There’s a photo below looking towards the Vigla, the highest point on Symi. I don’t know how to take a photo so you get an idea of the height, but standing there and looking up the side of the hill, it’s easy to see why it’s known locally as the mountain. Here’s an interesting fact: The Vigla is 616m high. The highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, is 1,345m, which means our Symi mountain is half the height of Ben Nevis, give or take 113m, which in the wider scheme of things, is about as interesting as watching paint dry, so let’s move on.
We’ll continue on a gentle stroll along the side of the hills above the Pedi Valley where, thanks to my phone’s camera, you can’t really see how wonderfully green it all is in the sunshine, but at least you get an idea. The football pitch looks very green, of course, and the sea looks calm because it was. In the summer, the bay will be peppered with boats, but come wintertime, they are mainly moored up or out of the water. Fishing boats are about the only kind of vessel you’ll see around here at this time of year, apart from ferries, of course. We do have some intrepid winter sailors come and go when the weather allows, so you can still see white sails far out at sea, and then we have all the special patrols and official boats keeping our waters safe.
Meanwhile, on land, some of the tavernas and businesses are already starting to prepare for the summer. I know of one restaurant that’s currently redoing its kitchen, and I’ve heard of a few others and some cafes that are already asking around for staff, mainly cooks and kitchen workers. I remember last year there was a flurry of such adverts with some businesses not being able to open on time because of a lack of staff. Hopefully, this year, everyone will get their positions filled in plenty of time. And talking of time, it’s gone 7.30 and I need to get my Jackson Marsh blog updated before I settle down to serious typing, and I must investigate a new keyboard as I have four letters missing off this one.
