On Sunday we hired a car and Lyndon kindly drove us around. So, what do you do when you have a car for a day, on Symi? We started off with a coffee at The Olive Tree, a convenient meeting place…
The next port of call was the monastery/church of Panaghia Mirtidhiotissa, which is above Ksisos. We rang the bell and the caretaker lady who lives there let us in and opened the chapel for us. We had a look round and then headed off again, this time to the monastery at Roukouniotis.
This is now restored and very nicely too and visitors are welcome to look around, for free. Again the caretakers will open the chapels for you and answer any questions you have. There is an older 14th century church below the more ‘modern’ 17th century one, as well as the old ovens, refectory, and other rooms to look at.
After that, we wandered up to the windmill nearby to look at the old threshing circles and take some photos, see if we could spot any birds and then we drove to the top of the road at Toli Bay, or above Toli Bay. From here you can see St Emilianos and across to Turkey and Kos, and on a clearer day to other islands as well. There are, below you somewhere, some ‘classic period ruins’ and, when we were there, there was also a man out hunting on the hill high above and to our right. It’s still hunting season here at the moment.
And then, onwards and this time to Marouthounda for lunch. This involved driving right across the island of course and so there are plenty of views and other places to stop to admire the scenery, you pass the monument to the resistance fighters killed in the last war, and then zig zag down the hill 13 times until you reach the turn off for the beach and taverna, farm and accommodation. Lunch was very nice, the goats are kept at bay on the other side of the fence, and there were not too many hornets about (always a bit of a bind at this time of year).
After lunch we went home, had a rest and then met up again in the evening for a drive to Panormitis, arriving there at dusk. There was a group of ladies from Athens and some men staying, who were in the tavernas singing Greek folk songs and having a high old time. That added atmosphere to our glass of wine as we waited for darkness to really take hold and then…
Then we drove back up to hill and stopped at a viewpoint to star-gaze. We did try taking photos of the stars, but really need to work on the technique, the photo here is one Neil took and it’s the best of the bunch. Mine looked good on the camera, but when you blow them up there’s nothing there. Also, on this photo, you can’t see the Milky Way which stretches from one side of the sky to the other. And after that, home via a last drink.
So, plenty to see and do on Symi in one day with a car. Even without one there’s lots to see and do and the weather at this time of year is good for walkers, though it’s set to get a bit dodgy next week as October starts to become troublesome. It really does feel like we’re heading for winter again and so soon already! A timetable for volunteers to help at Solidarity Symi is being drawn up, we have booked our holiday flights, and I’ve organised two of the three train journeys we need to book for it. All we need to do now is find the money to pay for the hotels. I’d best be off to search down the back of the sofa.
