Sublime Symi in September

[Pollychops]

So sorry to hear your sad news on Greyam, lovely photo you posted.

[D and E]

Sunday

Weather Report at 09:45 - Anastasia’s Room 5
Baro Pressure 1005
Humidity 32%
Wind Speed 2 mph
Temp Shade 33 C
Temp Sun 36 C

Rather than be troubled with the alarm of an iPhone and as the bakery is not open on a Sunday D allowed himself to be awoken by the 08:00 church bells or should we say the 08:04 as somehow they are always a few minutes late which is so Symi.

D finalised and posted the blog whilst E washed out some clothes. Having free (part of the normal EE bundle) Data Roaming in the EU is really useful and although most places have free WiFi it is just more convenient at times.

After breakfast we headed down the Lazy (School) Steps with the aim of having our daily frappe in Cafe Aiglios but shock horror it was shut. The two other cafes on the harbour front were doing a roaring trade and we were lucky to get a seat in the Corner Cafe.

E then headed off for a short stroll around the shops and booked the Tolis Trip for next Thursday whilst D headed to the Stella Bar and a chat with Vasilis and to catch up on all the kind comments about Greyam across the various social media platforms - thanks to everyone - it is very much appreciated by both of us.

After a couple of small beers we strolled round to the Nireus Hotel and had another refreshment stop. From there we headed round to Nos and being so chilled we hardly noticed when J&M caught up with us as they headed to meet friends at Thollos. We stoped to say a quick hello to Manolis and Katholiki at Oddysia and then headed round to see the large new house next door to Margarita’s where we have often stayed; the jet ski and associated paraphernalia that is now available at Nos Beach; and then walked over by the church and down into Hanari Boatyard and to Tza Ti for a light lunch.

Tza Ti for Sunday Lunch

This is one of our favourite venues. We had the bruschetta with tomatoes & mozzarella and the cold meats plate and lingered there looking out to sea. We headed back round with one final stop in the small bar next to Lakis Travel before catching the 4pm bus back up and a read that became a siesta.

Just for the record D is reading “The Girl in the Spiders Web” which following on from the late Steig Larsson’s Millenium Series and written by David Lagercrantz and E is reading “The Bertie Project” which is part of the 44 Scotland Street series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith.

As usual we headed to Yannis with every intention of heading down to Trata or Meraklis but as one does we got involved in a conversation with three ladies who were trying to balance up their last few days with various outings and this coupled with AEK being shown live on one of Yannis TVs we took the lazy option and went into Giorgios where the ever effervescent Lefteris served us a mezes of garlic mushrooms; the green beans; red peppers stuffed with feta and lemon chicken which was well infused with lemon and had the crispiest skin - delicious.

The Sunshine Bar Cats

We headed home at such a reasonable hour that there was no one in the Sunshine Bar. We sat out on our balcony with the nightly square of chocolate and watched the lights of Chorio twinkle and the various vehicles disappear up and over the Vigla.

Early Morning View From Room 5

[Gemma1]

Another wonderful report to cheer me up before a Monday at work

[Val]

So sorry to hear the sad news about your lovely Greyam. What a fine handsome boy he looks on your photo. What wonderful companions cats are and even when they've gone the memories of them continue to give us pleasure for years to come. Thank you for sharing your Symi time with us once again. Much appreciated as we aren't visiting this year, off to Kastellorizo this week but still hankering after time in Nimborio and all the other delightful spots you are bringing to life in your blog. Great read once again. Thank you so much.

[D and E]

Giorgios Green Beans and remnants of pepper

Monday

Weather Report at 17:00 - Anastasia’s Room 5
Baro Pressure 1001
Humidity 48%
Wind Speed 0 mph
Temp Shade 35 C
Temp Sun 38 C


We had decided the night before to try and make it down to catch Louka & Irini’s Taxi Boat to Nanou but anyone familiar with this blog will know what happens to plans like that. But amazingly D got up and did the bread run getting a kafe psomis (brown bread) for the first time.

We had breakfast and headed down the Kali Strata to Cafe Aiglios for frappe & fresh orange juice; D popped over to the ATM (they get some use don't they ?); and we bought our tickets for the 10am boat to Nanou.

It was packed with all nationalities and clearly there were a few first timers from Italy and France that made for an entertaining trip - don't know if Stamatis, our ever reliable captain, would accept the description but he seemed to smile through all the getting off of the boat only to hear “non” and then people re-embarking.

St George's on the way to Nanou

We got settled on the free sun beds and were further entertained by the goats who if there is a hint of food or water will be on your sun bed in moments. They are very friendly but rather insistent.

We had a small Alpha after a swim in the most beautiful waters and then read until lunch beckoned. The taverna has an extensive menu and when we entered we were delighted to be greeted by a young lad that we got to know over the years when he worked in Yialos and at Nos - great to see him again.

We had a good sized Greek Salad, a very good tuna salad which was much less creamy and far more “tunay” than most and a plate of around 8 small sardines which fell off the bone. This was a perfect lunch in a perfect setting but slightly marred at the end over confusion over the bill. They were so busy and several people seemed to be getting involved on the money front - the lesson learned is to take your bill up to the till if you need to get change.

That little incident meant that we had to run so sorry to J&M who we noticed just as we were leaving - couldn't stop. We just grabbed things off the sun bed and hurried along the wooden walkway as we wanted to catch the 3pm boat back. We made it.

The Entertaining Goats at Nanou

When we arrived in Yialos we headed to Cafe Alegrito for an ouzo and retsina but retsina was off - perhaps E is simply depleting the island’s stocks singlehandedly so she had white wine instead and then that amazing mezes appeared - this time with a very small cheese & ham toastie, cucumber, tomatoes, feta and several small frankfurters.

As we were enjoying this our old friends S&L who now live on Symi were passing so we had a quick hello as they were heading home to get changed to come back down to meet friends.

We were still early for the bus and as there were two taxis sitting at the rank we jumped in one of those only to find that our Swedish friends O&L were who had just arrived late Sunday night were over on St.Nicks.

Business as usual at Yannis with many people making their way up to the village for the first evening of the Symi International Film Festival. You could tell those who had walked up the Kali Strata by the colour of their shirts - it is very humid.

We then headed in the opposite direction having had a text from O&L suggesting we met up on one of the Poseidon trips so we went and booked that. We then had a couple of ouzos and retsinas in Katoi watching the boats and the people going by.

We then headed to Trata which was doing a good trade. Our waiter is also our “neighbour” who we have got to know as he lives just below Anastasia’s. We have mussels saganaki for the first time and these are a huge hit. Nice plump mussels in delicious tomato based broth with saganaki cheese melting throughout the dish - this is a must have again dish. We also have one of our other favourite starters - the stuffed mushrooms and whilst these are perfectly fine they have changed slightly with the stuffing being less crumbly. We then have an excellent moussaka and satzoukakia - which we would describe as something between a meatball and a kofte. They came in a deeply flavoursome tomato sauce. Trate never fails to deliver on good quality traditional Greek food.

And so we walked to the bus stop and caught the 11pm bus to the Windmills and then down through the passageways to home and our nightly square of chocolate.

Humidity Over Pedi - Tuesday Morning

[D and E]

Tuesday

Weather Report at 11:30 - Anastasia’s Room 5
Baro Pressure 1003
Humidity 30% (from 65% at 09:00)
Wind Speed 0 mph
Temp Shade 31 C
Temp Sun 39 C

No need for a bread run so we luxuriated with a lie in until the 09:02 bells and then headed to the Olive Tree for our now regular breakfast order when we run out of provisions. This time D had a sherbet drink which was very refreshing on this very humid morning. So humid that we could hardly see Pedi from the balcony (pic posted yesterday) and all the outside surfaces were wet.

Sitting doing the blog and watching the mist burn off in that wonderful setting of the Olive Tree saw us then do our supermarket visit at 10:45 - where does “Symi Time” go ?

Next door to the supermarket is a small bakery which sells very tempting looking things. We couldn't resist so popped in and bought a scrumptious kind of Greek trifle - another inch or two on D’s waistline.

After taking the provisions back to the apartment we headed up through the back lanes up to the Kastro and then back down for a very cold beer in Yannis. One became two as we sat chatting to Neil.

We then headed down the Kali Strata veering off at the bend and taking some of the less well known steps down to the port. It then became a bit of a shopping day with a stop at Elpida’s where the ouzo and retsina came with a delicious cheese pie and some spicy samosas. A second stop at Alegrito and this time the ouzo and retsina was accompanied by fried smoked sausage, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and small green chilli peppers. By now it was almost 19:30 so we headed to the taxi rank and shared a taxi with a couple who are staying at Taxiarkis. The lady had taken a bad fall and had just been to the doctor so we do hope she is felling better today.

We headed straight to the Rainbow apologising for our disheveled appearance much to Yannis amusement. Then to Zoe’s where we shared an imam, the chunky prawns saganaki, and hare stifado which was a very meaty leg in that deep rich sauce.

And as we headed home we bumped into our friend J so had a brief chat and then after quite a long unplanned day we didn't take long to fall asleep.

Sweet Symi Figs

Looking Down From The Kastro

Again Looking Down From The Kastro

[Gemma1]

Another great post with more wonderful photos

[D and E]

Thank you ever so much Gemma1.

[silverfox]

Love the blog, love the comment on Symi time, love the food, love Symi!

Many thanks for your updates!

[D and E]

Thanks for your very comments Silverfox - the blog is a labour of love for this wonderful place.

[D and E]

Wednesday

Firstly an apology for the short break in service but read on and all will be explained !

Weather Report at 09:00 - Anastasia’s Room 5
Baro Pressure 1005
Humidity 31%
Wind Speed 0 mph
Temp Shade 30 C
Temp Sun 36 C

We often choose a Wednesday if we decide to do the Round The Island on the Poseidon as we surmise that being change-over day for many visitors the boat may be quieter. But as we sit in Cafe Aiglios with our morning frappe more and more people got on.

Next door Irini & Louka’s taxi boats were doing a roaring trade - the island still seems busy from this perspective. Their competitors to the right of the Poseidon are less busy and clearly there are long term loyalties at play.

We are lucky. Our friends 0&L have secured us seats on the upper deck of Poseidon which we always prefer when Capt. Yiannis has the shade up and he has. We set sail at 10:30 and somehow this tardis of a ship accommodates everyone with ease and great to see J and A&A on board.

For anyone who hasn't visited Symi or has and has never experienced a day out on the Poseidon it is one of life’s great pleasures. You don't have to swim and the waters around Symi make for very easy sailing at this time of the year. For €40 it is a great way to spend a day and returned to our must do list for every visit some time ago.

After the first swim stop the coffee and biscuits, retsina, red & white wine and ouzo, apples in cinnamon all appear and people start to help themselves.

We move onto the cave for a second swim stop and then a third swim stop sees us pick up those passengers who have decided to take the guided walk and meet the ship. A shot trip round to Sasklia and the fantastic crew get to work on the BBQ. They have been preparing the Greek, beetroot, potato & rice salads, the spaghetti and the beans gigantes on board but now the chicken has to be cooked. The “bar” is transferred from the boat to where the food is set out and there is always seconds and even thirds available before whatever is left is given to the local sheep and goats. The quality of the food is nothing short of miraculous.

A Day Out On Poseidon

We then head to St.Georges Bay for the final swim stop in the crystal clear waters under a late afternoon sun.

This has been one of our best trips yet as the group that were together on the upper deck which included Scots (D), Welsh (E), Swedish (O&L), Danish (excellent singers), English and Greek all had a sing song and we laughed all the way back to port.

On docking we made our way to Cafe Aiglios for a beer with O&L before we headed up to Chorio in a taxi. A quick shower and a change of clothes and we were in Yiannis Rainbow Bar having our nightly aperitif. With all that swimming, singing and laughing we could only think of one place for dinner and that was next door in Giorgios where the less effervescent but equally charming Other Lefteris served us a very tasty imam, papoujaksi (a long time favourite of ours) and the pastrami and feta pies.

Imam Papoujaksi and Pastrami Pies in Giorgios

And so ended a marvellously exhausting day and we are half way through our visit.

Normally following such a day we have what we call a “lazy day” - nothing planned, leisurely breakfast, do the blog, sort out the photos, read for a bit and then head somewhere mid morning for frappe and just see where the day takes us but we had booked the bus trip to Tolis thus the delay in getting the blog posted.

[D and E]

Thursday

Weather Report at 16:00 - Tolis Bay
Baro Pressure 1012
Humidity 33%
Wind Speed 10 mph
Temp Shade 24 C
Temp Sun 26 C

We woke up to a relatively unusual site - clouds !

Clouds !

We knew the Symi Tours bus could pick us up at the Kiosk in Chorio but we decided to stretch the legs and make sure that all that swimming hadn't taken its toll on D’s finely honed body so we headed down the Kali Strata grabbing a cheese pie for breakfast from the excellent bakery that sits next door to the supermarket on the way to Giorgios / Olive Tree.

The Symi Tours bus picked us up at the appointed time of 09:30 and after pick ups at the Pedi Bay Hotel and in Chorio we head up the Vigla with all those stunning views below. We are met by the 4x4 and we all bundle into the flatbed and head down the road to the taverna and beach.

There is a very fresh breeze and we set ourselves up on the beach beside the water. After about an hour we have a frappe and watch the sea starting to swell a bit more. Back on the sun beds we are starting to feel the spray and then the wash keeps getting closer and closer until we were forced to move up a level. Kominos the taverna owner is very surprised at this sudden change in weather which we are told is likely to last until Saturday. It's perfectly pleasant and is a change from the very humid weather we had during our fist week.

Tolis Before The Swell

Despite the swell and some good sized waves D plunged in - it would take a lot of sea to move him especially after a week of dining on Symi

Thinking about the evening we decided to have a light lunch of squid with the Daphne Salad which we know will be perfect and it was. And in the Taverna was J&M who had walked over - impressive.

Daphne Salad and Calamaris a la Tolis

A bit more sun and reading before we headed back on the bus at 5pm and we were dropped off in Chorio. It was so nice to meet and be thanked by a reader of this little blog as we were departing Tolis - that was so kind.

Back to the apartment and then up to Yannis Rainbow for one and then as we headed down the Kali Strata we noticed that E who runs the small shop opposite Giorgios had returned from Athens so we had a chat with her and her cat.

Now with only two restaurants in Chorio there is a greater need to head down into Yialos of a night. We headed to Cafe Alegrito and found J&M having their pre-diner G&Ts so we had a very pleasant chat with them.

We then headed to Meraklis Restaurant that we haven't been to in several years and yes you guessed it there was J&M - we aren't stalking you - promise !!!

Meraklis has a very traditional menu. We started with a tuna salad that had the right balance of tuna and very thin courgette fritters that came with, without doubt, the best skodalia we have had. The perfect amount of garlic and worked to a smooth and creamy consistency and the perfect accompaniment to grilled vegetables and the likes. We then had the lamb chops - cutlets really (x3) which came with very nice chips and some rice and the giouvetsi with just the right amount of beef and cooked in a pot in the oven and D being a pasta lover really enjoyed this. With the sweetest water melon as a complimentary sweet we were very pleased to have returned to this restaurant.

Starters in Meraklis

Giouvetsi a la Meraklis

As we were eating our Swedish friends were having an after dinner stroll around the port so we were able to say hello to B&C who hadn't been able to accompany us and O&L on the Poseidon but we are all meeting for dinner in Zoe’s before B&C head home.

Opposite Meraklis is Manolis who sells some jewellery, some very nice pottery and shirts and shorts with much of his stock being made in Greece. D spotted a pair of shorts and so at 10:30 pm here he was trying on shorts. He also spotted a Tshirt he had wanted but that Manolis now had in his size - he’s a growing lad. So with a late night purchase we headed for the 11pm bus hoping for a taxi but alas there weren't any.

Our now familiar back lanes took us home and out on our balcony watching the twinkling lights of Chorio we shared the last few spoonfuls of the fantastic trifle we had bought from that baker that we have mentioned - a real find in Chorio.

[Pollychops]

Great post again coming straight from Symi. With our recent visit and your weather forecasting and fantastic images, it has convinced us to visit in September rather than June. Can't wait till next year and more so your next post.

[Gemma1]

More great reports and that giouvetsi looks delicious. I've never had that before and love pasta so will look out for it next year. I'm currently at the airport waiting for a flight to Chania so will be enjoying Greek food myself later today, though doubt it will match whar you've been having.

[D and E]

Taverna Daphne - Tolis

Friday

Weather Report at 09:00 - Anastasia’s Room 5 Balcony
Baro Pressure 1006
Humidity 33%
Wind Speed 0.5 mph
Temp Shade 24 C
Temp Sun 32 C

After two “active” days we decided to have a “lazy” day. D waited until 8am before heading on the bread run and by the time we had done a two day blog with sized photos and had breakfast it was about 11am. There were clouds scudding across Symi from Turkey heading towards Rhodes but Symi was very pleasant and definitely not as hot as recent days.

Now readers might recall that we had a duff kettle last week which was fixed with a smile and a brand new replacement. This morning the shower head started leaking in a big way sending fountains of water this way and that. It might just be us, but getting up the nerve to point this out took a bit of doing but our wonderful hostess, Anastasia, just blamed the “bloody” Chinese manufacturers and said her grandson would be on the case and would fix it.

Somewhat relieved we headed down the lazy steps for our Cafe Aiglios frappe and fresh orange juice and just watched the world go by. It is so lovely to sit somewhere surrounded by different languages and cultures and just feel part of something much bigger and more important.

We then wandered around the back streets and landed in the Corner Cafe for a couple of small beers and fondly, and ashamedly, remember the days when they was no barrier to the slipway and some of the hilarious incidents that we have witnessed over the years. Some cheese, pickled capers, cucumber and olives are the mezes of the day. Then who did we find in the next door Cafe but the ever present J&M

Just as we were about to leave the Corner Cafe, Zoe’s husband Nikos passes and mysteriously two more small beers appear in front of us. That’s Symi.

So we then take a walk around the harbour to the ATM. So handy it is next door to Elpida’s and so we have an ouzo and retsina stop with a lovely mezes of those spicy samosas, sweet tomatoes, cucumber and cheese. Then one of the longest established Symi Visitors and well respected members of this forum arrived and had a chat - great to see Kojak on the island with the other doyens of the SV Forum in Elpida’s.

A second ouzo to keep up with E’s small carafe of retsina comes with spicy salami and salty feta - perfect. A&A are passing and we have a foodie chat - well you do, don't you. They recounted a superb lunch they had just had at The Nireus and a memorable “fruit de’ mer” in To Spitiko the night before - both sounded amazing.

Zeus Day Boat - stops at St George's Bay on way back

E was looking for some sleeveless tops (whatever that might be) and so she headed to Debbie’s in The Square and D headed to Kakoi. By this time it must have been at least two hours since we had seen J&M and that felt wrong but thankfully they soon walked past

Approaching 4pm Kakoi likes to close for a couple of hours and as E was still shopping D moved to Cafe Alegrito and a after one more to watch Poseidon and the water taxis arrive back we headed for the 5pm bus.

Writing the blog on the balcony of Room 5 at 6pm the wind got up again but it was time to get ready and head to Yannis on a much cooler evening.

Our four friends made their way up from Nos, where they are staying, to have dinner with us in Zoe’s before two of them head back to Sweden the next day. Yannis does a great job rearranging the chairs to accommodate us. Another regular visitor (and cat lover) arrived in Yannis and called D over to compliment the blog and give his condolences over the loss of Greyam which was very thoughtful indeed - thanks N.

In Zoe’s we start by sharing a mezes of dolmades with tzatziki, very light and flavoursome courgette balls and the unctuous bouyiourdi that everyone dipped the bread into and loved the taste of the oven baked feta with peppers. For mains D had the hare stifado, E the soutzoukakia in that rich tomato sauce whilst our four Swedish friends had the legendary beef stifado which floored at least two of them.

After some complimentary retsina and apples in cinnamon even Zoe could not get our friends a taxi at around 10:45 so we walked them down to the Chorio Kiosk and Lakis was soon there to bus them down the hill.

The uncertainty of taxis must impact as the demographic of the average Symi Visitor does suggest that they may be less inclined to venture far at night if they cannot be sure of a taxi home, especially those less familiar with the island and the brilliant bus service.

So we headed home bumping into J on the way and then passing the Sunshine Bar that was just getting going by the looks of things.

Another most enjoyable day on “the rock” ended but the wind continued to blow during the night as was forecast and there is still a breeze at 10:00 as the blog is being posted.

Pedi Bay from R5 Balcony this morning

[D and E]

More great reports and that giouvetsi looks delicious. I've never had that before and love pasta so will look out for it next year. I'm currently at the airport waiting for a flight to Chania so will be enjoying Greek food myself later today, though doubt it will match whar you've been having.

Enjoy Gemma1 and hopefully we will read on this Forum how Chania turns out.

[D and E]

Great post again coming straight from Symi. With our recent visit and your weather forecasting and fantastic images, it has convinced us to visit in September rather than June. Can't wait till next year and more so your next post.

Thanks Pollychops - we are certain you will enjoy Symi in September : we have for many years and intend to for many more.

[silverfox]

Mmmmm

Do we need to do late June AND September next year?

Your trip sounds so nice!

[Allan]

Do we need to do late June AND September next year?

Is that a rhetorical question?
Just in case it isn't, the answer is YES of course!

[D and E]

We have found that the more we visit the more we discover about this magical place so take Allan's advice - he makes us look like newcomers

But perhaps try one visit up & one down. You may be amazed at the difference.