Everyone is Welcome

The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation today - two water taxis are out, the other two showing signs of being wrapped up for the winter.  There are plenty of Symi's regular visitors and property owners around still but as the beaches are in shadow from quite early in the day, people don't spend as much time on the beach.

As the number of yachts diminishes, the fishing boats become more obvious.

The head of the harbour at 11 this morning.  Very quiet apart from the murmur of conversation from the various cafes.

Fishing nets in Yialos. Surprisingly there were no cats about.

The palm trees along the front have trusses of dates.  They were only planted a few years back and always have a slightly desperate air, particularly when being blasted by the salt spray of winter gales but are hanging on somehow.

The pebble mosaic of St John's church in Yialos.

The blue windows and steps at the far end are part of the Petridion, the junior school in Yialos.

Fanciful botanicals and geometric shapes.

A grapevine outside the old forge at the back of Yialos.

Looking down at Harani and Mouragio from the Kali Strata this morning, the sea looks very empty these days.  The little hire boats have gone from the clock tower, packed away until next summer.

Looking up towards the Old Markets from the bottom of the Kali Strata.  The only part of the hotel that you can see in this picture is the arched doorway which leads to what would have been the covered souk.  The rest of the hotel is hidden by the tall narrow ochre building in the centre of the pictue.

The wet bikes from NOS Paradise beach have also retreated up the mountain for the winter.

The yummy mummies and their chicks are doing well. The secret to survival if you live a free range feral life evidently lies in being well camouflaged against the landscape.

The plumbago is going mad at the moment, heavy with endless trusses of vivid blue trusses.

There are lots of familiar faces on Symi at the moment - regular visitors who always come for Symi's mild autumn sunshine, property owners coming for a late season holiday and to close up their houses for the winter, walking groups, photographers and writers and people who enjoy a valid excuse to opt out of the rat-race and do nothing much in particular for a couple of weeks.  Cafes and the beach fill the days quite nicely and the evenings are spent in the bars and tavernas, catching up with old friends and making new ones.  It is still mild enough to sit outside in the evenings although one might want a shawl or long sleeves after sunset.  The long range weather forecast still won't commit to when the next rain might fall and the heavy rain and thundershowers that have been affecting other parts of the Mediterranean are passing either to the north or the south of us. Temperatures are still in the twenties.

This evening there is a fund-raising event for Solidarity Symi at Agia Marina which promises to be a magical evening. Imagine spending an evening under the stars at a pretty beach taverna and coming home by water taxi late at night, phosphoresence lighting up the boat's wake. Tickets are 50 euros per person, including the water taxi, dinner and wine, and there will be an auction.

On Friday evening there is a thank you party at Apostoli's taverna in Pedi for all the volunteers as well as the hard-working police and port police.  This will be 10 euros per person and everyone is welcome.  We will be putting up more details on our Facebook pages tomorrow.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana