June Postcards from Symi

Half past 8 on a Friday morning and you can already see that it is hot out there.

There are more boats in, mostly Turkish-owned as Symi is a popular cruising ground for Turks based in Datca, Bodrum, Marmaris and Bozburun.

Symi's strict architectural code means no awnings on balconies on the Kali Strata. There's no rule against ice cream parasols though as that is temporary shade.  And, of course, the colour goes nicely with the balcony rails.

The Blue Star speeding past the entrance to Pedi, en route to Rhodes, just after 8 this morning.

A bougainvillea on a smallholder's cottage in the Pedi valley provides a bright pop of colour.

There are lots more sailing yachts in Pedi these days.  On the right hand side of the bay you can see the path to St Nicholas beach quite clearly. There is a similar path to Agia Marina on the other side but as that tracks inland it is not so obvious.

The view from my desk at the Symi Visitor Accommodation office on Wednesday.

Looking across Yialos from outside the National Bank of Greece. You can just make out the ruins of the old windmills silhouetted against the skyline.  In the days of the Ottomans, Symiots had farms on the surrounding coastline of Asia Minor and brought their grain harvest over to the central hub, Symi, to grind it into flour.  Now there is a border in between and the last functioning windmill fell into disuse in the 1950s.

The view from one of my favourite 'keyholes' on the Kali Strata.

The ferry office for Blue Star ferries and Dodecanese Seaways. Symi Tours also organises tours and bus trips and is also the local agent for booking flights.

I have always loved the shopfront at Merakles taverna in Yialos.  

A modern Greek tragedy at the bottom of the Kali Strata.

An eruption of Plumbago. The locals call it Blue Jasmine but unlike its namesake it has no fragrance.  

A quiet snooze spot in Chorio.

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Celebrating Eid in Safety on Symi

7.30 a.m. Tuesday morning and Pedi bay was pretty busy.

Symi is a very steep island with more steps than roads.  This view is from the top of the Kali Strata, just below the village square with its tavernas and traditional bars. Chorio is where the main permanent community lives and has its own shops, cafes, tavernas, bakeries and supermarkets.  If you look carefully at the hills behind the houses you can just make out the scar that is the big sweep the motor road makes to get from Yialos to Chorio.

Looking down at Yialos and Harani on Tuesday morning, even the harbour and outlying anchorages were full. Most of the yachts you can see in this picture are Turkish, even if they may be carrying US or other flags of convenience.

One of the alternative pedestrian routes to town, there is a broad turn off to the right about halfway down the Kali Strata, on the lower side of the high school, which zigzags down to the harbour and pops out near the bus stop.  Various lanes and contour paths branch off this, leading to other tiers of houses.

Yialos early on Wednesday morning.

Thursday morning and a most welcome sight - the water ship!  As Symi has no natural water it is dependent on a small desalination plant on the Pedi road and water boats that come in from Rhodes and even further afield. This is why swimming pools and water features are not a part of Symi's landscape and you won't find many bath tubs either!  Mind you, Symi's sheltered beaches with their spectacular surroundings offer an attractive alternative to swimming pools.

The waterfront in Yialos is lined with pretty cafes, bars and tavernas.  With so much maritime activity in the summer there is always something to watch.  Most of these venues offer free wifi to patrons these days, for those who prefer to spend their time in one of the world's prettiest harbours looking at cat memes on their devices.

Who needs cat memes when there are local cats of character to observe? This one belongs to one of the supermarkets in Yialos and is, as you can see, quite polite and very well fed.  He has appeared on this blog before over the years.  Many harbour businesses keep a cat or two as working cats to keep pests under control.

Up in Chorio this small supermarket is keeping the flag flying.

The most photographed sunflower on Symi just keeps on going.

Symi benefited vastly from the Eid holidays this year as hundreds of Turks, mostly on boats of various shapes and sizes, elected to celebrate the end of Ramadan on a peaceful Greek island with no security concerns.  Symi is the perfect get away from the cares of the world and those with access to visas and boats made the most of an opportunity to visit a safe EU destination on their doorstep.

The landmark Lemonitissa church is having a fresh coat of paint.

A concession to our many Turkish visitors - an ouzerie near our office, advertising mezzes and live Greek music in Turkish.

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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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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