Walking Down the Kali Strata

Still hanging on - today's poppy photo from the Pedi valley.

Count the cats.

The sea of yellow corona daisies around the Taxiarchis hotel has gone, replaced by haystacks.

An innovative way of keeping the cats out of the roses.  Water bottles, filled with tap water to weigh them down.  They probably act as a sort of mulch and insulation too.

The Kali Strata, the 19th century staircase connecting Chorio and Yialos, is my usual walk to work.  Many of the mansions lining the route are looking very sad now and quite a few are up for sale.  What was once the most desirable address on Symi is now quite forlorn as few people these days want to climb up and down so many steps on a daily basis.  Many of these houses have fabulous views and traditional interiors just waiting to be loved again.  

Still weeding - he is about half way down now.

This is what awaits our intrepid municipal worker with his weeding tools and black bags.

A levitating cool cat at the bottom of the Kali Strata.

Wood for the baker's oven.  Symi still has several bakeries using traditional wood ovens and each bakery on the island has its own specialities.  The gluten-free diet is never really likely to catch on in Greece - bread, rusks and savoury pies are too much a part of the local culinary tradition.

Even on an overcast day Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour delights the eye.  Yialos is still very quiet though, with few yachts coming through.

No cats fishing here today - the water level is too high.  I spotted this shoal of tiny fish in the shallows this morning, swirling about in the eddies of a wake thrown up by a passing fishing boat.

Overcast and murky, one of the last major weather systems of the spring is passing over Greece at the moment, bringing strong winds, grey skies and rain showers countrywide.  The weather is expected to improve from Monday and from then on the forecast shows days of rising temperatures and lots of sunshine.

April used to be a very popular month for walkers, photographers and families with small children who wanted to enjoy the spring flowers and avoid the heat and high prices of school holiday times.  It is a great shame that in recent years so few people come to stay on Symi in April and May.  It is a glorious time to be here, as you can see from all the spring flower photographs I have put up in recent weeks.  While we might not have the abundance of Crete and Cyprus, Symi's wild flowers are still pretty spectacular.

Shops, cafes and tourist businesses are slowly opening up for the season.  As there are fewer visitors staying on the island in April these days, some places stay closed until late May as it is not worth their while opening up early, but the essentials are certainly available and the island has a more authentic feel.  Part of Symi's attraction is that it is not an out-and-out tourist destination. Real people live here. Thanks to the strict rules on tourist development on the island and the protected architecture, when you visit Symi you really are staying in a genuine Greek island community.  We still have some May availability in some of our houses so if you are looking for a last minute spring break, why not email us on symi-vis@otenet.gr this weekend?

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Life on Symi in August

Waiting at the clock tower for the Blue Star Paros on Friday morning.  The exodus has begun and many people who have summer houses here or who have been visiting friends and relations for the August holidays are now heading for home.  It is a little odd at first, hearing people wishing each other 'kalo chimona' (happy winter) when winter is still several months away and temperatures remain steadfastly in the thirties but that is the traditional farewell at this time of the year.  Everyone hopes to be reunited, same time, same place, next year.

The tinsmith's shop building is undergoing a major restoration.  It has a new roof, new ceilings and floors, fresh plaster and lots of attractive exposed traditional stone work.  It is encouraging to see a project like this being undertaken at a time when there is little money circulating. As Symi is a heritage site and the architecture is protected a project like this requires a great deal of attention to detail, particularly as it is in a landmark position.  It is not clear in the photograph but the horizontal lines above the windows and beneath the pediment are the edges of embedded tiles, matching the ones on the adjoining half of the building.

Symi's new wellness centre at the back of the town square is another landmark building.  Activities and events are advertised on the chalkboard as well as on Facebook and visitors are welcome.

Presumably the location for this sundial was chosen for decorative reasons rather than functionality as it is quite emphatically in the shade.

The back of St John's church, Symi's cathedral, in Yialos. The adjoining building with the blue windows is the Petrideon, the junior school that serves Yialos.  Out of a population of about 2800 people there are around 300 children of school-going age so there are schools in both Yialos and Chorio for the younger children and then a high school, the Panormiteon, just below the Kali Strata as well as a technical school on the bend in the road in Chorio.  Once upon a time there was also a school house down in Pedi but this is now the mini-market.

Symi has many contrasts, not least because the owners of many properties have long since emigrated to far flung places like Australia and the USA, leaving their houses to slowly crumble away.  At the time of their departure, a house on Symi had little or no value and subsequent generations may have had neither the time nor the money to return to the island. It is not unusual to see scenes like this one, where immaculately restored buildings and neglected ruins co-exist side by side.

Strutting their stuff - three pullets below the road in Lieni.  They are surviving remarkably well considering that they are living free range on the busiest bend in the road to Panormitis and can often be seen making a mad dash from one side to the other in search of some new morsel.  The origins of all those jokes about chickens crossing roads must have started in similar situations.

August is drawing to a close.  It is still hot and humid and people do tend to linger wherever there may be a fan or air conditioning.  Twenty years ago few houses had air conditioning and fans were the only method of cooling.  I was working in a taverna in those days and often had to walk home late on hot summer nights.  As I passed houses in Chorio I would pass people sleeping on their balconies and terraces or with all the doors and windows open and I would hear the whir of fans and gentle snoring.

We have had quite a lot of late bookings, mainly for September and October and it looks as though the end of the season may well be busier than the beginning. We are also getting lots of enquiries for 2017 which is always encouraging.  Remember, we start confirming bookings for 2017 at the end of October but if you have a specific property in mind you are welcome to email us now to hold it for you.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Up in Chorio

The row of traditional cafes and tavernas adjoining the Syllogos Square in Chorio. This is the main square and meeting point in Chorio and a popular venue for events such as the Symi Shrimp Festival.

This mansion on the square is in the process of being restored.  If you ever go past and the door is open, glimpse inside as it has a very imposing staircase.  Proper internal staircases are unusual in Symi houses.

The main shopping street at the top of the Kali Strata, running from the Syllogos Square up towards upper Chorio.  Here you will find a baker, a butcher, a dress shop, a shoe shop, a gyros bar, a taverna, a supermarket, a toy shop...

The upper stretch of the Kali Strata from the view point at the corner, looking up towards the Syllogos Square.  On this stretch you will find the Symi Dream shop and Gallery, a shop selling herbs and Greek coffee, the Olive Tree cafe, a boutique and a flower shop.

Pomegranates and an interesting pediment in Chorio, in a lane near the bus stop/kiosk/clinic.

Birds on a lintel on the Kali Strata.

We see all sorts of boats in Yialos. The two blue tugs, one large, one small, are part of the harbour construction project. The white one appears to have been converted for leisure use as it has a covered after deck with dining table and chairs.

Reflections in Yialos.

The Meltemi has been and gone, replaced by high humidity and oppressive heat for a day or two. The temperature is in the low forties today and everyone with any sense is on the beach.  Due to its natural amphitheatre shape Yialos really traps the heat at this time of the year.  Chorio and Pedi are much cooler and airier in August, not to mention quieter.  It is not for nothing that the majority of the locals live up in Chorio.  In another couple of weeks the worst of the heat will be over and the golden days of September will be upon us.  The nights are already perceptibly longer and the supermoon this weekend was spectacular.

Friday is a religious and bank holiday in Greece and this week is the busiest of the year as so many people take their holidays at this time.  All of our houses and apartments are full now and anyone who arrives on Symi without prebooked accommodation may well find themselves in trouble.  Symi was never the sort of place really where people met the boats advertising rooms to let on bits of cardboard and with the enforced legislation now making it very difficult and expensive for locals to comply with the bureaucracy required to let out rooms, the informal budget sector has completely disappeared.  As the hotels on the island are small they fill up quickly and the majority of the accommodation is in restored traditional houses within the community so the supply of beds is limited.  Those in the know book well ahead, often a year in advance to be sure of getting the house they want.  We will be open for booking for 2015 in October if you would like to be sure of booking your dream holiday on Symi next year.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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