filming has already started on the Judas Curse up in Chorio and Kurtis Stacey, the British actor who plays the protagonist, Chris, is arriving on the Panagia Skiadeni at 13.05 today - not because he particularly wanted to take the slow boat via Panormitis but because there was no alternative.  If you are on Symi in the next week or so you may bump into all sorts of strange things in the more abandoned corners of upper Chorio as shooting a horror film involves weird props and even weirder lighting.

Thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow and Thursday so the Judas Curse may well resort to the cliché 'It was a dark and stormy night...'

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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