Here is your collection of Symi Saturday Photos; a random gathering from the files. There will be news on next year’s Symi Calendar next week, and news on the film, ‘The 13th’ which has just won three new awards, making the total 18 or something. Have a good weekend.
I didn’t have the camera with me, but we went for a walk up to ‘To Vrisi’ the other morning, early, and down to Pedi and back yesterday. On the walk to ‘To Vrisi’, real name Zoodhochos Pighi Monastery, on the side of the Pedi valley, I finally got to see Yiannis, the goatherd at work. I’ve known him for years, but I guess he usually has his herd somewhere else. On this morning he was moving a herd (he may have been helping someone else) down the hillside. He had a very noble shepherd’s crook in one hand and was waving a piece of polyethene in the other. Those two tools and a few ‘miswords’ are all you need to move goats around, it seems.
A misword, in case you have not read ‘The Saddling’ or have not studied old Kentish dialect, is ‘a cross, angry or abusive word.’ I think it was the power of his voice and his tone that made the animals move, and he could have been shouting anything. Goats are very easy to shift, especially if they don’t know you. They clearly knew him and did exactly as he wanted them to. It was a very rural sight to see at six-thirty in the morning.
In case you were wondering, the distances as recorded by my Fitbit that morning were: from the village square to the monastery was 1.5 miles, or 3,000 of my steps (everyone’s readings are slightly different, Neil’s Fitbit recorded slightly more steps than mine), so it’s a three-mile round trip. Along the road, up to the cemetery at Ag Marina and then out along the path. The old yappy dog on the chain has been replaced by a much more sober one that’s quiet and non-aggressive. On the way back, we walked down through the village and so the distances I quoted might not be accurate if you come back via the road, the way we went up. But still, three miles before breakfast wasn’t bad.
We did Pedi and back via the road on Thursday, a distance of just under two miles from the village square, return, and 4,000 of my steps. Back at the desk, I noted that that cloud was back over Nimos. I am assuming it’s down to humidity, and it wasn’t there for long.
The sky was clear and blue all morning, something which brightened up an otherwise painful day. Painful only because there were bills to pay. The annual health insurance that I’ve been saving for, so that was okay, the phone bill, and putting money aside for various bills to come along shortly. It’s one of those months. Hey ho! Upwards and onwards.
I received the SAW summer report, which I have put up as today’s blog post. Here’s the latest news direct from Symi’s animal care charity, with some of my random shots of Symi animals.
On Symi, the high temps have been with us for 2 months now, and most of our felines prefer to seek shade during the day, except for the usual cats who frequent the port tavernas at lunchtime, looking for kind tourists to give them some tasty morsels. More of the islands street cats venture out after dark, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures in the evenings, and go in search of something to eat. While food is more plentiful during the summer months, we always remind our residents and visitors that water is so important for all the island cats. The best way to help them is to provide a container of clean, fresh water on a daily basis, in a shady spot. Perhaps near to any rubbish bins, and you will see how many cats come just for a drink every evening.
Recently we have had some reports of ‘abandoned’ kittens, which often happens at this time of the year. We advise that they are left where they are found, as usually the mother cat will return to her litter, and she knows where she left them. We are a small team, but we will always try to help where we can, especially if the kittens have been deliberately left near or in the bins (yes, sadly it happens), and we will try to find foster homes for them until they are old enough to fend for themselves. There is no animal shelter on Symi, and our resources are limited, and all of us on the team have acted as ‘foster mums’ to many tiny kittens over the years. If we have reports of a sick or injured cat we will go to see if we can catch it first, only then can it be treated and helped to recover from its aliment. Wild or feral cats can be very wary and extremely difficult to capture even when tempted by a tin of tasty sardines.
As always, from the start of the season, we have received, via our SAW website, quite a few emails, and this year, more have been on the subject of dogs. Visitors have reported that they have seen dogs kept on a chain. They have told us of dogs who are thin, or not in good condition, or that there wasn’t any food/water visible, etc. We do know about most of these dogs, we know who owns them, and, if we don’t, we can easily find out. But the most we can do is to speak with the owners and alert them to the fact that their dog has been seen by visitors, and that its situation could be a cause for concern. Where we think the dog should be seen by a vet, then we will advise the owner accordingly. As there is a vet who visits from Rodos every four weeks, it is then up to the owner to take the dog for treatment or a checkup. We are not the RSPCA, and unfortunately, we cannot do more for any dog who is kept outside as a guard dog or a farm dog and is not a family pet. On a more positive note, many young island people now own dogs as pets. They love them and do take good care of them, so attitudes are slowly changing.
We are pleased to report that our Rhodian vet often has a very busy time on his Sunday morning consultations held at ‘Pet Island’, the pet shop in Yialos. One of our projects for the future is to secure premises that could be used for regular vet visits to Symi, which would be a great advantage for all of us who care for the island animals. If any local person has a suitable place in the Yialos area, then please contact us at SAW.
Wishing all our friends and supporters a very happy summer!
Best regards from Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Tove & Hazel.
A few shots of cafes at random today as I am rushing a bit and don’t have time for many words.
Kalo Mina! Happy month, and welcome to August on Symi. We managed an early morning walk on Monday, up along the main road out of the village to the old cantina on the hill. It was one mile, uphill all the way, and 2,000 steps, for those who use a Fitbit. We came back through the village, making 4,000 steps in total. That’s walking steps, not steps you actually walk up or down. In fact, from the village square to the cantina, there are no steps if you go via the road.
Last week, I managed a walk to Pedi, one to Yialos and back up the road and then another walk to and from Pedi later in the week. It’s a bit like bolting the stable door after the horse has given up all hope, but at least it’s something and, I am pleased to say, I managed them all without being out of breath. It’s a lot cooler at that time of day, setting off at six in the morning, but the sun is now rising over the Turkish hills at about 6.15, so to avoid even the slightest glare, we should really set off at 5.30.
The Symi Shrimp Festival was held on Sunday evening, with free shrimps, wine and bread, plus music and dancing. I have to put my hands up and say I wasn’t there. I was in bed before it started, but judging from the aftermath in the square on Monday morning, it was well attended and well enjoyed. The square had been half cleared during the night, with only a few things left to do, and they would have been done on Monday morning. I didn’t hear a thing, what with ear plugs in and the fan on. Usually, we sit on the balcony and can hear the music, we can even listen to the music from Georgio’s from there when they play live on the weekends. It makes for an atmospheric underscore to an evening watching the boats in the harbour and the stars above. When the fish taverna in Yialos starts its parties, we hear that as well, complete with the very regular ‘Happy Birthday’ from Stevie Wonder, which does get a bit repetitive. But it’s good to hear people having fun, and the sound is not intrusive for us. Once I’m in the bedroom, I can’t hear a thing. We’re fortunate in that respect.
I’m also pleased to report that ‘Honestly‘ has been doing very well – the novella that’s now available on Amazon Kindle. I wonder who will be the first to review it? I am also pleased that ‘Symi 85600’ has also done well this last month. I’ve been working away on ‘Symi, Stuff & Nonsense’ which will be the fourth book about life on Symi – plus, I should point out, a lot of other travel tales and bits and pieces. So, if you’ve not started on the journey yet, you might like to get the other three in before number four comes out, hopefully in November. Symi 85600, Carry On up the Kali Strata and then Village View is the chronological order to read them in, and you can find them all on my author page.
And finally, Neil is preparing next year’s Symi calendar. It will soon be available on Lulu.com. We won’t have any copies here, it’s an online purchase only, so don’t go looking for it on Symi. But I’ll let you know when It’s ready.
