Symi Dream

Living on a Greek island

A Greek island blog from Symi in the Dodecanese islands of Greece. "James’s great talent lies in his careful observation of the absurd and the amusing, the dramas and the difficulties..." Anne Zouroudi.

Symi Dream - Living on a Greek island

Something for the weekend

Something for the weekend

A collection of random images to be precise. Just a few I’ve pulled from the recent collection of shots taken when out and about which, as you know, isn’t something I do very often at the moment. Some of them are Neil’s. You can tell that from the quality. The upcoming weekend holds no surprises for me that I know of, but then, if they did, they wouldn’t be surprises. What it does promise, is the visit of a pair of ‘Rainbow Regulars’ who we’ve missed this year. Hopefully, they will have a trouble-free journey over, and won’t mind us sitting apart rather than with. I had to tell someone off the other afternoon. They passed by and did that usual thing without thinking – grabbing Neil by the shoulders, as he was sat down, by way of a friendly greeting. My barked order of ‘Don’t touch him!’ came out instinctively. I’m not paranoid, but really people! Just think before you act. I know it’s what people have always done, and they may have tested negative on the way over (but who knows whose breath they have breathed in between times), but these are not normal circumstances. Anyway… You know my feelings on all that, now here are some photos.

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Taverna Zoi open as usual (in the evenings, not at 6.45 when this was taken)

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Apostolis taverna, Pedi, open as usual (though closed here as it was about 6.30 in the morning)

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Rambling

Rambling

Yesterday’s walk, for me, was again up the hill following the main road, and this time, I went all the way to ‘picture corner.’ This is the place where the tourist buses stop so that people can get out and take photos overlooking Nimborio bay, Yialos and Pedi. As usual, the sun was coming up, so there are the same-old images, but from a slightly different altitude. Also, when looking at Yialos, you find the scene is bathed in grey light rather than the bright red and orange that the Pedi valley has at that time of day.

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While I was doing that, Neil went off to Nimborio for a walk and a swim. He’s doing many more miles than me. When I wake up, I am always in a rush to get to work, and although the walk yesterday only took me an hour to cover the three miles, that was time enough away from the desk. I did write a scene in my head while I was tramping up the hill (without stopping), but it’s a scene from a book that’s not yet conceived, and I have no idea what story it might fit into. Still, thinking time, peace and quiet, and spectacular views are always a good way to start the day – when I can be bothered.

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It’s too hot for walking later in the day, and by the time the late afternoon comes, I’m settling in for a few hours of downtime, usually on the sofa with a good film or a book. But that’s just me. In other news… I can’t think of any, except you can no longer just ‘pop’ into the bank to pay or withdraw, not unless the money involved is over a certain amount. This is to reduce the number of people being inside in one place at once, as the numbers of infections have been rising. Not here, I should add, not yet, but in the country generally. I guess, with some people ignoring the restrictions, not wearing masks because they are in a ‘safe country and thus feel safe, and more people coming in from abroad, it’s to be expected. Anyway, enough of that ramble, I’ve done my walk, prepared this for tomorrow (today) and now I can finally get down to something more creative. It’s 8.45, and I feel as though half the day has gone already.

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Boats, mainly

Boats, mainly

It’s been a while since we had some shots from the balcony, so I thought I’d have a look at my camera and see what was on it. The camera tends to stay in the living room which looks out to sea, so I leave it on the windowsill for when something exciting might be going on out there and come back to it from time to time.

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It’s been a time for boats, it seems. The Blue Star One (above) and the Nikolaos X both came in on Monday for the first time this season…

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Recently, I noticed a small flotilla of sailing boats….

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And we’ve also been having the regular visits from the Stavros, and sometimes, the smaller day boats from Rhodes, including this one that I’d not seen until this year.

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Hopefully, that means some trade and business for the harbour, and maybe even some for the village where, on Monday evening, things were starting to busy-up. There was music outside Lefteris kafeneion, where some of the more typical summer activity had returned. No Symi Shrimp Festival though, which was due about now.

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