So, I am off for three weeks now and am handing you over to some guest bloggers. Before I go though, here are some recent photos from Neil. Winter on Symi is not just about being cold and wet, there are always celebrations of some sort going on: name day festivals, birthday parties (as below) baptisms (as below) and other festivals too. So, for this Monday, as I pack up and leave the house and cat in safe hands, here is a collection of photos to start your week. And remember, you can also keep in touch with Symi twice a week via Adriana’s Symi Blog which you can find here.
Sharing a joint birthday bash on SaturdayInside the kafeneion…… and outside with bubbles!Preparing the cakeFamily
And, from a few days ago – a few of the baptism photos.
A kind of quick’n’lazy blog today. The photos were taken from home as the Blue Star came in on Friday morning. As you can see, there is a little cloud around.
Friday morning
And then, as I was watching the boat and having my morning coffee, I noticed something else in the water. Recently we’ve become much more aware of the sea out there and we’re always looking out for small craft, refugees in trouble, that kind of thing, though our coastguard are very vigilant and there is often a navy boat out in the bay anyway. But this morning, this caught my eye:
What’s this?
It was too far away to see what it was but at first I thought it was a fisherman’s marker, except it wasn’t in a very sensible place for that. Later on I noticed that it was slowly drifting towards the shore, but what was it? Anyway, while that was going on, I was also thinking about the next few weeks and being away, and I prepared a guest blog post. I’d originally set the first one up for next Wednesday, and then I’d filled in all the other gaps for while I am away, and then a last minute one popped in so I have put that in for next Tuesday, which is when the guest blogging will start. I now have something for every day from next Tuesday to the 12th December, by which time I should be back.
Boat coming in, and the tug working the barge
But I thought I would think ahead in terms of weather as well as we have to go and arrange our boat tickets (and stock up on Jack Cat food for his agency care worker to deal with). Checking out one weather site I found that the forecast I had last seen had changed; no longer sunny with only one day of rain, it looks set to be a bit miserable when we are in Rhodes next week; maybe I won’t get to Ancient Kamiros after all, I don’t fancy a long walk in the rain. At least the wind looks to be fine for the boat on Monday afternoon and the temperature is not too low. And as for the weather in the places we are going to visit… Well, ‘Showers of rain and snow’ seem to sum it up along with temperatures of five and six degrees, showers and ‘an afternoon thunderstorm.’ I think we will be buying umbrellas when in Rhodes.
Waiting for the boat
But before then… What was it? Ah ha! As it floated in towards the Nireus I was able to get a better photo and blow it up. Not sure where they came from but they seem to have travelled as a pair.
Symi Dream Calendar Okay, early and advanced warning that I will be repeating this post in a few weeks as if by magic when I will be away. On the day I am planning to copy this post I should be back on Symi, actually, if all goes well. But still, there is one gap in my scheduled posts list and it’s December 12th so this will still give you enough time to order and receive your Symi Dream Calendar for 2016. Here’s what you have to do:
Head to Neil’s page on Lulu and find his Symi Dream Calendar 2016. (Just click that link.) Then click ‘Add to basket.’ You will need to register for Lulu if you are not already registered. This is quick and isn’t hard to do. You can change the shop you are buying from by using the drop-down up at the top in the menu next to where you see your name (once registered and logged in). Buy from a country near you for a faster delivery. In Greece, I use the Irish site as it shows in Euros. You can change the number you order as you go through the purchase process and postage is then added on. You can pay by card or PayPal.
Calendar page at Lulu
There, now you have no excuse not to order a little piece of Symi sunshine to brighten up your winter and every month through next year. The following photos are not from the calendar, but they are Neil’s and from Symi and a bit of a photo bonus for you – they will also reappear on Saturday 12th December (if all goes according to plan) which will probably be your last chance to order a Symi Calendar before THE day. Enjoy!
Quick news roundup
Here’s some other news to catch up with. It was all happening in Yialos on the afternoon of November 16th. First of all a chicken went shopping…
Off to buy some eggs
It’s one of those things that you see every now and then. You’re just walking along the backstreet towards the post office, passing the Xatzipetros supermarket when from behind the flower shop comes a small chicken. This is being followed at a polite distance by a curious young cat. The chicken crosses your path, you grab a quick photo and then it heads into the super market (sic) to, I assume, pick up a few essentials. The cat loses interest and wanders off somewhere else and you go to the post office.
Meeting with Solidarity Symi
Later you attend a meeting organised by Solidarity Symi, the refugee and island charity newly set up to help those in need. Attending are a group of interested observers plus the hosts, the island doctors, the head of the port police, people form the Rhodes charity ‘Helping Hands’ and members of the UN. A good two hour discussion with questions and some answers follows.
A message to remember
Later, having a glass at Pacho’s, you see a red flare being set off and wonder if that’s got anything to do with incoming refugees. It doesn’t, on closer inspection, seem so as the person holding it was on the quayside. The Dodecanese catamaran was leaving so maybe someone was saying goodbye in style. It did remind me though of a time in the summer when we were on the balcony and saw a flare, red, over by Nimos which did turn out to be a refugee boat in trouble. Red flares in the sunset.
Red flares in the sunset
And that’s my news for today, except to remind you that if you haven’t already put in your order for a Symi calendar or several, then now is the time to do so. You can find the order page here: Neil Gosling at Lulu. Or you could just ‘Google’ “Neil Gosling Lulu” and, surprisingly, you won’t find Neil singing ‘Shout’, but will find links to where you can order a copy, or several, of next year’s calendar. Well worth shouting about.
Symi to Rhodes, boats in November
Today’s blog post is a ramble around the boat timetable for November/December. As you know we’re heading off for a couple of weeks soon – and don’t worry, the house and Alarm Cat are being looked after – and so, as is usual around here, you have to check the boats to see when you’re going to go. Thing is, the flight is on a Friday morning and although there is a Blue Star ferry on a Friday morning it doesn’t get there early enough, so we have to go a few days earlier, in this case Monday, four days before our flight is due to leave. Why? Well…
At a baptism
Here’s the boat timetable from Symi to Rhodes for the week beginning 23rd November:
Monday 17.45 Pride
Tuesday
Wednesday 08.15 Diagoras
Thursday
Friday 07.45 Diagoras
Saturday 17.25 Pride
Sunday 17.10 Pride
Sunrise last week
Not that we need to, but you can only come back on the same day if you go on the Diagoras. Now then, you say, what about going on Wednesday? Well, yes, that’s the obvious choice and what we were originally going to do. But the thing is, should something happen and that boat not go (and there have been delays due to strikes) then we are stuck until the Friday morning when the boat, even if on time, would not arrive until about half an hour before take-off. So, the only safe option is to go on the Monday. (When I booked the flights the timetable for boats was not available and I was relying on the Wednesday Blue Star, which is still the fall back option should anything happen to the Monday boat.)
Still hot in Yialos
So, a delightful four nights in Rhodes before we jet off to visit Neil’s brother and other interesting sights in Europe. What to do? Well, first off you have to find accommodation and though we usually stay at hotels, and would in this case if it were only for a couple of nights, we’ve found an apartment in the old town at a very good price (€25.00 a night for a one bed apartment including TV, heating and Wifi); I will no doubt do a review of it on Trip Advisor or elsewhere when I get back. So, what’s the Rhodian itinerary?
Quiet in the village in the early evening
Well, ideas for what to do currently look like this: Monday night, staying around the Old Town and seeing what a night there is like in November. We are hoping to visit Ancient Kamiros too. This is open every day except Mondays from 08.00 to 14.40 and costs €4.00 to enter. There are buses back and forth to a nearby village and then a three mile walk. Tuesday night? Not sure yet but Wednesday is curry night with our annual Symi Dream outing to Saffron. We were also thinking of a Jumbo visit (from the sublime to the ridiculous) but that will have to wait until our return; I’m not carrying plastic tat around Europe with me. There will also be lots of walking no doubt, and a certain amount of staying in and watching television or reading to save money as the extra two days and nights were not in the budget.
On a walk, looking down to Nimborio
So, while all that’s going on, there will be guest blog posts and I’ve only a few more slots to fill out – and I may have to do that with adverts about my books and Neil’s Symi calendar which you might want to consider ordering now so as to avoid disappointment later. Links are on the right >> and more details will follow over the next few weeks.
