Thursday - Reflections
After breakfast under a cloudy British sky we set off on the three leg train journey home with the first two legs spot on time. Over a Costa Coffee in Birmingham we started seeing and hearing cancellation after cancellation of trains to Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury due to the tragedy of someone being hit by a train and then our Arriva Trains Wales 14:25 service which uses that line was also cancelled. Network Rail declared that the closure of the line would be until at least 17:00.
Thinking that the “at least” could turn into something much longer; that the backlog of passengers by that time would be considerable; and adding in the fact that we had two rather large cases & cabin bags some quick thinking was needed.
Using the power of the iPhone, other brands are available
, a one way hire car would be £140. A taxi would be £150. The National Express Bus at 16:00 arriving Aberystwyth 20:00 would be £42 for us both - bargain. So it was booked online and we were issued there and then with an eTicket. A short taxi ride took us to a very modern and stylish coach station. This would be the first time we have ever travelled with National Express.
Our bags were taken and stowed by the driver. There were charging points at the seats, a WiFi system with access through an easily installed App to a number of TV channels, comfortable leather reclining seats, aircon, a large TV screen that allowed us to share the drivers view of the road ahead and an onboard toilet. The only thing missing was at seat catering. We were very impressed.
Reviewing activity on the National Rail App and with a rail passenger through Twitter the failings of a rail system spread across so many operators was plain to see with nothing in the way of contingency planning. It is the risk we take when letting the train take the strain.
However the slightly longer final leg of our journey home afforded us plenty of time to reflect on our three weeks in Greece.
Travelling from Luton was functional rather then pleasurable.
Three weeks was perfect allowing us a far more leisurely journey to and from our beloved Symi.
A day or night in Rodos can be very pleasurable especially if it removes the pressures of late night or very early ferry crossings.
Pedi was heavenly. So much so that it will be where we look first in future when visiting independently.
Nos was its usual perfection and we would not wish to miss out on the alternative perspective that gives on a visit so for us a two week Pedi and one week “down” might be something we try in future.
When visiting “up” it did remind us how much we missed “Village Life” and that has to remain in our minds.
The food was stunning as usual. And yes we overindulged as usual. The trepidation on D’s face when returning to his long trousers in the Plaza Hotel just before we headed to the airport was plain to see. We need to have a lean winter.
The people were amazing. The friendliness and generosity is indescribable.
As ever the Poseidon day out leaves us with unforgettable memories as does our visits to Tolis and the family dinner we attended.
It was good to see that perhaps the economy of Symi has settled down a bit after a spate of closures of well known businesses over the last year or so. The island was certainly busier than we have ever seen it at this time of year and this was borne out by conversations with many of our Symiot friends. The Cafe Bars must certainly have benefitted from this longer season of day visitors and hopefully this has been seen by the wider business community.
And finally of course we want to thank all those people who have a shared love of little Symi - that tiny rock that punches way above its weight - and who take the trouble to read and share in our daily ramblings. We know how much we enjoy reading about other Symi lovers visits so it is always a pleasure to try and provide our efforts.
And now it’s time to start thinking about 2019 which alas has complications of pressures to visit other parts of the planet but a year without a Symi fix is unthinkable.
Have a good winter.
Yassas.
- D&E