Certain Smells

I took a walk yesterday morning along my usual route from the village to To Vrisi, and very pleasant it was too. In fact, the sun wasn’t yet up over the ridge when I set off, and it was already warm enough for shorts, though I was wearing a t-shirt and hoodie in my best imitation of someone who gets a kick out of exercise and has all the gear. On the way back, with the sun above the hill, it was warm enough to stop and do a bit of sunbathing. Not that I did. I wandered back listening to music and stopping for a couple of shots. That’s shots as in photos not as in Tequila as this was eight in the morning.

You can see from the photos how clear the day was, and how calm. What you don’t get, however, are the smells. Not only the herbs on the hillside, and the goats and their leftovers at times, but there is, in the shady places, a smell of the rocks, damp and humid. I notice that a lot in the narrower lanes of the village. Passing one of the small chapels yesterday, and often when I pass the cemetery, I could smell the incense. It’s often Frankincense, those small chips of what look like Turkish Delight that you see in the supermarkets. Yesterday it was different, and I’m not sure what it was, but it wafted across the main road in a couple of places and enhanced the bright, warm morning no end.

Back at home, I did the various this-and-that’s to the taps and pipes in order to top up the sterna as it was a water day and we still haven’t filled up after the summer and visitors. I was hoping for more rain. A couple of days of it and the well would be full, but we’ve only had one decent spell of wet weather. Mind you, that’s enough to set off some of the hillside plants and shrubs, and what was recently grey and ochre, is now starting to come green.

Anyway, that’s me for today. Have a good weekend.

Hello, I’m back

It’s a glorious warm autumn morning here on Symi as I wake up bleary-eyed and ready to do battle with the admin and chores and all that jazz. Bleary-eyed because I set my alarm for 4.15 so I could ring Neil in Rhodes to make sure he was up and ready for his flight. The hotel was also asked to call him (which they did as I was speaking to him) but we had a backup plan in place because the morning before, the night porter had rung us at 6 a.m. to ask if we had booked a wake-up call. I was as polite as possible and said no, but it didn’t bode well for the next day, or for the person who didn’t get their call, or for everyone else in the hotel who was rung while he tried to find the person that actually wanted waking up. I also had Mr Box in New Zealand (11 hours ahead) give a call to make sure, and between us all, he was up in time for his taxi and flight which was at 6.40.

This morning I am off down to Yialos as I have a couple of things to do and will then be catching up on washing and so on, the usual household chores, before settling down to work for the afternoon. The daily walks will begin again tomorrow. We did plenty of walking in Rhodes and were lucky enough to be taken out for a drive to Filerimos, the monastery near the old and new airports with stunning views. There will be more photos in time, but here are some to keep you going.

Symi Saturday Photos

The temperature has dropped, the duvet is on, the shutters shut against the north wind and there’s a real feeling, in our house at least, that autumn has slipped into winter overnight. I expect things will warm up again for a while and it’s just one of those passing weather fronts. Meanwhile, Friday was the name day for Dimitris, and we were meant to be going to one of the festivals. However, last minute and rather urgent business came up (to do with money so very urgent) and that had to be sorted on Friday before I go away on Monday. Maybe we will finally make it next time as we’ve been meaning to go for years now.

So, to warm me up, I thought I’d post some photos from back in warmer days to give you something to look at over the weekend.

Wet and Windy

In case you are following this week’s scintillating weather updates from Symi… We did have rain on Wednesday as forecast, and it was heavy for a while. We also had a power cut in our part of the village, only for a short while, and another one later in the evening when we were saying goodbye to departing friends at the Rainbow. It’s always a fun atmosphere when you’re inside and plunged into darkness. Yiannis lit a candle, a couple of us used the torch on our phone, and just as we were settling in for a dark time, the power came back on. Such are the highlights of a Symi winter.

Yesterday dawned cloudy and a bit colder, and the wind (as I write) is forecast to get up to force seven, but it’s still quite calm now apart from some showers. That’s just as well as I have to go to Yialos to pick up a package and but some boat tickets. Anyway, as I’m rushing a bit, here are a few more shots from Wednesday.

750 Feet Above Sea Level, Apparently

Still cloudy, a few spots of rain on Tuesday, forecast showing more later today (Wednesday) and windy later tomorrow night but it keeps changing. It’s still warm enough to be outside, though I am no longer in shorts, and we’ve started to hang the drapes to keep out the drafts, paint the bathroom roof against leaks, talk about finding the duvet, and where did I put those heaters?

I trotted up to the monastery again yesterday; three miles and a rise in altitude of roughly 400 feet. According to an app I have on the phone, To Vrisi is at 750 feet above sea level, and the house is roughly at 350 feet but who’s to say if that’s accurate. I do know that it’s uphill all the way for one and a half miles, and then joyously downhill again afterwards. I came home to find Neil was out on his walk as he finished work later than me. No idea where he’s gone.

And talking about that… Yesterday as you read this was Neil’s last day at the bar for the season. That’s about seven months, seven days a week with no day off. He only does a couple of siesta hours per day but imagine what the all-day and all-night people who work in tavernas and shops etc., must be feeling. The end is in sight, and they can think about having a day off. We’re taking a couple of days off next week (so no blog for a few days). I think I’ve mentioned it, I’m in Rhodes for two days, and then Neil’s away for three weeks, slightly over, on family visits while I come home to write books and stuff. I’ll be heading off to Athens on the boat around 17^th November for a couple of days there, and then we will be heading back, again on the Patmos on an overnight trip, arriving here at around 5.30 on a Wednesday morning. That’s going to be a fun trek up the steps with luggage in the dark. But that’s in the future, for now, I’ll stop rambling, add some images and get on with something else.