Yialos to Pedi when on a day-trip?

I thought we’d go for another walk today and it’s one that is possible to do if you are only coming for a day trip – through you may have to miss out on lunch. All you have to do is remember to turn left. We’re going from Yialos (where the day-trip boats drop you off after or before your visit to Panormitis) to Pedi.

Start at the clock tower where you get off the day-trip boat and, as soon as you leave it, turn left. You follow the harbour front all the way around, over the bridge, along the ‘flat end’ as I call it, and around to the left to where the other day-trip boats come in. If you’re on one of those that arrive opposite the clock tower (The Sea Dreams, for example), get off it and turn left – see? It’s easy. Follow the main road out of the harbour heading east and up the hill. This is a slow and steady climb, with a pavement. It does a couple of bends, past ‘council corner’ and then up gradually to the windmill hill. The path is on the seaward side of the road, so you have excellent views of Yialos and the village as you make the final push to the windmills.

Here, where the road forks, you can turn right and drop down into the village and come out at the top of the Kali Strata. But we’re into going left today so, bear left and stay on the main road as you crest the hill and it’s downhill from here on. You will zigzag a bit until you come to a T-junction. Again, turn left, and you’re on the way down to Pedi. You will have the valley and hills on your right, and an avenue of trees as you pass the supermarket storerooms, the stone mason’s yard, the power station and water desalination plant, and some small farms and homesteads, plus the sports pitch. (There is an off-piste path behind what used to be Blooms, not far from the T-junction and you can follow that if you want. You will end up at the football pitch where you will need to take a right (right, note) at the new church and follow the unmarked path to Pedi that way. Not advisable if you are limited for time in case you get lost.)

Down the hill towards Pedi and you will come to a fork in the road. It’s probably been dropped there by a caterer on the way home from a taverna party, so leave it for later and, as we are having a left day, take the left fork in the road to reach the north side of Pedi bay. This way you will pass some amazing rock formations on the left and go through the boatyard – still in use – before arriving by the sea at Apastolis Taverna. Here, you can continue left if you want to get to the end of the bay, or walk to the right, through the taverna (it’s quite acceptable to do so) and follow the ‘flat’ end of the bay to the supermarkets and the taverna with the jetty. This one caters to the ‘classy’ yachts that come in, and both tavernas are good places to eat; check menus and prices to suit you.

Now then, I reckon that from Yialos clocktower to Pedi on this route would take me, roughly, 45 minutes to reach the top of the road and the windmills, and another 20 down to Pedi. So if you landed at, say 11.30, you could be there by 12.45 without sweating too much. You can then catch the bus back on the half hour, every hour and that will get you into Yialos (by the Sea Dreams day-boat, south side) at around ten-to the hour; so the 13.30 bus will get you there in plenty of time for a 14.30 departure. You can, of course, catch the bus as soon as you land, on the hour from Yialos (say 12.00), and be in Pedi by 12.30, giving yourself an hour there before you have to catch the 13.30 back to Yialos to leave at 14.30.

It’s just an idea of something else to do with a day on Symi, and if you’re staying here for longer, well, there’s no rush, and you can stop for lunch in Pedi, or the afternoon, or your whole holiday.

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March 7^th Dodecanese, Greece

Looking at the week ahead and we have the March 7^th parade on Wednesday. This celebrates the day that the Dodecanese Islands were officially handed back to Greece in 1948. For ‘handed back’ you can also read integrated into the nation of Greece, or freedom.

On Symi, as on other Dodecanese islands, the event is celebrated by a church service in the morning and a parade afterwards. This is one of the times of the year that the school children dress in school uniform, practice marching (I can hear the whistles in the playground being blown in strict rhythm), and then parade with the military, scouts, nurses and others. On Symi, they usually parade from the clock tower, past the war memorial and to the town square. There might be speeches and presentations at the memorial like there is on Oxi Day (October 28^th) and afterwards, families go for giros and coffee, chats and catch-ups with friends who might have come over for the day.

I may not have translated this accurately, but the inscription on the war memorial reads: “Today freedom whispered to me, cease, twelve islands from your struggle.” Which always gives me goosebumps.

Also in my diary for this week is… Nothing much. Nothing at all, actually, which means I can get on with what I do, tapping on the keyboard, dreaming up stories, trying to think of something for this blog, discussing what needs doing in the house and courtyard and then not doing it, and starting to think about packing for our trip in a couple of weeks. And that’s how my Monday is starting – let’s see what the rest of the week brings.

(The photos are from last year Oxi Day on Symi and a parade in Rhodes.)

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Symi Photos: People

I had a quick look through my folders to see if I had any images with people in them, and this is what I came up with. Now might be a good time to mention that if you ever see a photo of yourself on here and don’t want it online, just let me know and I’ll happily take it down.

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Symi Winter – Ventilation

Yesterday started out sunny and a bit chilly as there was a breeze, and I suspect it’s coming from the north. Nothing like northern Europe is dealing with at the moment, I know, and I hope you are snow free and safe wherever you are. I’ve been spending my days inside at the desk, mainly. I keep wanting to go out for walks and things, but it’s been a bit wet and grey and, by the time I finish my day’s work, the urge has faded. That’s why I usually do any exercise first thing in the morning. I like to have the rest of the day spread before me with its not enough hours so I can get done the things I want to do. Walking up hills in the rain is not my idea of fun, no matter how necessary and healthy it would be.

On more practical, Symi-based matters, I was asked recently in an email what the day-to-day life is like at home on Symi through the winter. Well, if you’re interested, the practical home routine, for me, goes something like this. Get up, open the bedroom window to help get rid of some of the condensation that’s gathered there overnight. We also open the kitchen window when cooking and, when it’s not blowing a gale and raining, the living room windows and doors to let the air blast through the house and clear the damp. The bathroom window is permanently open unless I am planning a shower the following morning. In that case, I close the window at night, prepare my clothes, slippers and fleece dressing gown, so that first thing it’s straight from bed to shower before I have time to register how cold it is. It’s usually a dash back to the bedroom in similar fashion afterwards, and I don’t properly come round until I’m in new, dry and warm clothes.

The windows stay open all morning as we are lucky enough to have the workhouse where we spend most mornings and me, most afternoons too. It doesn’t get damp in there, it’s never warm enough, and the shutters are open/closed depending on wind direction. We tend to take a break around midday and at this time, start preparing the sitting room for the evening. That means turning on one bar of the heater and closing windows and shutters and putting up the curtain over the balcony doors, and pulling the other one across to block off the hall. As we have an open mousandra above the bedroom by the sitting room, that’s got thermal curtains drawn across in winter to make the sitting room, open below, easier to heat. Then, it’s blankets over knees, feet up and an evening with films or books.

Some evenings are given over to a drink at the Rainbow bar, but mainly only weekends now as we’re desperately saving for the holiday in two weeks. Domestically, the house is closed for the evenings, window-wise, and we keep a close eye on the black mould in the bathroom, and latterly the bedroom, and wash that off as soon as it appears. We’ve had to paint one bedroom wall already this winter – the first time in three years here. Well, Sam did it as one of his money-making sessions, and a good job he made of it too.

There. That’s the home, domestic, window news for today. As it’s sunny, I will put the washing outside to dry, so I don’t have to clamber over it in the workhouse entrance where it usually hags at this time of year.

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Wednesday workout

(Random photos today. Kalo mina!)
Rain stopped play on Wednesday. Well, it stopped Neil from going to aerobics with Dawn at half eight in the morning. I know that sounds a bit sissy, but it’s actually very sensible when the run-off is turning the Kali Strata into the Zambezi which, I am sure you will know, has some of the most dangerous rapids in the world. Not to be outdone, he is now doing something to 1980s music while wearing legwarmers in the sitting room. It’s like an incident from ‘Cats’ in there. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here wondering what to tell you. I’ve been inside again all week so far, with not much of a view and not much going outside to check the temperature of the rain, and so there’s little news from up here, apart from the usual.

I did see the blue Star come in this morning, I was up that early, and I can remind you that the Dodekanisos Seaways timetable should now be available online taking you right up to October. (There may be some missing weeks around Easter as there was last year, as that timetable can change – but I’ve not looked.) Which means that now you can book your boats across to Symi, find flights to match and accommodation you want to stay at, and plan ahead to take your mind off the snow if you are in the yUK and other parts of Europe currently shivering in low temperatures.

I just checked out the online weather for Split in Croatia as we should be there in a few weeks, and it’s currently a sunny -5, but due to climb to six degrees in the rain later in the week. It’s due to be between 15 and nine when we are there, which will make it warmer than our last trip abroad, which was to Serbia a few Novembers ago when it was averaging one degree per day. Mind you, we still have to get through the Rhodes leg of the trip, and on that note, I need to go and see what’s available hotel-wise in our budget. I’ll leave you imaging Neil in his Day-Glo bodysuit stretching to Donna Summer and go and look at luxury two-star hotels.

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