Category Archives: Nature

Symi: change of season, change of focus

Posted on June 13, 2014 by BarryH

I’m back on the Hot Rock now. Straight from Cool Britannia to temperatures in the high 20s. Locals say that the weather is bizarre for June. Before I arrived there was a thunderstorm with very heavy rain overnight and strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged arid landscape, eroded limestone, folded rocks, fottpaths, Greece, kalderimia, landscapes, Nimborio, panoramas, Paraskevi, SAymi, stone tower, swallows, The Hot Rock, thunder clouds, Turkey, Yialos | Leave a comment

Symi: a last look back to Spring

Posted on June 8, 2014 by BarryH

Time to confess. Though I have continued to write the blog posts about walks on Symi, for the last couple of weeks I have been back in Grey Britain. I returned for grandchildren’s birthdays, have been catching up with family … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Butterflies, convolvulus, dianthus, dragonflies, Flora, flowers, Greece, mallow, orchids, SciFi, Symi | Leave a comment

Symi: an eye catching trek

Posted on June 4, 2014 by BarryH

With temperatures rising and more stable summer weather settling in, by the middle of May the wide variety of flora and fauna, though still there, was becoming less evident on the Hot Rock which is Symi. Before my friend returned … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Agios Stavros Polemou, Dragon Arum, European Mantis, eye catching, Greece, Mantis religiosa, Oertzeni liazard, Painted Dragon lizard, poppies, preying mantis, red, Red Admiral butterfly, Starred agama, Symi, tortoises | 6 Comments

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