Symi Hinterland

We’re currently watching the Welsh crime drama, Hinterland, and the word, not the series, made me think of Symi’s hinterland. So, today, I thought I’d share a couple of shots Neil took on a recent walk to Stavros tou Polemou (the Cross of the War), the highest church on Symi. Apparently, the ‘war’ of the church’s title refers to a family feud of the past rather than a world war. At least, that was what I was told many years ago by a chap who seemed to know.

You can find this church via a fairly lengthy walk from Horio, along the main road, cutting off a corner with the old calderimi (above) if you want. About halfway across the island, where you enter the woods, there’s an unfinished building on the left. Opposite, you can take a woodland path to the side of the hill on which the church sits, or, now, you can take a carved-out track. It’s been a while since I went that way, but like many other tracks on the island, the ones around this area are being improved to make access to the farms and churches safer and easier.

There’s a bit of a scramble up the hillside as far as I remember, but nothing too strenuous as many people do it in their ‘best’ for festivals. (Wear proper walking shoes and take your high heels with you for when you get to church, for safety.) From up there, you can see across to Panormitis and beyond, around the south-east side of the island and across the sea to other Dodecanese islands too. It’s a lovely walk, very rewarding, and took Neil roughly six hours from Horio to there and back, though he did stop for views and photos along the way, and timing depends on which path you take, how fast you walk and so on. Maybe something to consider for the cooler earlier and later season months when you can next get across here on holiday.

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An office view

I’ve been working in the dark for a couple of weeks – shutters closed, curtains drawn, so, yesterday, I decided to throw wide the gates and open up the view again. There’s a noticeable difference as the room chills; though the heater is on, the view is the thing.

The first thing I saw was a whacking great goat investigating the neighbour’s courtyard and wandering around on their outbuilding’s roof. A very impressive beast he was, and on seeing me, leapt on the wall as if he’d done something wrong. After a rummage around in the abandoned, walled garden next door for a while, he went on his merry way.

And that’s about the highlight of my Monday morning, as it’s all very quiet and calm out there. The sea, as you can see, is flat and silver as it often is in the early morning, and although there was a Blue Star calling during the early hours, it’s long gone and you feel as though you could skate on the water. No such fun for me. I have typesetting work to do ahead of a new release later this week.

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On with the week

Here we are back to Monday again, back to slightly warmer weather, and back to work. Over the weekend, I posted on my other blog, the one I update every Saturday with something relevant to my pen name writing. This Saturday, I had a celebrity in the house. We had a short interview with author Russell Edwards. Russell runs the Jack the Ripper Tour Company in London and wrote the book ‘Naming Jack the Ripper.’ I have a copy of it on my shelf. Russell answered some questions about his books and his research, and to me, that was akin to having Stephen King over for a cup of coffee. Of course, there was a reason for him popping in, and that’s for me to talk about some of the historical facts behind my historical fiction. If you’re interested, you can click over to that blog and have a read. The Real History Behind the Clearwater Mysteries. The link opens in a new page, so you won’t miss out on my photographs of stray cats.

That was something else I did at the weekend. I popped up the lane to drop off the rubbish and feed the stray cats and chickens. As You can see, there are quite a few of them, but a lot fewer thanks to the SNiP and SAW programmes we have on Symi. I must say, those acronyms do sound rather severe, but they are both compassionate and friendly charities. The cats appeared healthy, noisy, happy to see me, and no-one complained that they had biscuits again. Well, maybe one of the chickens might have, but if so, I chose to ignore their clucked protestations.

Apart from all that, I also finished off my edits for my next instalment and have that ready to be laid out and readied for printing, a job I shall start on Monday. In other news, the Spanos boat did a marathon day on Friday, doing two days’ worth of journeys in one to catch up on the days missed because of the rough weather. A gentle fall of rain early on Sunday morning left the air fresh, and the week ahead is currently forecast as warming up to 17 degrees with light winds and plenty of sunshine. And so, on with the week…

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Friday Photos

Here’s a collection of some of Neil’s recent photos to see you through the weekend. The wind had died by Thursday morning, though there was still a stiff breeze up here in the village and the thermometer read six degrees. The shutters are still closed, and the heaters are on as the house cools down and takes a while to warm up even once the sunnier weather starts. It’s something to do with the stones retaining the cold as they retain the heat of summer when they act as storage heaters. A weekend of final readthrough lies ahead for me as my latest story is back from the proof-reader. That means 90,000 words to reread in case I need to change anything, and then a day of formatting before I can release the ninth book in my Victorian Mystery series. Meanwhile, I have already started plotting book ten. So, I intend to be busy. Have a good weekend.

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Wednesday morning

The wind is still battering the house, it’s cold, the heater has been on all night, and I’m back in thermals and several layers. It’s seven o’clock in the morning, and I’m just going to pop out and get a photo from the roof…

[Cut to 30 seconds later]

By Zooks, it’s cold! The thermometer, when I found it as it had been blown from its moorings, read six degrees, but I think it’s lying. It was sheltered. My fingers are already useless, and I can’t feel my toes. I was only up there for a few seconds. The news is… From here, I can’t see any of the snow that can be seen from Pedi. It’s on the Turkish hills, not ours, but lower down than it usually is. I know, where you are may be minus something right now, and we do get cold weather like this in Symi, but it has been so mild so far this winter, it’s come as a shock. I’ve only had to wear gloves and a coat once since I was in Vancouver last March, and that was during a stray cold blast last month. Now, I might have to put them on inside the house.

Still, the main house is nice and warm, the office isn’t too bad with shutters closed and the velvet curtain drawn across, the heater on, and I’m glad of the thick carpet. Getting from one house to the other is via a quick shiver through an open porch, but that’s sufferable, and I am glad our bathroom is inside, unlike many houses around here. Oh, Neil’s just bought me another cup of tea, how nice. I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere today other than the sitting room.

As you can see, I’ve still got little else to talk about apart from home life and the weather. Except to say, Symi is still bug-free, vaccinations have started for the relevant groups, and there is still no definite news on when bars and tavernas may be able to reopen. Everything is being taken week by week, and that’s the way it should be. Sit tight and hope for the best is how I see it. And talking of sitting tight, my fingers are warming up, and I have a new story to plan and research while I wait for my current work in progress to come back from my proofreader. It’s warm (ish) in here, and here is where I am staying.

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