Category Archives: Greece

Symi: hidden from view

Posted on May 30, 2014 by BarryH

At the end of my stay in Greece last year I spent a couple of weeks on Symi and on the last day there visited a cave with a friend which she remembered having been to some 20 years previously. … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged Agios Theologos monastery, Bettws Newydd, calcite curtains, cave exploration, caves, Greece, hochlakos mosaic, iconastis, Oertenzi lizard, Painted Dragon lizard, Roukouniotis monastery, St Auddan's church, stalactites, Starred agama, Symi, Symi cave | 2 Comments

Symi: a trek to a waterhole in a desert

Posted on May 25, 2014 by BarryH

A week or so ago a friend and I headed back to the deserted settlement of Gria in the limestone crags high above Pedi. As ever, the first part of the walk is through the narrow stone-paved alleys of Horio … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged amphibians, bellflower, Black Rat Snake, campanula, deserted village, dragonflies, Greece, Gria, Gria pond, Βρύση Ζωοδόχου Πηγής, kitchen garden, Pedi Valley, pondlife, snakes, spiders, Spring of the Source of Life, Symi, threshing circle, windmills | 5 Comments

Symi: wildlife on a (moderately) wild walk, a micro view

Posted on May 19, 2014 by BarryH

Summer seems to have settled into Symi in the last week. Temperatures in the low twenties and rising. Mostly clear skies. With a gentle breeze walking in the mountains just about perfect. Walking with a friend for who, like me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Dragon Arum, Greece, Oetzeni lizard, Painted Dragon lizard, spiders, Starred agama, Stellagama, Symi, tortoise, wild onion flowers | 4 Comments

Kalymnos: colour and signals in the crags

Posted on May 13, 2014 by BarryH

I’m back on Symi now, very busy trekking and photographing in the mountains with a friend. Some unusual shots to follow. A good number of ‘Wow!’ moments. But first, a brief snapshot of Kalymnos and more particularly of Emborios, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged castles, climbing, crags, Flora, flowers, Greece, Hawk Moth, Kalymnos, Kastri, spiders, Symi, telecom, telecom problems, Telendos, WiFi, wildlife | Leave a comment

Symi: more Spring colour

Posted on May 7, 2014 by BarryH

I’ve been away for a few days staying with friends at the northern tip of Kalymnos the fourth most populous island in the Dodecanese but in an internet ‘Not-Spot’ with very limited access to WiFi thanks to OTE, the main … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Landscape, Nature, Spring | Tagged clover, cyclamen, Flora, flowers, Greece, hollyhock, orchids, Symi | 5 Comments

Symi: habitats and wildlife

Posted on May 2, 2014 by BarryH

I’m continuing to trek around the infrequently trodden parts of Symi and continuing to be surprised by the variety of colourful plant life. It’s not in great swathes like on other islands I have visited in Spring but the number … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Butterflies, dragonflies, dragonfly egg laying, Greece, Gria pond, lizards, Oregano, Symi, Testudo Graeca, tortoise | Leave a comment

Symi: walking through Spring colour

Posted on April 28, 2014 by BarryH

I have done a whole series of walks since I arrived on Symi more than two weeks ago. Some have been just a couple of hours and 3 or 4 miles, others longer. Most of them are through areas I … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Spring | Tagged cyclamen, Flora, flowers, Greece, orchids, poppies, spring, Symi | Leave a comment

Symi: funeral bells and the smell of death

Posted on April 22, 2014 by BarryH

In Greece Easter is a far more important celebration than Christmas. Theologically that is as it should be, the birth of Christ was only the necessary first step, the reason for His coming was His death and resurrection. Without Easter … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged ANFO, Christmas, church bells, commercialisation of Christmas, crucifixion, Dracunculus vulgaris, Dragon Arum, Easter, explosions, explosives, Funeral bells, Greece, Greek Easter, Resurrection, smell of death, Symi | Leave a comment

Symi: a walk on the colourful side

Posted on April 19, 2014 by BarryH

The first time we came to Symi it was August, a full-on Greek summer. Stepping out of the door of the chilled cabin of the plane was like walking into an oven with the fan on. I now always look … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Mountains, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged botany, catacombs, convolvulus, cyclamen, dog rose, Flora, flowering plants, Greece, hiking, Symi, tortoise, walks, wild flowers, wild flowers of Greece, wildlife | 3 Comments

Symi: to the other side of the island

Posted on April 15, 2014 by BarryH

It isn’t often that I contradict myself so quickly. Not that I’ve changed my mind, just that I’m putting a different slant on things. In the last blog I disparaged the old Taoist saying that “the journey is the reward”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Agios Vasilios, Greece, Oregano, Sage, Symi, Vasilios Gorge, Viewpoints | Leave a comment