Day 14: Last full day and an adventure or two.

Well today was the last day on Symi. I was woken at sunrise and got my last sunrise over Pedi for this holiday.

Then it was a quick breakfast and a walk down the Kalistrata.

Because today we had booked to get the bus to Panormitis which for us was a big adventure. Especially when we saw how many icon images the driver needed.

Anyway we got to Panormitis safely and had about 45 min to look around.

The museum was quirky as we had been told.

The church was beautiful inside and once the day boat had left much more peaceful.

We then got on the bus back, and after arriving safely had a walk around the harbour and something to eat.

And then watching the very important delivery of the Moet Chandon. Just hope it traveled well.

After a slow walk back up the Kalistrata we did our packing and V had a rest. I had one last walk out.

No idea where I was going, just generally going uphill.

Ending up right at the top of Horio and looking back down got some fantastic views of the windmills.

So after getting on the main road and walking back to the apartment for a quick shower it was of to dinner at Zoe's, then back for an early night as the next day would be long.

Day 3 at St Nicks

This year the main aim for our holiday is relaxation. For many different reasons it has been a hard year and doing very little except reading and swimming was the aim for the day., and most of the holiday.

It was with this in mind we walked down to pedi and picked up the boat to St Nicks. As we almost the first to arrive we had pick of where to sit. Finding the lounger we had last year that gave enough shade for V, we spent most of the morning buried in books and sleeping.

After lunch at the taverna on the beach it was back to more of the same, until we got the last boat home.

As we had not done much exercise during the day we walked back up to the village and sat watching the sun go down before going out for some food.

We ended up at the music night at the Secret Garden. getting home just after midnight.

Day 2. First full day on Symi.

As always on the first day of a holiday we were up and out relatively early. The weather was beautiful, with a hot sun and a slight breeze.

This year V wanted to do more walking than last year, so we started by walking up through the lanes and steps that make up the 'streets' of Horio.

One of the targets for the trip was a walk up to the Castro with its church on the top. As no maps exist of Horio and all it's maze of paths, we were lucky to find arrows painted on the walls indicating the route to the Castro. We followed these and sooner than we expected we came out to the church on the top of the Castro.

We wandered around and were treated by a magnificent view of the harbour, made all the more special by the cruise ship, Club Med 2, lying off Nimborio.

After some time resting and taking pictures we set off back down to the meet up with the tour rep. As we came down we got a great view down the Pedi valley towards the sea.

After the meet up we went back to our apartment and packed the bag for the walk down to the beach at Pedi. As you come down to the pier you have the choice of turning left and right. Go left and after 100 yds there are about 6 sun brollies and some loungers these are free to use. If you go right the loungers and brollies are charged for.

After a swim and a lounge we walked back up to the apartment.

We had a rest and in the evening we walked down the Kalistrata to look for somewhere to eat.

It was a shot like this that I ran into the main problem regarding the compromise I had made with my choice of camera. With my 'big' camera I could increase the ISO gain and with its faster lenses I could have shot had held much longer than I did. But I knew this was the compromise I had made.

Horio

The old town at the top of Kali Strata is called Horio. It is the area on the right of centre on this image The tongue of sea on the right is Pedi bay a short walk from Horio.

It is a maze of narrow alleys and steps. Some are so narrow that they are single file for people.

It is also at night, very dark. When we went out to eat in an evening we had to remember to check we had torches with us. We also had to memorise features on our route. one alley looks just like another even in daylight but at night it is worse To get from the top of Kali Strata to our apartments we had to 

1 Find windmill restaurant.

2 go right and across by the shop.

3 Follow the sign for the Sunrise 

4 stop and have a drink

5 keep on going 

6 diagonal across the open area

7 stay high at the next fork with the crushed figs on the ground.

8 keep the exposed bedrock on the RHS

9 down the steps

10 Turn left passed the house with the water bottles.

11 arrive at door

Looking up at Horio from our balcony. as you can see the lights are few and far between.