February Postcards from Symi

Houses on Symi are generally not very big but even by Symi standards this one is exceptionally narrow.  I sometimes what what the story is behind it.  It is very surrounded by what were commercial properties in the island's commercial boom period at the end of the 19th century. The boutique hotel, the Old Markets, is just up those steps to the right and is tucked behind the buildings to left and right.  That archway you can see was the old covered souk. If you continue up to the right you are on the historic Kali Strata steps.

Another small but intriguing building at the bottom of the Kali Strata houses the Krysallis boutique in the summer.  The cats snooze on the bamboo all year round.

Looking through the ruins of one of the old mansions on the Kali Strata at the steep hillside that forms the other side of Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour.

In the summer Symi's waterfront bustles with shops, cafes, bars, tavernas, yachts and gulets.  In the quiet weeks of winter there is little to disturb the peace except the weather and an occasional passing ferry.

A stray Kos lettuce sprouting between the flag stones on the Kali Strata.

There is not much point in spending many man hours weeding the old paving stones until the rain has passed and the first tourists arrive sometime in April. At this time of the year the stuff grows before your eyes.

The view of Yialos, Harani and Nimos from my favourite look out spot at the bend in the Kali Strata. The calm before the storm.  We have a week of rain and thunderstorms ahead of us.

Up in the wilds of Lieni the free range poultry and feral cats live in happy co-existence, sharing the spoils of the skip on the corner between them.  There seems to be a serious preponderance of cockerels hanging out.  By the way, although this is quite a busy road and a fairly dangerous corner, everyone slows down to let the cats and chickens meander across the road at whim.  The poultry have their roost in a scrubby bush on the other side of the road so a fair amount of 'chicken crossing road' goes on, as you may imagine.

Wild cyclamens are everywhere now, scenting the air with a very delicate fragrance.

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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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July Postcards from Symi

Not a cloud in the sky.

The castle is long gone from the Kastro hill - all you can see are the remnants of the fortified walls. The castle was pretty much in a state of disrepair by the time the Germans were using it as a munitions store in the Second World War and when they blew it up, there wasn't much left.  The main damage was actually to the surrounding houses and this part of Chorio has been very slow to be rebuilt. The lanes are very narrow, often too narrow for donkeys, making reconstruction difficult and expensive and as the population is only about a tenth of what it was, there is little pressure to rebuild the more labyrinthine areas of Chorio.

Pedi bay at 7.30 a.m. today. Looking at that sparkling sea.

Those sunflowers are hanging on. That is the Vigla, the highest peak on Symi, in the background. When I first came here 23 years ago there were only two beacons up there - one to relay the TV signals from Rhodes and one to relay the radio signals likewise.  Now it is bristling with towers for the different mobile phone networks.  

If you have anything shipped to Symi, no matter how vehemently the removal firm or supplier will promise you door to door delivery, your goods will arrive on this yellow lorry which will park at a suitable spot in Yialos and then in Chorio.  Everyone comes to collect whatever they are expecting and somehow or other get it to their house.  Very few properties on Symi have close vehicle access so door to door deliveries are just not feasible, anymore so than dustbin men collecting from the houses.  

Yialos and Harani at 8 this morning. Suddenly things are looking busier.

There are even people on the Kali Strata.

One bougainvillea and a light breeze make confetti.

The motorboats are back. The  mooring men work out a system with all the sailing boats in one place, the motorboats in another and then all the gulets lined up in a row.   This way little boats don't get crushed by bigger ones and the hull shapes are compatible.  The mooring men work hard in the summer to keep everyone happy and fouled anchors to a minimum.

Water taxis ready for the beach.  Most of Symi's beaches can only be reached by sea and this is the most effective way of doing this.  When the temperature is 39 degrees the beach is a sensible decision. And yes, that is Michael's trusty 3 wheeler from the Hotel Fiona parked in the foreground.  He was enjoying a quick coffee and chat at Pachos.  That 3-wheeler must be 20 years old by now and he goes all over the island on it so it is something of a movable landmark if that makes any sense.

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Heavy Dewfalls and Misty Mornings

High pressure continues to dominate the weather over our corner of the Mediterranean, bringing calm seas, heavy dew falls and misty mornings.  It is very quiet now that all the tourist businesses have packed up for the winter and most cruising yachts have headed to their winter berths in nearby Turkey.

Our winter lifeline.  The Dodecanese Seaways high speed catamaran, either the Pride of the Express as they are taking turns through the winter, stops off in Symi on its north and south bound routes on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we  have no boats at all.  On Wednesdays and Fridays we have the Blue Star and those are the only two days where it is possible for Symiots to go to Rhodes on a day return. 

A novel way to block a mouse hole in the door of a ruined house on the Kali Strata.  Note the detail on the woodwork.

Looking down the Kali Strata.

The island's many oleanders are now in full bloom, adding splashes of colour to sun-bleached views such as this one. The upstairs of this traditional house has been restored as an apartment. The downstairs, which would once have been a shop, is the home of the Symi Gallery.  Many of the buildings on the uphill side of the Kali Strata would have had shops at street level as this was effectively Symi's high street.

There are very few large houses on the island so this one, looming above the Kali Strata, is something of a landmark.  Trees  in the ruin in front have just been cut down, making more of the house visible. Symi is famous for its beautiful - and well-protected - neo-classical architecture. The nature of the terrain means that the houses have very quirky layouts and are seldom as spacious inside as the exteriors may lead one to suppose.  For instance, this house has two fronts and no back and is actually slightly wedge shaped. The main entrance is from the lane running behind the house at the middle level, the bathroom is in the basement and the bedrooms are on the third floor.

Jasmine is popular here as it is very drought hardy and flowers twice a year, in April and May and again now until the weather turns too cold. The fragrance is not as strong now as it is in April and May as there isn't enough warmth to bring out the volatile oils but it is pleasant none the less.

Peaceful Pedi.  The sun doesn't reach most of the valley until about 10 a.m. at this time of the year and by 3 in the afternoon the shadow starts creeping across the valley again.  As the  winter sun only just clears the ridge on the right, the southern slopes remain pretty much in shadow all day from October to March.

A rose carved in marble on the underside of a balcony on the Kali Strata.  As marble and other forms of lime stone are abundant in Greece it is a popular and durable building material rather than a luxury item.

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September Postcards from Symi

There are still a lot of yachts in Yialos.

The Diagoras excursion boat's bright red livery makes for some vivid reflections.

Early  morning exercises in St John's square, Yialos.

The pediment of the old Ionian Bank building in Yialos, now a gyros bar, has a stone lyre as a decoration.

It has been a long hot summer for the plant world.

A black cat crossed my path in Chorio this morning.

A dry sprig of bay poked through the door handles of an old shop on the Kali Strata.

A self-seeded fig sprouting on the Kali Strata.  When the first rains come in a month or so water will roar down the steps, sluicing all those cigarette butts into the harbour.

The first September dew fall, making tracks in the dust of summer.  It is very difficult to keep cars clean on Symi as very few people can actually get their cars close to a source of water and attempts at automated car washes on Symi have failed due to the lack of mains water.  We just wait for the rain...

A sign of the changing season - workmen once again doing things to the roof of the new undercover sports facility which still seems to have random leaks in the winter.

The two yummy mummies and their chicks are doing fine. The cats seem to have given up.

Early morning clouds over Pedi.  The weather is changing and there are rumours of rain and possible thunder storms on Sunday and Tuesday next week.

As I was walking down, a straggling group of male runners pounded past me, heading up the hill. The two front runners were chatting comfortably as they ran. Those behind were all tuned into their various devices and were oblivious to their surroundings.

Replacing a roof on an old mansion on the Kali Strata, another little job to get out of the way before the rains come.

Ochre-tinted lime wash on the Kali Strata. One buys the bags of asvesti (lime) and the little bags of pigment separately and they then have to be mixes .  It has been a while since this house was redone.

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