A walk to Panormitis. As I thought, no great big blog post today, it’s 7.40, I’ve only just got up and I have to be at the dentist in two hours or so, so here are the first of several photos I took yesterday when we walked to Panormitis – and had a great day. More info and photos tomorrow.
A misty morning
It was a misty morning when we set off at 7.50, the walk took us three hours 50 minutes in total.
The castro
Leaving the village by the old calderimi path, the ‘donkey path’ which leads to Xissos, though you turn left at the sign and head vertically to the road.
Leaving the village
I hope no one was badly injured (or injured at all, actually) in this mishap. This is taken on the ‘short cut; via Ag Katerina which is no short cut at all. There were a couple and a solo lady walking ahead of us who carried on up the zigzag as we sniggered off into the ‘short cut’ only to find them still ahead of us when we came out on the road again. Not bothering with that next time and the rough terrain plays havoc with Neil’s bad foot.
OopsView towards Neraspes and Koupi Bay
More photos and notes tomorrow when I have recovered from the dentist…
We have several kestrels (?) near the house and often see them overhead
This weekend is the festival of Panormitis, or rather, of the Archangel Michaelis, at Panormitis, and we will be walking over there on Sunday, all being well. The last time we walked all the way to the other end of the island was on my 40th birthday last year… only joking. But we did walk all the way and I’ve also done it once before and the story is told in Carry on up the Kali Strata – click the title for the Kindle version if you’ve not got it.
Lone fishing boat
There may well be another version of the story to tell next week. I doubt I shall get to it for Monday as I usually do Monday’s post on a Sunday so I am free to start work straight away, but I can see me not doing that this week as we’re intending to set off at 7.00 on Sunday, aiming to arrive around 12.00 and then we’re aiming to get a bus back in the afternoon, but we may be later and… well, anyway, Monday’s post may be a bit of a quick one, if there is one at all, but I shall, no doubt, be sharing photos and any anecdotes during next week.
For today though, here are some more of our Symi Saturday photos; some taken from the house (sky and sea, sorry about the blue dots the old camera’s sensor needs cleaning) and some taken in Yialos on Friday – enjoy and have a good weekend.
Face on a door on the Kali StrataQuiet and sunny in YialosThe nautical museum, gallery and antique shop is still openAnd on the way home the chickens are still doing their thing
I’ve started uploading the guest posts for the blogs for while I am away, so here’s a reminder that if anyone wanted to write a guest post for Symi Dream I still have space to fill for the days when we are away on holiday. I have some posts already in, thank you for those, with photos, but more would be fun. They can be about Symi, Greece, your own business or website (as long as vaguely related to Symi, Greece, writing or holidays) and you can even use it for advertising and linking. Send docs and pics to mail@symidream.com before 22nd November.
Turkish mountains before sunrise
I’ve not got much other news today. I went for a walk yesterday morning, nice and chilly and got the old circulation going, then came back and did some work, went to the dentist again and came back. That’s not very exciting for a blog post is it? But I did grab a few early morning photos for you, also not very thrilling as there was no cloud, but we don’t want cloud at the moment!
First light on the windmills
I was a bit shocked to see that my stock of ‘photos to post one day’ is now reduced to mainly images from Rhodes. Nothing wrong with Rhodes of course but not always very relevant to Symi and Symi Dream. I think I need to get out there and get more snaps. I’ll do that next time I am down town with the camera. At the moment I am spending a lot of time at the desk working and setting up the next draft of ‘Straight Swap’ for my ‘beta readers’ as apparently proof readers are now called; or draft readers really. After several hours at the desk I might pop out for one at the Rainbow as Neil is still working there –the sun is out there are a few visitors around, some white yachts come in to Yialos, though not many, so it’s still worth it. And after that, retreat home for something warm to eat and a good film.
Village still sleeping
The winter routine has started then!
Don’t forget the blog posts if you are interested to share your Symi thoughts with over 1,000 unique visitors per day. You might like to boost your favourite holiday company or accommodation as I will allow links to appropriate businesses. You might want to talk about your own book about Greece, or your favourite and that will be fine too. Anything about Symi, Greece, writing, holidays… anything suitable will be welcome.
The weather is calm and it looks set to stay calm for the festival of Panormitis happening this weekend. A 48 hour strike by some ferry workers meant that there was no Blue Star on Wednesday and may not be one on Friday, so our annual winter boat disruptions have started already. And that may also have a knock on effect for anyone hopping to come by ferry to the festival, unless they can come by the ‘Spanos’ routes from Rhodes. It may also mean fewer stalls at the festival if they were due to come by big boat. Or it might all work out fine.
May not be seeing this for a few days
We are, at the moment, intending to walk over to Panormitis for the day on Sunday, as long as Neil’s foot’s okay. He’s just started aerobics again so might be feeling a tad stiff in the legs; a walk will do it all good. The mornings are colder so it is even harder to get out of bed early and get into jogging gear and go up that hill and evenings start earlier so it is even more tempting to be in the warm with a good film or a book, rather than going up that hill in the evening. I’m working on it.
Rural view
I’m also working on my new book and almost have the third draft ready for the next proof reader. My efforts are being slightly hampered by the E key on my keyboard, which is sticking in the up position; I have to belt it with my finger to get it to work. So, if you find typos with the e missing you will know it’s because the ky isn’t doing what it should. And clearly that was meant to read key and not KY.
Early morning village square
Other news? Well, I heard that a group of doctors is coming over on Saturday to do examinations at the clinic and the Yialos school between 14:00 and 19:00, though exactly what doctors I am not sure; would be worth enquiring though if you are in need of a check-up. I also heard that the current island doctor may be leaving soon and we might be without one for a while.
Keeping warm
I can tell you that fewer and fewer day boats are coming in now the season has ground down, a few of the tourist shops are closed, and some have shut for the whole winter now, while a few remain open for Panormitis weekend I guess. The boats will be doing runs from Rhodes to Panormitis at the weekend but may not be calling into Yialos as often. And I also heard that Symi Tours are putting on buses to bring people back and forth to the festival, so we shouldn’t have to walk home, and there should also be the Panormitis regular bus, so that’s handy. If all else fails we will stick our thumbs out and hope for a ride on the back of a truck. If all else-all else fails we’ll walk back. Yeah right.
Yialos
Just to add that part one of the root canal work on the tooth went smoothly and surprisingly painlessly and part two is today around midday. It’s nice to be able to eat without pain again, until the next one goes wrong. And finally, finally, Neil spent some time with other volunteers sorting the winter and summer stock for the refugee centre yesterday as 20 or so new refugees came into Symi. The international news may have gone quiet on the subject in places (an on-going news story is not always a selling news story) but the crisis continues, people are still dying in their attempt to get to freedom and idiots are still saying ‘send them back, they are all men, they want to turn Europe into an Islamic state,’ and so on as Greece considers taking down it’s physical barrier between Greece and Turkey so the refugees don’t have to risk the sea. And so it goes on.
Well, here’s a fascinating piece of correspondence just come in to the Symi Dream in box. It starts: Dear Manager, and I wonder what, or who I am actually meant to be managing. I am managing to write a few hundred words each day and edit those already written, so I suppose I could be a ‘manager’ in that respect. I don’t manage the cat very well as he can’t hear me and I don’t do two-pawed sign language; and no one can actually manage Neil, but still, okay, I will allow the writer of today’s junk to call me ‘manager.’ It goes on:
And an early morning in Yialos
Have a good day! Well, that was a rather short email, hello and goodbye (I’ve just unemployed you – that always comes to mind, it’s from Evita) in one line. I think, as the writer, we later learn, does not have English as a first language we will also allow the use of this common valediction as a salutation. ‘Valediction’, such a lovely word and always reminds me of Mozart’s Requiem for some reason. (I heard a concert of it in the cathedral in Prague many years ago, and I should be in Prague in a few weeks’ time –there’s a tie in.) Anyhow, back to the email and its next line: This is Emily from CNBM Corp China, professional supplier of insect screen mesh for more than 10years. And this is where I suspect there is something a bit spammy about the correspondence. My suspicion is proved correct when I read the next line: From your website, glad to know you are in same market. Well, no actually, love, I have no idea how you picked up that Symi Dream is all about insect screen mesh. I don’t know the first thing about it other than I could do with some to keep out these blomin’ flies that are everywhere at the moment.
Followed by a view of the harbour
She then goes on to list some of her more popular items: Fiberglass insect screen mesh… pleated mesh… polyester… the rather vague PP mesh (pleated though) and so on. It means nothing to me – Oh Vienna! You can’t help but add that in can you? Especially as in about three weeks’ time I will be in Vienna. (Another tie in.)
May i know if any of them within your business scope? No you mayn’t, and you should have used a capital I and a verb, in this case, ‘are’, but okay, you’re not from ‘round these parts.
I’m glad to make you our detail quotation sheet after receiving your kindly reply. Let me just translate that a moment. (Pause.) Okay, know what you mean, but I’m not sure what I’m getting a quote for as I’ve not asked for anything so I doubt I will reply, kindly or otherwise. Anything else while you’re online?
And lunch (in Rhodes)
Samples are also no problem for your testing. Oh good. And now I can have some fun. I’ll ask for samples of everything, polyester, fiberglass, pleated and even PP, you name it, and maybe they will send me enough to make a screen door and keep out these blasted flies. Hey, I wonder if they also do a virtual screen that can keep out unwanted, though occasionally amusing, spam emails like this one?
Waiting for your kindly reply soon. Don’t hold, your breath.
Thanks and best regards. Ditto.
Emily Wang…. And there then followed a rather complicated address and an invitation to click here to unsubscribe from these emails. Don’t click anything!
And finish off with Restina by candlelight
Hey ho. Bit of silliness as I watch out of the meshless window and see the Dodekanisos coming in on a flat calm sea, a no-wind day with a few high clouds around and wonder what I am going to do for the rest of the day. At least we have learned that valediction is the antonym of salutation so I shall now valedict (though you can’t really as it’s not a verb) and say cheerio.
