Symi Animal Welfare – Spring Report   2017

Today I hand over to Symi Animal Welfare who have sent this Spring report and photos for posting:

It’s Spring time on Symi, with glorious sunny days and calm seas… The island has emerged from its usual winter ‘hibernation’, and the port is suddenly a hive of activity as the locals prepare for the new season. So, it was a perfect time for us to organise a vet visit, with lots of street cats now out & about in the sunshine. We arranged for our favourite Rhodos vet to come over for a weekend, and ‘set up’ in the house that we use at the back of the port which is in an ideal location, very quiet but with easy access. We are indeed very fortunate to have use of this private villa for the vet visits and would like to thank the owner for his generosity.

The vet, Panayiotis, was assisted by his lovely wife Maria, as the veterinary nurse, and we had a very capable and enthusiastic group of helpers to assist the SAW team. There was much to be done, in only 2 days and both Saturday and Sunday were quite intensive! The target was for 35 cats, but we are pleased to report that a total of 38 cats were neutered, 14 males and 34 females and that 2 male feral cats were euthanised as they tested positive for feline HIV.

The vet brings his own equipment and drugs, but this time one process was made easier as we have acquired a new sterilisation machine, kindly donated from a clinic in Germany! We would like to thank all the cat ‘carers’ and ‘catchers’ who gave donations for the vet visit, and the helpers & volunteers who gave up their time to assist us. Most of all we would like to thank Panayiotis and Maria for their tremendous hard work and dedication which made this vet visit a great success!

A formal report on our Cat Neutering Programme has been submitted to the Greek Cat Welfare Society, with a request for funding towards future vet visits. This summer SAW will have lots of new collection boxes in many businesses around the harbour and in Chorio. We rely entirely on donations, and all your support is very much appreciated.

We look forward to seeing many of our regular visitors again this summer on Symi, and lots of new faces too!

Best wishes from the SAW Team,

Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel & Tove

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It’s quite common for visitors to Symi to have to spend some time on Rhodes. This is usually to do with boat connections. So, I am often asked about the best places to go to eat, or the best bars to have a drink in, and so on. What’s best for me isn’t always best for someone else so it depends on what you are looking for of course, but when I’m wandering around the new town or the Old Town I’m always on the lookout for new places to try. I also like to call back into places I’ve used before as I know what I am going to get. And there are a lot of places to choose from.

Being in the Old Town on Friday last week, I was sad to see that Boukia Boukia, a very traditional Greek taverna, is no longer there. It may have moved, I don’t know, but it has been replaced by another taverna which I’ve yet to try. The long-running and popular ‘China Burger’ has also closed and is now a souvlaki place, still with tables and quite a big menu, but no longer Chinese. Safron, the Indian restaurant, is due to open again this Friday with limited space (the outside part is not yet ready) so book first if you are going.

If you’re there and you’re looking for something different, healthy and not expensive, try the salad and soup place opposite the Casino gates, just up the parade of shops from the Indian spice shop, also worth a visit. We called into a place that’s new to us, this was only the second visit. I can’t remember what it’s called but it’s in ‘MacDonald’s Street’, the one that runs from the college up to the taxi rank. Up at the top, on the right, it has pizzas, souvlakia and a taverna in three adjacent buildings. It’s good to be able to get traditional Greek food that’s not a giros, though you can have that too. Over at the old fish market in Mandraki, we use the Symi café (opposite the cheap, clean, attended, public toilets) and we used to go to Indigo next door, but that has now moved. George’s Giros place nearby is still good value if you want one of those.

Over the main road at Mandraki, there’s the Yacht Club bar, not cheap but generous measures, and further along that quay is Kontiki. Huge portions here, so you may not need a starter and a main. And, dashing back to the Old Town again, The Walk Inn is fast becoming a popular destination of ours. This is a pub/eatery with a good menu, fresh soups, fresh pizzas made there, and then and other goodies. Down at the seahorse fountain in the square with the parrots (I must learn the real names of these streets) is a café called Mike’s. We have used this one in the winter and summer, as it’s open all year round and it’s where the locals go. And by Akandia Gate, on the way to the Blue Star ferry quay, just inside the gate, is Nimos, which is run by two guys who used to live/work here on Symi.

I am sure there are plenty of other places and you have your own favourites, but these are the ones I’ve been using in the last few years. I should also add that we use the Plaza bar and restaurant too; good prices, great staff, good food and not too costly. Just up- the road is Napoleons, also worth a visit. There, a few ideas for you when you are next on Rhodes and waiting for a boat or a plane, or when you’re just visiting.

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It’s Sunday morning as I write and we’re home from Rhodes. I’m currently cooking lunch for my birthday party (slow cooker, easy) and trying to get a nasty virus off Neil’s laptop (not easy). The sun is shining, it’s very warm, in the sun, and everywhere is calm. The celebration of Evangalismos and then the Independence Day parade have happened too. I am sure I have lots to tell you about our trip to Rhodes, but I’ll do more of that during the week, but here are a couple of moments that stuck in my mind and then a few photos. More details to follow.

I made two notes in my notebook, both of which I thought were rather funny. The first happened when we went into a place to arrange tickets. We have been using the agency for ages and so always get a warm welcome and have a quick catch up on the news with the agents. We called in there on Wednesday morning, and our usual lady was looking pensive. After the hellos and greetings, it was, ‘How are you?’

She didn’t look very happy. ‘I am having a very bad day,’ she said. ‘I am distracted.’

Indeed, she did look very worried about something. ‘Oh no. Nothing serious I hope. Is everything okay?’

She thought deeply for a moment and sighed. ‘I am cooking fish later, and I can’t decide how to do it.’

I know, it’s a very stressful thing, cooking fish, but I am glad that was the only issue.

Later in our trip, we sat down for a late lunch at a taverna we have used before. It has a huge menu, and some of the things are different. That is, different from the usual Greek cuisine menu. So, when I see Cannelloni, for example, I think, ‘that will make a nice change.’ So I ask, ‘Do you have cannelloni?’

‘Well,’ the waitresses replied. ‘I just saw something in the kitchen, but I’m not sure what it was. I’ll go and find out.’

I thought that was funny as well. We also had some successes: good health check reports, great time with our health insurance rep who met us and drove us around, set up the appointments and looked after us. We also did lots of walking, 25,000 steps one day which fair confused my FitBit as I don’t normally do more the 4,000, some sitting in the sun, meeting friend for a lazy lunch afternoon in the Old Town… lots of things to tell you, but right now, I have a Normandy chicken to prepare before I go and chillax for the rest of the day. Still, we’re back, and the blog will be back to normal now. Here are a couple more random photos from Rhodes.

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Summer is on the way

I went to Yialos yesterday forgetting that I hadn’t charged my camera battery. I was able to get one shot and that was it. But still, I’ve got other images still to share and I’ve now ordered a spare battery.

The photo I took shows you the doing-up work now going on at Georgio’s, ready for the summer to come. The rendering is coming off ready for a new coat. It’s not the only place undergoing preparations for summer. Later in the morning, we stopped at Lefteris’ kafeneion where Yiannis was painting the steps and the outside of the café. There was more work going on in the harbour as well, with the International re-doing its inside and outside, though it looks to still be open, and work happening at the bar on the corner by the kiosk, as was. I’ve heard that the kiosk, now closed, is going to be a tourist information point, but I’ve not read anything to back that up yet. I know there has been some controversy over this so I’ll wait to see what transpires before speculating further. (Update, two minutes after preparing this post for posting: I just read that the kiosk was demolished on Tuesday morning.)

It’s amazing what a change in the weather does. It was much warmer, no need for a coat and there were several day trippers on the island. They’d come over from Rhodes on the Dodekanisos, I guess. The other day we saw athletes over here for the day, playing football (and maybe basketball) in the inter-island competitions. Symi teams won at least two matches that I know of. But on Monday, the visitors included people from abroad, tourists in shorts and with backpacks, families and also locals from Rhodes. There was almost a summer atmosphere to the place and, if the season is starting this early at least in Rhodes, it bodes well for the summer ahead. Fingers crossed for a good year for all.

Today, Tuesday will be the last blog post from me for a few days. It’s my birthday week and I’m taking a few days away from blogging to have a life. I mean, to chill out and relax, get my annual health MOT done and enjoy myself, not that I don’t enjoy myself when blogging. So, I’ll leave you with a few more images taken recently and remind you that, if you want your regular Symi fix then make sure to look at Adriana’s blog on Friday, and Monday, and every Friday and Monday into the future.

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