For the weekend, I had a trawl through my folders to see what I had to show you, and this is what I came up with. (A couple are of Tilos.)
Before that, however, a message from Next Stop Symi, the charity that raises money for refugees on the islands. “NSS has received a total of £2,850 + around £530 gift aided. Money is being paid into Taxas as quickly as possible. This is before we even get the cash into the NSS bank account.”
I am taking a deep breath and resisting a rant, and anyone who knows my feelings on the yUk and what it’s become since 2016 will understand why. Coincidentally, as news came in that the country had continued on its decline from being one of the world’s leading democracies to the state of Germany in 1933 when the Reichstag was suspended (allegedly due to a fire but a move which also ‘suspended individual rights and due process of law’), I also received a message from the Consul in Rhodes. This information has been out there for a while, apparently, but now seems a good time to remind people of what the UK has said about anyone who may be forced to return there. It concerns health care, and I don’t profess to understand the details yet. It also came with a video which I can only share via the Facebook page it comes from, so if you’re not Facebook-connected, you may not be able to see it. It is here if you want to try. And here is the image and info that came with it.
Moving on… Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes for our anniversary-22, including Yianni Rainbow who gave us a rose. We decided that we would go to Yialos for the evening or part thereof to eat. It’s funny that after 22 years we still find ourselves in the same situation when it comes to deciding where to dine. We’re prone to do that thing where you pay verbal table tennis: ‘Where do you want to eat?’ ‘I don’t know, where do you want to eat?’ ‘What about X?’ ‘Hm, we could try Y.’ ‘You want to go to Y?’ ‘I don’t know, X does Z.’ ‘So does W, we could go there.’ ‘If you want.’ ‘Do you want to?’ ‘I don’t mind. Where do you want to go?’ And off we go again. We ended up going to Trata as it was nearest to where we’d set up the ping-pong discussion, and life, after all, is too short for table tennis.
The harbour was busy. Loads of yachts in, including two proudly showing the rainbow flag as there is a gay charter company operating in the Dodecanese – recently seen on Tilos according to my friend Maria over there. The rainbow flag was waving among the others, Turkish, Maltese, British, German, French, you name it, the UN was in town (not really), and there was a very impressive line-up of masts and crafts on both sides of the harbour. There probably is on most summer nights, but I’m not in Yialos on most summer nights, and only see the end of the harbour from our balcony. This show of luxury and fun was a contrast to the 240 + refugees seeking asylum and shelter on the island. The police and port police continue to do the best they can with the numbers and, hopefully, government and EU support, and volunteers continue to assist with donations from the generous public. Look up the Solidarity Symi pages on Facebook to see how you can help, and contact them there if you can volunteer. Remember, though, that (as far as I know) the charity is no longer in existence and the guy coordinating is also running his businesses, so try not to hassle. The best thing, I heard, is to donate cash at Taxas supermarket in Yialos. There, you sign to show you’ve donated (for accounting purposes), and the money is then used for what is needed; that works better than calling into the crowded police station with donations as the officers, though appreciative of the thought, will have more important things to attend to, i.e. people in crisis.
Donations can also be made via Next Stop Symi where, if you’re a British taxpayer, the government will contribute a percentage of what you put in. It will be explained on their pages.
I know you’re desperate to know more about yesterday’s early morning walk, so… I was up before the dawn again and sitting out on the balcony with a cup of tea, trying to decide which terrible world news piece to read first. Brexit, the rise of dictators in the (y)UK and the (p)US, the destruction of the Amazon/planet, or some trauma taking place on Love Island or whatever that (s)HIT show is called. I gave up in despair and watched the bats flitting around the house instead. Far more pleasant than the news. I don’t often see them so close to the house, but it’s nice to know they’re there chewing up the mosquitos. Anyway…
About an hour later, as the sun was coming up, I set off up the hill for a walk. The waterworks continue, at least I guess that’s what they are. Workmen have been beavering for weeks now, clearing channels from the mountain, so we avoid a repeat of the devastation of a couple of winters ago when parts of houses were lost, steps were swept away and there was loads of damage. At the corner to Agia Marina church, there are now huge concrete pipes going in beneath the road/junction and plenty more lined up to be added elsewhere. I continued up to To Vrisi (3,500 steps and 1.5 miles each way, if you were interested).
I was listening to music as I walked, stopping now and then to take a photo for you, and decided to turn the music up when I was off the main road, and down when I was on it – for safety you see. What I didn’t realise was that while I was playing with the phone’s volume buttons, the camera was still on, and I was actually taking photographs. When I looked at my camera roll later, I found all kinds of interesting images of my feet, the path and some other things that were so blurred I still have no idea what they were. Oops, silly me, but I was able to get a couple of shots once I realised what I was doing.
On the way down, I passed the ladies going to tend the graves at the cemetery, and a few families walking up the hill in what I’d call ordinary daywear. I assume there was a service or a name day at a certain church, and everyone was heading that way. (Yesterday was the name day of Damon and tomorrow is the name day for Alex, Alexis etc., so perhaps it was something to do with that.) A few more waves and kalimeras on my way home, and I was back, planked and press-upped by 7.30 ready to get back to work on the next book. Nice.
Today marks the 17-year anniversary of us leaving the yUK (it was only the UK then) and moving to Greece. It’s outlined in Symi 85600 and again in Symi, Stuff & Nonsense if you want more info. The day started early with a lift to the airport at four in the morning because our friend had to be in Oxford by nine for a radio show or something, and we spent the long morning and some of the afternoon hanging around Luton, but it was easier than travelling there by train. We then spent a couple of days in Athens before heading to Paros to check it out, and then Antiparos where we ended up staying longer than expected and getting through the holiday part of our budget, finally arriving on Symi on September 8th, Neil’s 35th birthday.
Today is also the anniversary of the night we met, which was at around midnight, so it’s either today or tomorrow, no-one is sure. Whatever the exact day, it was 22 years ago. Because we finally married in 2017 on Neil’s 50th birthday, we now roll all these anniversaries into one; meeting, moving to Greece, his birthday, wedding day, arriving on Symi… and that day is 8th September, not to be confused with 8th November when we were blessed in a ceremony at Machu Picchu by a shaman called Ricardo, at night, in the cloud forest beside a roaring fire.
On a less personal note, it’s still bloomin’ hot here around 36 and humid some days and nights, but no-one is complaining, though I expect many busy businesses are becoming frazzled as the season ploughs on towards the cooler but often busier month of September.
I’m not going back to Rhodes, not for a week or so, but I am going back to what I was up to last Friday when I went to Rhodes. The boat was due to leave at 6.35, though it was about ten minutes late, but on the Nissos Chios it only takes an hour to get across to Rhodes, and I was in no hurry. The walk from the port to the Plaza took me 30 minutes, and once there, I checked in for breakfast which cost a very reasonable €7.00 (I may have said €7.50 before). That’s a buffet with just about everything you can imagine, so excellent value. My first appointment wasn’t until 11.00, and as I wasn’t in the mood for shopping or wandering, I sat at the hotel and read some of my book, a biography of Bram Stoker.
I was very impressed with the optician (and I’m not just saying that because he reads the blog). I arrived a little early, as I tend to do for any appointment, but that was not a problem. He knew I was coming to see about contact lenses and had prepared a pair based on my last eye test. Taking a reading from my more up-to-date glasses, he then swapped them for that prescription, measured my eyes, etc., and I tried them on – or in, I suppose. An hour or so of walking about and testing them out, and I called back to finalise the process and ordered several boxes to see me through. I’ve been wearing them in the afternoons and evenings so far, mainly because I tend to fall asleep after lunch and don’t want to doze off with them in. Already I can hardly feel them, and my brain is adjusting to the new style of seeing things. The optician I use, should you be interested, is Optical House, not far from the Plaza Hotel, and there’s a Symi connection. You can contact them with these details. Iroon Polytechnelou 20, Rhodes, TK 85100, +30 2241 028 600, rhodes@opticalhouse.gr
I had another check-up, arranged by AXA, and once that was done, had only two hours before the boat was due to leave at the worryingly precise time of 16:01. I walked back around the seafront to the gate just past Kolona and took the shortcut through the ruined church and park to Akandia where I stopped for a quick lunch at Nimmos Taverna, which I have mentioned before. This is run by Aris and his son, Jino, who we know from Symi. Talking to Jino, we discovered that he was nine when I first moved to Symi (makes you feel old) and he’s now a strapping young man in his twenties (makes you feel older). Caesar salad and a much needed cold beer, and I was ready for the off, but not until I’d had a complimentary ouzo which I probably shouldn’t have had, but which saw me happily floating onto the ferry in plenty of time. A chat with Irini from Georgio’s taverna about grandchildren and glasses and I was back on Symi before I knew it.
I knew, however, that I’d walked up the hill quickly when I sweated my way into the Rainbow 20 minutes later after taking another shortcut up through Petini and past Haritomeni. There, once everyone had admired the fact I wasn’t wearing glasses, I took out my temporary lenses – which I was only to wear for a few hours on the first day. And that’s basically the story of last Friday with a few photos to go with it.
