Yialos in the afternoon
It’s not often I am in Yialos in the late afternoon, but on Monday, we had cause to be down there for some business and stopped for a glass of wine afterwards. I was in time to watch the Blue Star leave on its journey back to Athens – or Piraeus, rather. I mentioned the ‘boat to Athens’ to Yiannis the other day and was pointedly reminded that it wasn’t Athens but Piraeus. The fact that the port is the port of Athens and that the centre of the city is only seven or eight stops on the metro doesn’t seem to matter, it’s Piraeus.
I also watched the ‘Spanos’ boat come in on its way to Rhodes and noted how much busier the quayside is already, and it’s only May. Hopefully, that bodes well for the summer to come. The shops and cafes were all open, the tavernas and other business too, and there are plenty of places to sit and watch the world go by. It used to be one of our favourite holiday hobbies when we were here as tourists 21 years ago. We’d spend the day on the beach or walking, mainly walking actually, as we’re not beach holiday kind of people, and be back in the harbour in time for the last of the day trippers to leave. A hush descends on the harbour at that time of day, as if everyone is saying ‘Phew!’, and a different atmosphere is struck. More laid back, quieter and settled and then, around eight in the evening, things pick up again, the lights come on, and people are out and about in their evening finery. At that time of day/night, the harbour glitters.
We didn’t stay that long. We took a cab back up. A couple of new taxi drivers were working, and it’s good to see young people set themselves up in the business. It’s a limited opportunity on Symi, and a good job to get if you don’t mind working long hours and spending some of your time sitting around waiting. Maybe, as the guys are young (we’re talking 20s I guess), they might be more inclined to run a service later into the evening. It can be difficult to find a bus or taxi after eight, nine, ten or even midnight later in the season, and it’s a complaint I hear from many; that there are no late-night taxis and no night bus. Can you imagine the N1 from Yialos to Horio, on the hour every hour, going via Trafalgar Square? No. Obviously not because that was London about 30 years ago. I hate to think what it’s like now. Not like Yialos in the afternoon, that’s for sure.
