The countryside within minutes

I took a brief walk early on Monday morning, just down towards Pedi, as far as the football pitch and back again. The nice thing about this route is that I was in the ‘countryside’ within five minutes of leaving home. At least, that’s how it felt. It’s been a while since I smelt dung (lol), and there’s something strangely refreshing about it. It reminds me of being young on the Marsh, where you could often smell the fields from the edge of town. Muck spreading was a particularly fragrant time of year and a smell that still doesn’t bother me.

I came across a menagerie within minutes of leaving home…

Sotiris was opening up and feeding his ‘family’, as he called them. ‘How many have you got?’ I asked, but he only shrugged and laughed. These are the bin cats and others from along the lane, and as you can see, the supermarket is not only popular with shoppers.

Heading down the Pedi road, I branched off down the slope behind what was once Blooms, and within seconds, was treading over rocks on the semi-made road. There are smallholdings and fields, orchards and vegetable patches on either side, plenty of chickens to greet, and that countryside smell, although the road is only a few yards away. The air was fresh, though, and a few birds were rustling the trees, a few goats and sheep tied up or roaming in pens, and a sense of calm. The moon was setting, though the sun was not yet up, which is why the images are grey and dull.

Reaching the football pitch, I decided I’d had enough, a chapter was pressing on my mind, so I turned around and made the steady climb back up to the village via Campos. A simple, short walk of around 40 minutes ambling. Meanwhile, Neil had set off Climbing over rocky mountains (extra points for identifying the operetta that comes from) to Micro Sotiris and back, an eleven-mile hike that took him five and a half hours via the ridge and returning on the road. He (they, as he was with Clare) stopped for photos along the way, and there will be some of them in due course. Meanwhile, back to the desk.

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Monday Morning Thoughts

Hello, and welcome to March. Kalo mina, kalo evthoumada, kalimera, kali everything. Over the weekend, Neil sent me a batch of photos from some of his recent walks. He and Clare have been exploring some of the island’s lesser-visited parts, and I have a heap of images to share with you over the coming days. There are plenty of views you may not have seen before as Neil has been up to Kokimethes, along the Pedi ridge and many places in between. There are many familiar sights too; plenty of flowers taken with a macro lens, goats, of course, ancient threshing circles and more goats. There are some churches, views of snow on the Turkish mountains, goats, sheep, Symi looking springtime green, calm seas, trees and, of course, goats.

The weekend passed quietly for me. I released a new book on Thursday, having employed a company to do the internal layout for me, which saved me a whole day’s frustrating work, cost me very little and yet has given an excellent result. You can find ‘Negative Exposure’ here. As soon as that was done, I started on the next one because that is what I do. I am contriving a mystery that’s all to do with an inheritance and a musical code (because that’s what I do too), and have started having fun with that.

I did also get out and about a little, walking off the beaten track so that I can remove my mask; at least, until I see someone coming in the opposite direction, when I put it back on again just in case. It seems to me that many people are growing increasingly fed up with the restrictions and are no longer paying attention to them. With more cases being reported in Rhodes, Kos and Kalymnos, that’s up to them (though it’s not really, as there are laws), and although I stay in as much as possible, I am cautious when I do go out and do my best to follow the rules, I can understand why people have had enough. Vaccinations have started on the island, and that will help, and we’re hopeful we may see a reasonable summer season this year, but who can yet tell?

The biker boys have been having fun. The teenagers who have mopeds where they have removed their silencers, or whatever, and spend the evenings meeting, post-curfew, in certain places to see who can make the most noise. I suspect the whole island can hear them. I was up early the other day, 3.00 actually, and they were still at it. Another sign that people are bored and, let’s face it, there’s not much to do here in quieter months anyway, especially when bars and cafes are closed. The warm weather, although welcome, doesn’t help, and it’s hugely tempting to be outside watching the world go by, sitting outside a café with a beer and enjoying April weather in February. Some bars have been holding what sound like private parties inside, while others who are allowed to sell takeaways are doing so, and their customers are having their ‘takeaways’ in the street where the only difference between now and summer is the absence of tables.

And so, life goes on as best it can, and we enjoy warm temperatures which will help keep heating bills down, a blessing when incomes are low, and we read the news to hear what may or may not be happening with a tourist season this year.

So… Onto the week that will be with a new mystery to compile, a little walking to do, and not very much else on the slate for the next few days.

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Weekly Catchup and Photos

And here it is, Friday again. Good Lord! The days seem to be zipping by. I have finished my 9th Clearwater Mystery during the week and am waiting for the files to come back from the typesetter. I have been doing all that myself but on my old PC, which, when I turned it on this week, was slower than a slow thing on National Slowness Day, so I finally gave up on the process and have contracted it out to a guy in the USA who knows what he is doing. I’ve also distantly ‘bumped’ into a few friends while out and about, learnt of a worrying rise in cases on Rhodes, and been quietly appalled at some local folk not obeying the rules while hearing upbeat news about the possible opening up of tourism to Greece before too long. Meanwhile, we’ve been enjoying warm weather. I’ve been able to catch up on the washing and started on my next novel. No time to sit still, which is ironic as that’s what I do for most of the day. Anyway, have a good weekend, and here are some recent images taken by Neil or me on various walks.

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Wednesday

A short walk for me yesterday, just out on the mountainside and back again. While wandering that way, I spied Neil and Clare on their way over the top. They were heading to Kokimithes, which is, I believe, the second-highest monastery on the island. Please correct me if I am wrong. You can also walk to it via the road, but you know Neil: always likes to go over the top.

You can’t really make them out on that zoomed-in photo, but they were both wearing red, which is very sensible when going off-piste, and they were quite high up. A path leads from just over the Ag Marina bridge, around terracing and up the hillside to the ridge. Along it, you suddenly come across a set of steps like you find in the village, and you have to wonder how old they are. It’s only a short stretch of steps, after and before that, it’s across the boulder fields and scrub, though parts are worn away so you can follow the track. You’ve also got the red dots kindly provided by Frances and her Symi walking book, still there after so many years. I’m not sure if they are updated and redone now and then, but they have weathered well in the main.

For me, it was a pleasant stroll along the side of the hill while I dreamt up my next chapter. I was greeted by Araby, the sheepdog on my way back, his owners, and their puppy, who bounced and barked all over me in a good-natured way. I think I heard him/her called ‘Poppy’, but I can’t be sure; it might have been something else. Still, a nice welcome on the hillside, as they say, before trudging home again to put the washing on, sort the laundry and write a book.

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Symi Hinterland

We’re currently watching the Welsh crime drama, Hinterland, and the word, not the series, made me think of Symi’s hinterland. So, today, I thought I’d share a couple of shots Neil took on a recent walk to Stavros tou Polemou (the Cross of the War), the highest church on Symi. Apparently, the ‘war’ of the church’s title refers to a family feud of the past rather than a world war. At least, that was what I was told many years ago by a chap who seemed to know.

You can find this church via a fairly lengthy walk from Horio, along the main road, cutting off a corner with the old calderimi (above) if you want. About halfway across the island, where you enter the woods, there’s an unfinished building on the left. Opposite, you can take a woodland path to the side of the hill on which the church sits, or, now, you can take a carved-out track. It’s been a while since I went that way, but like many other tracks on the island, the ones around this area are being improved to make access to the farms and churches safer and easier.

There’s a bit of a scramble up the hillside as far as I remember, but nothing too strenuous as many people do it in their ‘best’ for festivals. (Wear proper walking shoes and take your high heels with you for when you get to church, for safety.) From up there, you can see across to Panormitis and beyond, around the south-east side of the island and across the sea to other Dodecanese islands too. It’s a lovely walk, very rewarding, and took Neil roughly six hours from Horio to there and back, though he did stop for views and photos along the way, and timing depends on which path you take, how fast you walk and so on. Maybe something to consider for the cooler earlier and later season months when you can next get across here on holiday.

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