Off we go again

And here I am back from Rhodes, holiday over and back to work. We went across last Sunday on the Sebeco, and I came back yesterday on the Panagia which, on a Tuesday, comes directly to Yialos first, going to Panormitis later in the day. Neil met me, and we went to Mediterraneo for a relax before going to lunch at Trata – as if I haven’t done enough eating and drinking in the last 2.5 weeks.

When in Rhodes, I treated myself to an apartment in Mandraki, a place called ‘The Perfect Spot’, which you can find on Booking.com and elsewhere. I’d stayed there before so this time, Despina who own the apartments, sent me the access code and told me where to find my key. I let myself in and found everything, as the name implies, perfect. Clean, tidy, with everything you need for self-catering (not that I did much of that), on the pedestrian street, well glazed for peace and quiet, aircon and all mod cons. Highly recommended.

Mother stayed at the Plaza for a night, so I nipped up to there for breakfast – another bargain. It’s open to non-residents, and they have a huge buffet with just about everything you could need, apart from teapots, and all for only €7.00. Great value.

The journey back on Tuesday was easy. A walk around to Akandia, taking a short cut through the bottom of the Old Town and breezing onto the Panagia where I sat and looked through a Greek language book I had bought. I am considering taking an intensive three-week course next year and want to revise book one before seeing if I can manage stage two. I only realised this morning that the book I have isn’t the one the course uses, but Neil has a copy of that, so I’ll compare them later and see if my book one gets me to the required level for the course. I’ve done book one before, but want to revise from scratch to improve my writing and comprehension – so that’s another winter project to look forward to.

Anyway, it’s back to work, there’s a pile of washing to do, shopping to get in, piano to play later, and then I can get back to my next novel – which will be in English.

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Off ’til Wednesday

After a busy day in Yialos on Thursday, we had a quiet day in Horio on Friday and, later, Pedi. Lunch at Scena, a walk down the road and dinner at Apostolis in Pedi, the bus back and a nightcap at Rainbow. Tomorrow, I am off to Rhodes to deliver mother to the airport after a lovely holiday that’s included Athens, overnight on the boat, plenty of socialising, eating and drinking on Symi and all during good weather with sensible temperatures. I will be back on Wednesday, so until then, I will leave you with a few more photos taken over the last couple of weeks.

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Busy Day in Yialos

We were out and about in Yialos again yesterday, popping down in the later morning for a beer and then lunch. There were quite a few visitors, which is good to see late in September. Various day-trip boats were moored on the south side of the harbour to leave room for the cruise ship which came in, the tour operators’ buses were going back and forth ferrying passengers across to Panormitis (I am guessing), the taxis were doing the same. Meanwhile, the groups led by guides were pouring off the day boats and following umbrellas around, into the backstreets, from sponge shop to taverns, and other independent visitors and those who had broken from the herd milled around oohing and ahhing at the sights.

It’s good fun just to sit and people watch some days, you see all kinds of sights. Those who think they’ve come for a day at the beach in their bikinis and ‘smuggly budgers’ as Neil calls them, others who have dressed to attend the opera, more average folk who know how to dress for a day’s touring, and visitors of all nationalities and ages. We, rather Neil, had a brief chat with a young couple after lunch who were keen to see more than just the harbour front, and there were several ‘dayers’ up in the village when we arrived there later, something else that’s always good to see.

Among the visitors were many refugees, of course. Now that Turkey has again opened its gates or closed its eyes, we are seeing our fair share of people fleeing chemical warfare and other atrocities. Again, a mix of people, but mainly those who have found the means to pay for the hazardous crossing and who have walked the 1,400 miles from Syria (that’s a general route from an internet map from Syria generally to Marmaris by the main road, so not accurate, but you know what I mean). Most of these people are intelligent, young professionals, some are also that with families, and among them are older people and many children. The Mediterraneo café is doing a great job hosting them with no fuss, allowing them to charge vital communication devices and so on, and many other businesses are also helping out. Two port police officers left Georgio’s taverna after lunch carrying a massive pot of stew (or similar) prepared there, and I know other places are donating and doing the same. You can drop off cash with Yianni Taxas, enter the donation in the book and it will be used for basic food supplies. Also, look up ‘Next Stop Symi’ online where you can donate across the internet.

Oh, and as another piece of local info, Petalo is now closing for the season, at least in part. The chef told us that yesterday was his last day. Oh, and then there was the goat that followed someone all the way back from Roukouniotis to Horio and had to be persuaded to go with its carer to Sotiris at the supermarket because he’s the man when it comes to goats. As it turned out, she was called Sophia (the goat) and belonged to him anyway, so they were reunited. A happy ending.

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Symi’s Secret Museum

Actually, it’s not a secret, but it’s no much known about or publicised as far as I can see, and on Tuesday, I finally went inside and had a look around. I’m talking about the Kyrillos Collection, a private museum/collection belonging to Ioannis Megaloudis with the title ‘The Folklore, Historical and Commercial Archive of Symi.’ The sign outside reads, ‘Collection of Greek Folk Musical Instruments’, but there is much more on show.

The ground floor level contains cabinets displaying musical instruments, pipes (floyera), Tsabouna (goat-skin bagpipe), violins, guitars, lyres, bouzouki and others, plus music books from the churches, some very old, and other musical items, all of which hail from Symi. It’s a large space, and Ioannis is on hand to tell you about them and show you the celestes and sandouri.

Sorry about the rough photos by the way. Downstairs is another treasure trove with items from Symi commerce over the years. Here, we were shown pottery and glass, bread-making items, sewing machines, church items, copper cooking pots… There’s a whole section dedicated to coffee with grinders and brikies, a selection from WWII, shells and the like, printing presses and bocks, shoemakers equipment, goldsmith’s tools… You name it, there is something from each of Symi’s historical trades. There are even ledgers showing the import/export of flour from as far away as Australia.

The collection is, to use an over-used word, amazing. Awe-inspiring actually, considering it is a private collection, beautifully and expertly housed behind glass, or on shelves and dusted and well preserved. As far as I know, there is no funding for it, and Ioannis houses it in his own property and curates it between 10.30 and 15.30 every day. There is a small brochure and other information available and no charge to enter.

That no charge thing didn’t feel right to mother and I, so when we left, I tried to press a note into the curator’s hand, but at first, he wouldn’t have it, saying there was no need. I told him it was for the electricity, and he accepted it then, but a moment later, gave me a CD of traditional Symi music played by his son and his band as a present.

To find this hidden gem, you need to find the junior school at the back of Yialos, not difficult, it’s behind the main square on the left, by the basketball court. Or, you can walk through St John’s courtyard and up the steps at the back, and there, in the tree-covered lane on your right, you will see artefacts on the wall. The door is right there. Go in, take a look and you’ll be as amazed as we were not only with the history on display but by the fact that it’s privately organised, collected, run and funded.

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Wind and Water

Our last day in Athens was a long one. Well, no longer than any other day, of course, and half of it didn’t take place in Athens, but you know what I mean. I had booked a taxi to take us to Piraeus at 13:00, again via Welcome Pickups. Before then, however, there was time for breakfast, and another wander around, where this time we headed to the Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds. Here’s another tip for you: go early to these places if you can. We more or less had the place to ourselves, including the exhibition of WWII photographs currently being shown in the old mosque on the site. As usual for Greek archaeological sites, there is plenty of information on boards in Greek and English, and entry wasn’t expensive. €6.00 each including the exhibition, the tower and the ruins of the old forum which is just below the Acropolis. Here are a few photos:

Back at the hotel, bags packed and bill paid, the taxi arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule. With this company, you receive an email to your phone when the car has arrived, but in this case, I could see it. You are also given a photo of your driver and her/his name, and vice versa, so there’s no confusion. Glykeria greeted us, put the bags in the boot and we set off. The drivers speak English so we had a good old chat on the way to the port and were delivered at my request to the ticket office so I could collect our tickets. We said our goodbyes, and off she went, only to return immediately and put Mother back in the car to wait, telling me off because it was too hot to be standing about in the sun. She then took us the 20 yards across to the boat where we checked in and decided to have lunch in the a la carte restaurant. I’m not usually a fan of food photos as they tend to come out looking like a science experiment, and my lamb roll does look rather dodgy here, but I wanted to share part of the menu with you.

And here’s another tip. Get yourself a Sea Smiles card from Blue Star Ferries. You need to have a ticket first, so a short trip from Symi to Rhodes will do it. Then you head to the Sea Smiles website and set up an account for free, using the ticket number as proof that you’re serious. That done, you print your own card and from then on, benefit from reward points and discounts. Our lunch of two courses, a bottle of wine, water and so on, came to less than €60.00 because of my card, and I also earned points.

The rest of the day was spent watching the islands go by until an early night was attempted. I had booked us a cabin each and paid a little extra to have what was usually a shared cabin as a solo one. If you book shared, you can find yourself sharing with a stranger which, although often the plot twist of romantic novels and thrillers, is not always a pleasant experience, and the cabins are not huge, so tend to be over-intimate. On this route, Piraeus to Symi, the boat docks at the islands from around 23:00 (Patmos, on a Tuesday) until arriving at Symi at 05.00 on Wednesday, so I was up most of the night watching the action.

Finally, we arrived back at Symi where we were met by the Village Hotel where mother is currently staying, and that’s another tip: make sure you have arranged transport. I have walked up to home with my rucksack and laptop bag, when I came back from Tills earlier in the year, but if you can pre-book someone with a car, it’s a much better experience.

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