Cats, Balconies and Summertime Musings

Symi remains exceptionally quiet for August and as you can see from this photograph taken early on Thursday morning there are very few yachts in Harani and the out anchorage.  Regular visitors to Symi and this blog will remember views packed with yachts of all sizes, types and nationalities at this time of the year.

There's a flotilla visiting Yialos which adds a bit of welcome colour and glamour.  The maroon and cream ketch in the foreground never goes anywhere.  It was impounded a couple of years ago after the German owners were caught people trafficking. They might have got away with it if they hadn't been overheard bragging about their exploits in a taverna. The moral of the story is never assume that just because you don't understand the language of the country you are visiting does not mean that they don't understand yours!

Bunting at the Vapori bar in Yialos.  If you haven't been to Symi before and are looking for the Kali Strata, look out for the bunting and you will find the start of the steps nearby.

A balcony with a view.  Presumably from those two chairs they can see the harbour just off to the left, above the blue and ochre pediment on the bottom left of the photograph. The entrance courtyard to St John's church, Symi's cathedral, in itself creates a pleasant open space to view from above.

This balcony is at the bend in the Kali Strata, just above the point where I stopped to take the photograph of the yachts, or lack of them, lying off Harani.

Symi Festival posters from the Symi Women's Association.  I like the scrapbook style but haven't found out yet who is responsible for these cheerful and effective designs. The red building is one of the two butchers in Yialos and this one is just around the corner from the bunting photograph above.

The carpenter's cat, taking a nap waiting for the pet shop to open.  Yes, that door is a pet shop that sells pet requisites as well as fish.  Symi has definitely moved on from the days when one could only buy pet food in the summer and it was only stocked by one supermarket as the only people buying it were foreign tourists.  Now not only do we have a dedicated pet shop but every grocer and supermarket sells a range of cat and dog foods.

If he gets any fatter he'll fall through the bamboo!

Taverna cats posing sleepily in Chorio.

Ruins and restorations.

The first two weeks of August are historically the busiest weeks in the whole tourist season but not this year.  Symi remains unusually quiet, particularly in the evenings when the absence of yachts has had a real impact in the tavernas, bars and restaurants.  One thing that has remained the same as previous years, however, is the weather. The best way to beat the heat and humidity is still to take a water taxi out to one of Symi's picturesque beaches - Agia Marina, St Nicholas, St George, Nanou, Marathounda, Nimborio or Toli bay - or take a round the island trip on the Poseidon or Diagoras. Thanks to the efforts of the Symi Women's Association and the Diakogiannis Organisation in Support of Symi in conjunction with Symi town hall there are still free open air events most evenings, either in the town square in Yialos or up in Chorio. The Symi Gallery Cinema Club also has free film shows on Sunday nights at Mandeio.  Posters appear on lamp posts, bus shelters and social media

The resort hotels in Rhodes are quite full, as we are seeing with the number of day trippers. This is mainly a spin off of the reallocation of all inclusive package holiday tourists from Turkish and Tunisian resorts to Rhodes.  Unfortunately they don't benefit Symi much as they tend to arrive with packed lunches from the hotels and don't have much in the way of spending money to support Symi's economy but perhaps they will fall in love with Symi's charms and come back for a longer stay next time.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana