Symi's Special Magic

Looking along the quay from Harani towards the Clock tower.  The three storey building with blue trim and white panels catching the light is the well known Nireus Hotel.  Immediately to the right of that is Sofia's House, followed by the Vaporetto restaurant and the Aliki Hotel.  The Merchant House is one tier up, behind the Aliki Hotel.  In the distance, on the opposite side you can see the row of old windmills in Chorio.  Among the houses on that hillside you will find Charitomeni restaurant and Villa Rose.

The road along the water's edge between the Clock Tower and NOS beach is exceedingly narrow, really just the quayside, and it has bites out of it with steps down to make accessing the boats easier.  This narrow strip is actually also the road to Nimborio so it is hardly surprising that there is no public transport out to Nimborio bay.

As September slips towards the autumn equinox the number of clouds is increasing and we had a brief spattering of rain on Sunday.  The air is clearing, revealing more rows of hills on the distant shores of Turkey, opposite Pedi Bay.

The same row of old windmills that I pointed out to you in the earlier photograph of Harani, but this time seen from across the Pedi Valley.  Nowhere on Symi is very far from anywhere else and it is the many hills and valleys that makes this tiny island so fascinating. The whole island is only about 8 miles long.

A harmonious line up of colours on the Kali Strata washing line.  

An appeal in Greek and English for people not to dump their rubbish outside this old house on the Kali Strata. For logistical reasons there is no system of 'dustbin men' collecting refuse directly from the houses.  Instead, as is common in this part of the world, there are skips placed in convenient locations that can be accessed either by the big municipal dump truck or by a tiny little Piaggio mini dump truck that can squeeze through some of the lanes.  Householders take their rubbish with them when they go out and drop it off in the nearest skip. The skips are emptied every day in the winter and often twice a day in the height of the season.  Unfortunately at this stage there is no viable system for recycling plastic and glass on the island so this all goes into the landfill up on the top of the mountain.

Fishing boats, yachts and a small ferry, the Nikolaos X. The harbour seems strangely empty with the Panagia Skiadeni still off the schedule for repairs.  Her return has now been put back to the 22 September.  Please keep an eye on Andy's excellent travel blog for regular updates.

The Greek flag, high on a rocky hillside overlooking Yialos.

September on Symi brings many familiar faces back to the island and our little office has been full to overflowing this morning with people coming in to say 'hello'.   Symi's uniquely authentic Greek island atmosphere has many loyal fans.  Visitors who have been coming for decades and can remember when there were no cars and, indeed, no roads.  Visitors who came with their children every summer for years and can now enjoy the peace and quiet of holidaying outside the school holiday period.  Visitors who came on holiday with their parents and now come as adults, sometimes with their own small children too.  Visitors who bring friends to share Symi's special magic.  When will you visit Symi and with whom will you share your special Symi holiday?

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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September Postcards from Symi

Pedi Bay.  Villa Jasmine and the Pedi Katoi/Anoi apartments are in this corner of the bay.  If you walk along this side of the bay you will find the footpath that leads to Agia Marina, an alternative to taking the water taxi.  That is Symi's only power station in the bottom left hand corner, with all the silver chimneys.

Sunrise over the hills above St Nicholas' beach, Pedi bay.  On Thursday morning we woke up to a brief sprinkling of rain just before dawn.  The clouds then drifted gently eastwards to Turkey.  

The Kastro area of Chorio catching the early morning sun.  This old traditional neighbourhood was badly damaged during the Second World War and is slowly being rebuilt.

The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran waiting to depart early on Wednesday morning.  What really caught my eye was the vivid magenta bougainvilleas among the houses on the hill behind.

The Panagia Skiadeni is out of commission until at least 15 September so the Dodecanese Seaways catamarans are particularly congested at the moment.  Not only are they transporting passengers between the islands of the Dodecanese archipelago but they are also bring the freight that normally comes over the the car ferry.  The 9.25 was about 10 minutes late this morning and unloading was a real scrum.  Dodecanese Seaways use wheeled orange bins to rationalise luggage and freight which speeds things up to some extent but the sheer volume of people and goods in a confined space still causes delays.  The orange bins will be picked up again on her south bound journey this evening.

The windows in the hull of this boat have some sort of mirror finish that makes them particularly eye catching.

Bright T shirts drying on a balcony on the Kali Strata.

Due to the water restrictions we don't provide beach towels in our houses and guests are asked to bring their own.  They can be bought cheaply in the harbour. This display seems to be catering for Hello Kitty fans.

Ripe for renovation.  A neglected house in Harani. There is no for sale sign on it though so perhaps the owners are simply far away, in Australia or the USA, and don't know that their inheritance on Symi is peeling away under the summer sun.  As Symi went through various phases of economic decline in the 20th century, Symiots emigrated en masse to far flung places where there was a demand for their sponge diving, boat building and mercantile skills, leaving their heritage behind.

The remains of Lazy Days.  She has been rotting away in the boat yard in Harani for at least a decade and has now finally collapsed into a heap of firewood.

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