Symi time slip thanks to boats
Once again a late start (for me) so a short blog post. I popped over to Rhodes yesterday with the godsons; we had a great adventure on the Blue Star and I finally got around to asking for my ‘Sea Smiles’ card.
Waiting for a busy boat
Just so you know: this is a loyalty card and each time you buy a ticket or a drink, meal etc., you show your card and build up points that will eventually lead to discounts on tickets. I nipped down to the reception desk on the boat and asked for a form, filled it out and handed it over and the helpful lady there gave me the temporary card straight away. So easy – and the form was available in Greek and in English.
Boys at sea
I had a bit of a shock this morning. I didn’t hear the alarm as I’d left it in another room (it’s the alarm on my tablet, in case you thought I was in the habit of leaving alarm clocks sitting around the house like some character best suited to a Lewis Carrol story). I didn’t even hear the cat going off and so woke up half an hour behind schedule. That wasn’t a shock but when I went to my office and opened the shutters, there’s the Dodekanisos catamaran pulling away and heading towards Nimos and beyond like an early morning Buzz Lightyear. Strange; that doesn’t usually happen until half nine. I checked the alarm clock and realised that, as it was till only seven, this must be an extra boat put on for Easter as we are now, almost at the great festival.
Panagia Skiedani on its was across to Symi
And on that note, I’ll be off to get on and should be back with something less hurried tomorrow.
Quick post as I’m not here
I’m not here today. Neil is at home and I am in Rhodes with the godsons who are going to meet their dad from the plane. I should be back on Thursday though and will aim to get a decent post done then.
Day visitors
Meanwhile, I’ve been asking around about these health books that workers (in certain jobs) need to get done before legally being able to work. I might have mentioned it yesterday but one of the things you have to do is have a ‘health book’ stamped and test results authorised by a doctor in order to get your papers finalised. This was never a problem on Symi, not recently anyway, but now the doctor who was able to stamp the books is no longer here and so it means another trip to Rhodes. Not only that but it could mean a trip one day for tests, and another on another day for results and book-stamping; all to be done during the hours the Blue Star is in Rhodes, between 9.30 and 15:00 or between 9.30 (ish) and 19:00. I’ve been making enquiries and if anyone has any ideas of a quick way of doing it all in one day, I’d love to hear about it. (I know about the general hospital though that system comes with no guarantees of a one-day turn around) and I’ve been in touch with Euromedica and await their reply.
Symi harbour
Meanwhile, I’ve just been pottering around at home, dusting the red dust from the balcony and courtyard. This was brought down by some rain overnight on Monday which followed a pretty dramatic sky and sunset. The rain is now due to clear and the temperature should start to rise again with a forecast of sunshine and warming winds over the next couple of weeks.
Symi fish market
I have to go now, sorry to be brief, but there are things to do before finding out where the boat is and heading back to Rhodes, again. I must go down to the sea again…
Working in Greece by the numbers
Today will be one of those shorter blogs as I left it until this morning to write it and now I want to get on with other things. Yesterday went a little awry as we went to Yialos to try and get some ‘starting work’ papers organised. Starting a job in Greece is not as straightforward as it is in, say, the UK.
The Poseidon went back in the water a few days ago and is now just about ready for the summer
To start with you need certain numbers from the tax office, you need to register and you need to be passed medically fit for work (if working in a taverna or bar etc.). So, we started (with George, my nephew) at the doctor’s surgery which was, as usual, quite popular on a Monday morning. We wanted to ask the doctors to stamp his medical book so that we could then go to the KEP office and ask about an Amka number. We waited, and waited until our turn was up and then went in, showed the doctor the book and asked what to do and were told that there isn’t a doctor on the island who can stamp these books, not at the moment. Our old doctor has just left, he was qualified to do this but now we will have to go to Rhodes to get the book stamped. Okay, so that’s going to mean a day off work (at least one) and a trip to Rhodes next week. Next stop, the KEP office.
THere are several hotels at te back of the harbour should you want to be away from the hustle and bustle
KEP is rather like the CAB in the UK, as we’re talking in acronyms, and the ladies there are very helpful. He needs to have an AFIMI (ΑΦΜ) number from the tax office in Rhodes, once they have that then the KEP office can organise his AMKA number (your health insurance number) which will then be needed to pay and claim from IKA (like your N.I. subscriptions, health service etc.), so off to see the accountant at the bottom of the Kali Strata.
Day trip talk at the church
A quick chat with our friend there and yes, he needs to go to the Tax office in Rhodes to get an AFIMI number and then also get an Amka number. This we know, but can you arrange this for us? Yes, this Wednesday, but the accountant needs to take his passport, only the original will do and we need to sign some papers back at KEP to start the ball rolling. Back to the Town Hall and papers duly signed and stamped there, and then back to the accountant to hand them in, and that’s all fine he will sort out the numbers later this week. Meanwhile the health book is still to be done and now we can’t go to Rhodes to get that done on Wednesday this week as the accountant has the passport, and we can’t go on Friday as it’s Easter week and Good Friday, so it will have to wait until next week, meanwhile you can’t (legally) work as you’ve not got your health book stamped or your IKA numbers in and up to date and…
The ice cream fridge has found a new home, in the village
So, one day next week, probably Wednesday, one of us will go to Rhodes with George and find a doctor/heath clinic that can check the tests and stamp the book. Meanwhile, I’m off to Rhodes for the day tomorrow (again, I know!) and yes, we are in Easter Week here in Greece, visitors have started to arrive for holidays, bangers and dynamite is and will be going off, and we had some rain last night which the plants must have loved.
Olympic Holiday rep job, interested? I was contacted by Olympic Holidays on Saturday asking if I could publicise their Symi rep job. Happy as always to oblige my friends and neighbours (as the Beadle says in Sweeny Todd) here’s their email and contact details:
Want to be a holiday rep?
I wondered if you may be able to help me. I’m looking to employ a full time rep for Olympic Holidays who lives on Symi for the 2016 summer season. The position would be 8 hours per day, 6 days per week and we would need someone to start at the beginning of May until the middle of October – the job role includes:
Providing excellent customer service to our customers on holiday
Liaising with hoteliers/accommodation owners and agent (Symi Tours) to ensure accommodation standards are as expected
Providing an informative welcome meeting to all arrivals on the island, taking excursion sales and booking them with the agent
Weekly accounts for all excursion sales taken
Visiting Rhodes on a Wednesday each week to escort departing guests and welcome and escort arrivals over to Symi
Completing company paperwork as per company procedures
Ensuring that company branding is in place on the island in all of our accommodations
Problem solving for guests, ensuring an appropriate solution is found
Possible other duties including: assisting when a guest may be ill or injured
Holidaying on Symi
The basic salary for this position would be: 410 GBP per month (must be paid into a UK bank account)
Commission: 6% of total excursion sales (paid monthly into UK account) + 2% held commission to be paid at the end of the season based on targets given and completion of the season.
A day trip from a visiting cruise ship
If you know anyone who may be interested or it would be a possibility to advertise on any of your social media, I would really appreciate your help.
Should you need any further details, please let me know and I will respond accordingly.
We would prefer the candidate to have their own accommodation however, that is negotiable so would be interested to speak to anyone interested in the first instance as we may be able to help out.
And back to Symi, again
I thought I would share the hundreds of images I took in Rhodes last week, and then realised I only took five, and two of them were on Symi. Ah well; here are five images I took earlier this week.
Waiting for the afternoon boat on Symi
And as for getting back to Symi: Since Wednesday night I’ve seen the harbour, as I walked around it, the village square and the inside of Georgio’s taverna, oh, and the supermarket. That’s about it. I have no idea what’s going on out there or down there but I can tell you that it’s still warm, though a little cloudy, and there is a wind from the northwest (I believe) that has a little bit of a bite to it. But only a kind of pre-teething bite, nothing that actually does any damage.
Looking towards Yialos towards the end of the day
There have been boats though; some more sailing boats and private yachts, you know, the large ones. The ones that no-one really admits to liking but secretly wants to be invited on, or even better, own. ‘I hate those super-yachts,’ says One. ‘That’s a shame,’ says the other. A look passes between the two, One questioning, Two half-smiling in the pre-glow of a good putdown. ‘I was going to invite you aboard for dinner.’ ‘Well,’ One counters, ‘I didn’t mean yours of course.’
Cruise ship leaving Rhodes
And so, into the weekend and what does that hold in store? Just writing for me, at the moment. Some housework no doubt and the thrill of some repotting in the courtyard perhaps. I am popping back to Rhodes on Wednesday for the day, so that will give me a day out. The Wednesday boat is popular for shoppers. You can save the price of your ticket by spending only one hour in Lidl and, if you spend two hours in Carrefour, you can also afford a hire car. It’s one of those eccentric mathematical figurings where they manage to make the term ‘the more you spend the more you save’ sound logical. Never works for me. If you wanted to save you wouldn’t spend at all. But you know what I mean.
The famous diving board
It’s not just for the savings though, the reason the boats are treated like a local bus on shopping day. On Wednesday, with the boat on time, you actually get the right amount of shopping time. Leave here at 8.00, arrive just after 9.00 (this is with the punctual and fast Paros) and then you have five hours to do your stuff before being safely back on board with half an hour to spare. You can do the same on Friday but you have an extra four hours there. Perfect for a shop and a very long lunch but you’re not always guaranteed to leave on time if the weather is bad, as the boat goes down to Kastelorizo after Rhodes.
But yes, we have been having more boats including the Sea Dreams trips and some extra Dodekanisos coming for the day. I still advise you check the boat sites before you make your travel plans though as it’s still possible to not get back and forth conveniently on some days, and over-nigh stays in Rhodes are still possible.
Mandraki harbour
There, that’s it from me. It’s been a busy week, what with work and wiring, beeps and books, arsenic and old lace. (No idea why, just came out; great film, must find it again.) And so I am off for a quiet weekend now, I hope. You never know what lies in store when you get back to Symi.
