Category Archives: History

Symi: a trek beyond the economic fringe

Posted on May 5, 2015 by BarryH

The deserted village of Gria set in limestone crags high above Pedi Bay has fascinated me ever since first ‘discovering’ it 15 years ago. The fact that it has a permanent pond, seemingly lost not only to sight but to … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Spring | Tagged deserted villages, dought, Drakos Fortification, Greece, Greek Spiny Spurge, Gria, Holy Orchid, orchids, Pyramid Orchid, Red Darter, Symi, Tongue Orchid, water, wild gladiolus, Zoodohout Pighis monastery | 7 Comments

Greece: Kos I was there.

Posted on April 8, 2015 by BarryH

The plane landed at Kos airport just after 06.00. Rapidly through baggage reclaim and out into the fresh morning air after having been cooped up in airports and planes since 19.30 the previous evening. I declined to wait an hour … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, History, Nature, Photography, Spring | Tagged archaeology, Butterflies, Greece, Kos, marble, old agora, photography | 8 Comments

Canadian Rockies: Snowshoes and maple taffy

Posted on January 10, 2015 by BarryH

I have always loved walking in the snow despite having to put up with what I now know is Reynaud’s Phenomenon, painfully cold hands with ‘White Finger’ even in summer. I used to go walking in the Derbyshire Peak District … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged Banff National Park, British Columbia, Canada, canadian rockies, Derbyshire Peak District, Discover Banff Tours, Kootenay National Park, maple syrup, Maple Taffy, Marble Canyon, Parks Canada, snow, snowshoes, Tokumm Creek, Tokumm Creek fire | Leave a comment

Symi: imagining the past

Posted on November 23, 2014 by BarryH

As I recounted in the blog, in July I trekked via many distractions to the ridge-top Lappatoniou Castle on the western-most peninsula on Symi. Then in early in October I went back with friends who, after trial and error and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged agricultural enclosures, ancient pathways, archaeology, dragonflies, Flora, footpaths, Greece, historical remains, Lappatoniou Castle, Symi, threshing circles, wildlife | Leave a comment

Symi: to the past and on the edge

Posted on October 30, 2014 by BarryH

I’m back home now, trying to stop the cold seeping into my bones and prevent the grey seeping into my brain. But there are many bright, warm memories of Symi to look back on, more Symi-based blogs to post. One … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Byzantine stone wine pressses, Greece, history, hochlakos mosaic, Megalos Sotiros monastery, Panormitis monastery, Symi, trekking, viniculture, wood carving | Leave a comment

Symi: another trek in the mountains in search of the past.

Posted on September 24, 2014 by BarryH

It started out as a simple amble across the island to check out the site of more ruins shown on the SKAÏ map but turned into a really good-value-for–money trek. Finding the Pelasgian Platform (‘Trekking to a time before Greece’) … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape | Tagged agricultural terraces, archaeology, dragonfly, footpaths, Greece, Greek Classical Period, hiking, kestrel, Ruins, Symi, trekking | 3 Comments

Symi: wandering the mountains in a search for the past

Posted on September 14, 2014 by BarryH

My jaunt along the Kokkinochoma peninsula ‘Trekking to a time before Greece’ and finding the fortified platform and other stuff, which I think are Pelasgian remains (though with no corroborating expert evidence this is conjecture), set in the top of … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged ancient routeway, Antiquity, footpaths, Greece, Helenistic Ruins, Painted Dragon lizard, Pelasgian, Ruins, Symi | 1 Comment

Symi: a walk to the beach via the underworld and pre-history

Posted on September 4, 2014 by BarryH

I had walked to Nanou Beach a few times, a long trek up to ‘The Tarmac’, the road along the top of the ridge which is the main spine of the island, and then a 2½ kilometre drop down a … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged Ancient pathway protection, caves, dinosaur remains, EU funding, fottpaths, Greece, hiking, kalderimi, Nanou Beach, paths, pre-history, pygmy elephant, Symi, Tilos, trekking, walking guide | Leave a comment

Symi: a trek to a time before Greece

Posted on August 21, 2014 by BarryH

It began when I was lying on a wall at Agios Nikolaos Stenou monastery on the top of the ridge between Nimborio Bay and the open channel which separates Symi and Greece from Turkey, the dividing line between Europe and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Wales | Tagged cromlechs, footpaths, fortification, Greece, Limnos, Pelasgian, Pre-Hellenic, pre-history, siesta, Symi, Wales | Leave a comment

Symi: a trek into the past

Posted on August 6, 2014 by BarryH

I’m fascinated by deserted settlements. They show the stark effects of seismic economic shifts, technological development, and climate change. They can also show how people lived decades ago. Whenever I am on Tilos I visit and write about the deserted … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Wales, Wildlife | Tagged deserted village, dragonflies, gateway to the past, Ghera, Greece, Gria, Karpathos, Micro Horio, national heritage, Olymbos, Pedi, St Fagan's National History Museum, Symi, Tilos, time portal, traditional bread oven, Wales, water abstraction, water supply, Welsh Folk Museum, windmills | 1 Comment