Sun, Tests and Trousers

Just to show you that February is not all about wind and rain, here are some photos from Yialos on Monday (I think it was). It’s cold again this morning, but not unbearable and certainly not wet as it was the other afternoon when we had rain dumped on us out of the blue (or grey) without warning.

Just a reminder that there won’t be a blog tomorrow and maybe not on Saturday either as we are off to Rhodes on Friday. This is for our annual health checks, something we have been doing for about the last ten years. We used to do this independently, but in recent years we have taken an insurance policy with AXA (around €200 a year) which includes having annual blood tests, heart check-up and chest X-rays at Euromedica, the private hospital on Rhodes. Also included are some nice extras such as emergency cover if you have an accident and need A&E, and the company is flexible, so if you need something doing and you’re not sure if you’re covered, you simply phone up and find out, and if they can, they will wangle it in; as it were. They also offer a discount because we have our house contents insured with them.

Fisherman back from the sea and mending their nets

All we have to do tomorrow is get to Rhodes and then to Euromedica, and I have pre-ordered a taxi from Akandia port as Friday is a very popular day for boat travel to Rhodes, and then, at the hospital, meet our insurance agent who deals with the paperwork for us. Usually, the three lots of tests and things take less than an hour, and we take a taxi back to Rhodes Town to do the other things that need doing, i.e. shopping and lunch. Shopping tomorrow must include a new pair of trousers as I turned up my one and only pair yesterday, cutting the first leg successfully to length, and then measuring the to-be length of the second against the off-cut only later realising I’d not turned down the second one and had cut it to the exact length leaving no room for a turnup, which made me feel like a turnip. As usual, when doing this, I wished I had longer legs so I could buy trousers that don’t require turning up, but I think I have only found three pairs of perfect-fit in my life. Maybe I should just work on my sewing skills.

So, I may put up some photos on Saturday, or I may not, but, just in case, happy weekend to you all.

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Village square

A few shots from a late afternoon/evening in the village square the other night. Not last night when we had about a day’s worth of rain dumped on us in a couple of hours. I wasn’t out, but Neil was trapped in Yialos. It’s not worth the risk trying for home when it’s that bad, what with the runoff pouring down the steps. No bus and no taxis meant he had to walk up after the rain had stopped and once enough time had passed to allow the runoff to subside.

Watching the rain

Actually, the photos were from two late afternoons last week. As you can see, it is quiet up here right now, but that night it was warm enough to sit outside, not bad for February. There were more people inside the bars, people are out and about though it’s a contrast to the hot days and evenings of summer, of course.

Looking for a table

We have a lot to do today. As well as the usual things, a piano lesson, cake making and shopping, we need to start planning for our trip, which is now less than two weeks away. We’re also away to Rhodes on Friday (so no blog) for our annual MOT under our private health insurance plan, so I need to see what we might need for our holiday while we are there, which means sorting through clothes and making a list, the first item of which needs to be a suitcase, I suppose, seeing as I don’t have one and I will need or space than my usual rucksack allows.

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Upper Horio

Just a few photos today as I am running late. A few shots from Neil showing a couple of sights in the upper village. In some places, tunnels connect houses as a way of supporting buildings while offering routes through them. It’s easy to get lost when you first wander around up there, but well worth the fun of it. There’s even at least one passage where you have to walk single file, and sometimes when I go wandering in the neighbourhood, I still find paths I’ve not walked before even after all this time. It’s well worth straying from the beaten path when on Symi and in the village. Head uphill, turn right, see where that goes… You won’t actually get lost, at least, not for long, and if you think you are, head downhill. You will reach the sea eventually.

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