Day 12 : Thursday - A St.Nicks Day
The day started sunny with blue skies so we decided we would not break our habit of a Sými lifetime and miss out on a George’s Boat to St.Nicks. His was the first taxi boat we ever went on and we do not believe we have missed him once in all our visits.
So it was ATM time again. This wasn’t the first visit by a long way but we haven’t mentioned it as nothing has changed. We would say that card is widely accepted and we see it being used more and more.
As D did the ATM E walked on to the bakery and got us two croissants as either through laziness or perhaps design we still had no breakfast provisions.
- On Our Way To Catch A Taxi Boat
We were a bit early for the 10am bus over to Pedi and a taxi was waiting. We therefore decided as we come towards the end of our visit that the €3 difference in price was worth it and we were in Pedi in no time at all.
In fact we had time to have a frappe from the cafe that used to be be the supermarket opposite where George berths. It wasn’t long before George returned from a trip and we jumped on the front of the boat and set off for St.Nicks. George reported that 45 refugees had landed during the night and were now being taken care of by the authorities.
As were we’re reaching St.Nicks there were clouds coming over from Rhodes. They started off as fluffy white but before long they had darkened. We did not get any rain but the beach was in shade until around 2:30pm.
The sunbeds on the far side from where you land with the taxi-boat are no longer which is a pity as that is where we always preferred to sit. We didn’t like to pry in case it was upsetting for the great family that have run this beach for as far back as we can remember. Someone we know and who goes there all the time said it was due to the proximity to the sea with the wall that runs along the front. It’s not just in the UK that the Nanny State exists it seems.
- The Missing Sunbeds
- Bira Time St.Nicks
We had lunch as we always do in the taverna and had Greek Salad, tzatziki and kefedes which we find to be just right in terms of a light lunch. Once upon a time we would have had “the works” fresh fish, moussaka, stifado, you name it we would have had it
And then we would have gone out for dinner at night. We are lightweights nowadays - if only we were a bit lighter !
- Light Lunch St.Nicks
We decided to catch the 3pm boat back to Pedi knowing full well there wouldn’t be a bus until 4:30. We walked along to Kamares cafe in perfect sunshine ! The cafe is where the bus turns and we had a couple of ouzos and retsina’s and watched the boats come and go and E walked along to the little church to take a few (more) photos. There was a very chilled playlist on the speakers and time went by in a flash.
- Waiting For The Bus Kamares Cafe Pedi
- Pedi
- Pedi
- Pedi Stroll
- Pedi Small Church
As we were about to leave D&G came past having just arrived yesterday. It’s years since we last saw them and like Sými itself they haven’t changed a bit. We wish we had had more time to catch up but the bus was coming.
We thought we were the last two that could fit on a very busy bus but there was room for a small one and our friend J squeezed on at the first stop. The trip from Pedi to the village was hardly long enough for us to catch up but always lovely to see this girl who loves Sými so much.
We arrived in sunny Yialos and made our way back to a sunny apartment. Was it only St.Nicks that was in the shade
Being blessed with three great restaurants close to the apartment our last three dinners are just a matter of what order we do them in.
We had to decide so where better than over a pina colada at the Nireus. We sat and watched a short, mild lightning storm over in Turkey with the moon coming up over Sými and decided on Odyssia.
- Nireus Jetty View
- Nireus Jetty View
- Looking Up To Chorio
We thought that as we had tried the prawns in Tholos and Kaboz we should make the comparison and of course we love seafood. Like Kaboz these prawns (described as shrimp on the menu but Katholiki clarified for us) were well prepared with only the head and tail left to be removed. They were smaller than at the other two restaurants but then you get 6 medium sized prawns for only €13 in Odyssia which is excellent value. They came with a lovely charring from the grill and finished in the pan with a herby butter - delicious.
- View From Odyssia
- “Shrimps” Odyssia
After sharing these E went with the chicken in a Mastic sauce that she regarded highly. D went for the sea bass that was a generous whole fish cooked on the bbq. Skin perfectly crispy and beautiful white flesh. There is a good choice of fixed price fish at Odyssia.
- Chicken In Mastica Sauce Odyssia
- Sea Bass Odyssia
Despite Katholiki’s best efforts of plying us with more retsina and claiming it was “zero alcohol”
we capped our complimentary bottle and took it home but only after she insisted we had the complimentary baclava with angel hair pastry that was just divine.
Only two whole days to go and as we walked the short journey back to the apartment we wondered where the time had gone.