Blue Star Patmos, Symi (and happy Birthday to Neil!)
The Blue Star Patmos came in yesterday on its first Symi run. This ship has replaced the Paros which had been serving us very well all summer. According to the timetable it will be running from Symi to Rhodes on the usual days, Wednesday (08.15 arriving at Rhodes at 09.40) and Friday (07.45 arriving at Rhodes at 09.10).

It will be doing the route’s usual return trips on Wednesday (15.00 arriving at Symi at 16.30) and Friday (19.00 arriving at Symi at 20.25), and it leaves from Akandia harbour in Rhodes. There are a couple of tavernas nearby so if you are using this crossing you can find yourself at Nimos, just inside Akandia gate and owned/run by two Symi friends, or there is another one at the entrance to the harbour which is also a handy place to sit and chill as you wait for your boat.

For details about traveling to Symi head over to the Symi Visitor Accommodation travel blog where Andy has also put summaries of the other boats and their timetables.

We were down in the harbour on Tuesday night to have drinks with some friends, and then came back up to do the usual stop-off at Rainbow to meet with others. It’s such a sociable time of year over here; but we were still up early to get through our daily chores, work and jobs, so that’s fine. I’m not sure what state we will be in on Friday though as a group of us are going out to celebrate Neil’s birthday tonight and it could get messy.

I’ll leave you with that thought as I have a present to wrap, and I’ll leave you with a couple more shots from Tuesday to go with it. PS. I now know that yesterday’s bird was a chiffchaff – thank you Lyndon!

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Birds and bells, the sound of Symi
A little bird watching from the balcony yesterday produced the results below. I’m still checking with the experts but it might be a serin? I’ll correct that if I’m wrong, but it looks similar to some I found on Symi Flora And Fauna.

We see various kinds of birds from here, though there are a lot more to be found up in the hills. Apparently the autumn migration has started, so we can expect more than our usual pigeons, seagulls and sparrows for a while now. From the balcony we can also see the hawks, kestrels I think, and every now and then other ones that I can’t identify; small brown birds smaller than a sparrow that look like wrens only slightly larger. We also hear the owls, there were a couple having a good old debate outside the open window the other night, and recently I’m sure I’ve heard a thrush. Could be a blue rock thrush, perhaps? Getting photos of them is often difficult as they are all so quick.

We also saw clouds yesterday and the weather report, having already changed since two days ago, shows cloud for today, in part, with heavy rain up on the mainland, but no rain expected here. But you never know…

Other sights and sounds from the balcony keep me going through the day: the whistles in the harbour, anchor chains falling, ships’ horns as they come in, the bell on the train, the clop of the horse’s hooves as it trails its carriage around the harbour, the mopeds on the road, the rising arpeggio of the town hall ‘boing, boing, boing’ and the announcements that follow. We hear the sea lapping sometimes, early in the morning before the boats start pulling in and out, the wind in the trees nearby, the sound of cats fighting and discussing (loudly) possible mating proposals, neighbours passing, greetings from down below, cicadas in their season and various church bells, some from behind in the village where they sound quiet, and some along the lane and from the church opposite at Harani. We don’t hear the harbour clock anymore as it’s been stuck on 11.45 for well over a year now, but we can see it. We can even hear chatter from below (careful the things you say) and the neighbour’s washing machine, hoses being used to wash recently washed courtyards, the occasional dog barking and sometimes distant music from somewhere… out there.

The weather has changed; there’s a feel of autumn in the air, thanks to the passing cloud, but that should soon clear and leave September and October as warm and pleasant as you’d expect. But it smells fresher and calmer now and not as humid, most of the time. The fan is off, there is a discussion about when to put a top sheet on the bed and today is the first time in a few months that I have to wear a shirt as I sit by my open window and type away. But there is still a long way to go before the end of the season. I’d better get bird watching and see if I can find you anything else that might be of interest. If only they’d sit still long enough for me to go and find the camera, turn it on, remember to take off the lens cap, realise I’ve turned it off, turn it on again, put the strap around my neck and then… oh it’s gone.

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A quick note on September
There was some mild excitement on Saturday when the clouds brewed up over the sea and over Turkey (Neil’s photo, below, was taken on his tablet). Later, as we were having dinner, I noticed some flashguns going off down the lane and though it was a bit odd. Then they were going off down another lane and I realised it was lightning. I thought the thunder might have been my tummy rumbling but it wasn’t. A few spots or rain have since been reported but otherwise, there was no downpour or storm here and the weather is set to remain warm and sunny.

This gives me an opportunity to carry out a long range weather forecast by visiting a website to see what they have to say about things. September is a popular month among northern Europeans who often pay return visits to the island at this time of year. Checking one weather site I see that they are reporting Symi September weather to be sunny all through the month with ‘increasing cloud’ on 30^th, and temperatures up at 25 or so. Apparently October is going to be the same, though down to 18 degrees towards the end of the month, and there are only a few days with cloud. I guess they go by previous years’ forecasts as they are predicting a thunderstorm on November 6^th, which seems a bit precise as it’s so far ahead.

Still, the weather is warm and sunny, there’s a bit of a breeze at times which has now taken away the humidity of July and August and the sea is calm, so all is fine and dandy there. In other news, well there isn’t really any other news. I spoke too soon when I said we were in for a quiet week apart from the birthday party; we now have guests on Monday, drinks on Tuesday, dinner on Thursday and two engagements for next week – not that I am complaining of course and don’t worry, we do work during the day so we’re not just lounging around waiting for the next social gathering. This is what September is like.

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Symi To and Fro
Sunday morning on Symi… A whole day ahead with nothing much planned and so the questions is, what to do? I’ve been asked to write a piece for a new site that might be of interest to you, the Greek City Times. The site has several sections including news, lifestyle (travel) and Culture and I’ve been asked to write something about moving to Greece and what Symi has on offer. Not sure how many words yet, I mean, I could fill a book, as you know, but they probably don’t want that much. So, I am going to put my mind to that this week.

Also this week we have a small birthday gathering for Neil on Thursday, I say small, it did at least start small, now it’s up to 20 people on an evening out, down to Mythos in the harbour, so we are looking forward to that. There are, as yet, no other engagements in the diary for the week so I am looking forward to a few quiet days at home, for a change. I may even be able to get up and out for a dawn walk. Famous last words.

We were out twice over the weekend (so far). In Friday we walked down to Pedi with a friend and had a meal at Tolis, the taverna on the left hand side of the bay. This taverna serves traditional Greek food with a barbeque going, mezethes and oven dishes and is nicely priced. There was a breeze down there and it was the first time since May that I have worn a long sleeved shirt. The sleeves were soon rolled back up again later when the breeze died down. We caught the bus back up at 22.30 and joined people in the village square for a nightcap. On Saturday, after a blissful day of pottering around the house and doing very little, we went to Yialos and had dinner with other friends at Bella Napoli. This is an Italian restaurant with a wood over for pizzas, other interesting dishes based round seafood and chicken they also do steaks with sauces; I went for the chicken with gorgonzola and very nice it was too. We caught the 23.00 but up to the village afterwards and joined others in the square for… well, you know the routine.

It’s all rather quiet at the house at the moment as Jack, the Alarm Cat, is out on a field trip. You might have read last week that he went out on Wednesday night after an unsettled day at home. We think he is in the mood for a wander, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same time as last year when he went on an eight-day holiday and came back looking healthy and refreshed. We’re not unduly worried about him, he’s big enough to look after himself despite being deaf, and he knows where his home is should he want to come back. He might have gone back to his old house again but if so, he won’t recognise it as it’s now been, or is being, renovated. I am sure he’s fine so there’s no need to worry. The mornings are quieter without the alarm call, though the fan is still running in the bedroom, and the window is open so the sounds of the road filter in and we can’t hear him much in the mornings against those sounds anyway.

And so, here we go off into the week with only one engagement planned and a lot of writing to do as I start to work up ideas for the article and for a new book of travel tales. The working title for this one at the moment is ‘Symi, to and fro’ as it’s about travel stories as much as it is about living on Symi. I best get typing, have a good day.

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Symi Saturday Photos
Just giving you 10 random images today as a Saturday Photo collection. Have a good weekend and I should be back with you on Monday – hopefully with some news about something, or at least a bit of misinformed gossip about… well, anything really. If not, I will make it up. Have fun!

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