Water

Water is today’s theme for photos. It is not rainwater, but the sea, and here are some photos to show you how calm and clear the sea around Symi can be. It can also be rough, and there are days when you can see the breakers crashing onto the rocks of Nimos, and there are times when the sea floods the harbour. That’s usually when it’s a high tide, a full moon or when the drainage system has clogged up. On those days, you have to take a detour to get from one side of the harbour to the other via the backstreets. There are other days when the tide washes all manner of things up to the bridge, and you are compelled to hold your nose as you pass. On other, calmer days, though, and on most days, we have scenes of calm, where you can see through to the seabed, especially along the shoreline. So, a few shots follow to show you how clear the sea has been of late around Symi shores.

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Early Spring on Symi

How about some spring flowers, fresh from Symi and delivered straight to your screen? Well, here you go. These are some of Neil’s photos, as you can tell by the artistic quality. I can also let you into a little secret. He’s started putting together images for next year’s Symi calendar. I know it’s early in the year, but if he doesn’t start now, he’ll end up with thousands to sort through later in the year, and the thing will never get done. Perhaps some of these images will appear on it. I’m sure, if you have any requests for what you’d like to see on next years’ calendar, you could drop him a line through the Symi Dream Facebook page.

Enjoy a view of early spring on Symi.

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The countryside within minutes

I took a brief walk early on Monday morning, just down towards Pedi, as far as the football pitch and back again. The nice thing about this route is that I was in the ‘countryside’ within five minutes of leaving home. At least, that’s how it felt. It’s been a while since I smelt dung (lol), and there’s something strangely refreshing about it. It reminds me of being young on the Marsh, where you could often smell the fields from the edge of town. Muck spreading was a particularly fragrant time of year and a smell that still doesn’t bother me.

I came across a menagerie within minutes of leaving home…

Sotiris was opening up and feeding his ‘family’, as he called them. ‘How many have you got?’ I asked, but he only shrugged and laughed. These are the bin cats and others from along the lane, and as you can see, the supermarket is not only popular with shoppers.

Heading down the Pedi road, I branched off down the slope behind what was once Blooms, and within seconds, was treading over rocks on the semi-made road. There are smallholdings and fields, orchards and vegetable patches on either side, plenty of chickens to greet, and that countryside smell, although the road is only a few yards away. The air was fresh, though, and a few birds were rustling the trees, a few goats and sheep tied up or roaming in pens, and a sense of calm. The moon was setting, though the sun was not yet up, which is why the images are grey and dull.

Reaching the football pitch, I decided I’d had enough, a chapter was pressing on my mind, so I turned around and made the steady climb back up to the village via Campos. A simple, short walk of around 40 minutes ambling. Meanwhile, Neil had set off Climbing over rocky mountains (extra points for identifying the operetta that comes from) to Micro Sotiris and back, an eleven-mile hike that took him five and a half hours via the ridge and returning on the road. He (they, as he was with Clare) stopped for photos along the way, and there will be some of them in due course. Meanwhile, back to the desk.

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Monday Morning Thoughts

Hello, and welcome to March. Kalo mina, kalo evthoumada, kalimera, kali everything. Over the weekend, Neil sent me a batch of photos from some of his recent walks. He and Clare have been exploring some of the island’s lesser-visited parts, and I have a heap of images to share with you over the coming days. There are plenty of views you may not have seen before as Neil has been up to Kokimethes, along the Pedi ridge and many places in between. There are many familiar sights too; plenty of flowers taken with a macro lens, goats, of course, ancient threshing circles and more goats. There are some churches, views of snow on the Turkish mountains, goats, sheep, Symi looking springtime green, calm seas, trees and, of course, goats.

The weekend passed quietly for me. I released a new book on Thursday, having employed a company to do the internal layout for me, which saved me a whole day’s frustrating work, cost me very little and yet has given an excellent result. You can find ‘Negative Exposure’ here. As soon as that was done, I started on the next one because that is what I do. I am contriving a mystery that’s all to do with an inheritance and a musical code (because that’s what I do too), and have started having fun with that.

I did also get out and about a little, walking off the beaten track so that I can remove my mask; at least, until I see someone coming in the opposite direction, when I put it back on again just in case. It seems to me that many people are growing increasingly fed up with the restrictions and are no longer paying attention to them. With more cases being reported in Rhodes, Kos and Kalymnos, that’s up to them (though it’s not really, as there are laws), and although I stay in as much as possible, I am cautious when I do go out and do my best to follow the rules, I can understand why people have had enough. Vaccinations have started on the island, and that will help, and we’re hopeful we may see a reasonable summer season this year, but who can yet tell?

The biker boys have been having fun. The teenagers who have mopeds where they have removed their silencers, or whatever, and spend the evenings meeting, post-curfew, in certain places to see who can make the most noise. I suspect the whole island can hear them. I was up early the other day, 3.00 actually, and they were still at it. Another sign that people are bored and, let’s face it, there’s not much to do here in quieter months anyway, especially when bars and cafes are closed. The warm weather, although welcome, doesn’t help, and it’s hugely tempting to be outside watching the world go by, sitting outside a café with a beer and enjoying April weather in February. Some bars have been holding what sound like private parties inside, while others who are allowed to sell takeaways are doing so, and their customers are having their ‘takeaways’ in the street where the only difference between now and summer is the absence of tables.

And so, life goes on as best it can, and we enjoy warm temperatures which will help keep heating bills down, a blessing when incomes are low, and we read the news to hear what may or may not be happening with a tourist season this year.

So… Onto the week that will be with a new mystery to compile, a little walking to do, and not very much else on the slate for the next few days.

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Weekly Catchup and Photos

And here it is, Friday again. Good Lord! The days seem to be zipping by. I have finished my 9th Clearwater Mystery during the week and am waiting for the files to come back from the typesetter. I have been doing all that myself but on my old PC, which, when I turned it on this week, was slower than a slow thing on National Slowness Day, so I finally gave up on the process and have contracted it out to a guy in the USA who knows what he is doing. I’ve also distantly ‘bumped’ into a few friends while out and about, learnt of a worrying rise in cases on Rhodes, and been quietly appalled at some local folk not obeying the rules while hearing upbeat news about the possible opening up of tourism to Greece before too long. Meanwhile, we’ve been enjoying warm weather. I’ve been able to catch up on the washing and started on my next novel. No time to sit still, which is ironic as that’s what I do for most of the day. Anyway, have a good weekend, and here are some recent images taken by Neil or me on various walks.

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