Tag Archives: dragonflies

Greece, Symi: Up, along a bit, and down

Posted on July 27, 2019 by BarryH

The temperature was pushing up to 40 degrees in the shade. The previous afternoon, a friend with a thermometer on his balcony had recorded 58.7 in the sun at 13.00 – hottest part of the day is a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged dragonflies, Greece, Horio, marked routes, Panagia Hamon, paths, Pedi, Red Darter, Symi | 4 Comments

Symi: the end of Spring

Posted on June 8, 2015 by BarryH

A wet winter and a cool spring made for an even more than usually vivid display of colour and life on Symi, the island reputed to be the hottest and driest in Greece. In the summer months it is bleached … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Nature, Photography, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged crickets, dragonflies, Flora, flora and fauna, Greece, Oertzeni lizard, photography, Red Darter, Symi, tortoise, unpredictable weather, wild flowers, wildlife | 2 Comments

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: back to a waterhole in the desert

Posted on November 10, 2014 by BarryH

During the summer on Symi and the other islands I visited, I went walking in the mountains every day. Since I have been home I have been out very little even though I live at the edge of the Brecon … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Pontypool, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged aquifers, biarum marmarisense, brecon beacons national park, dragonflies, goat paths, Greece, Green Toads, Gria, Horio, hornets, Pedi, Pedi Valley, ponds, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, rainfall, Red-veined Darter, Symi, Wales, water hole, water levels, windmills | 2 Comments

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

Symi: to the castle … with a lot of distractions

Posted on July 28, 2014 by BarryH

When we first came to Symi 15 years ago the castle didn’t exist. At least it wasn’t shown on the only available, very diagrammatic, walking map of the island nor mentioned in the imaginatively titled accompanying booklet ‘Walks in Symi’. … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged Ag Giorgios Ftoxos, Agios Nikitas Kotika, alien images, aliens, alpine swift, Butterflies, dragonflies, Geomorphology, Greece, hochlakos mosaic, limestone, monasteries, Pebble mosiac, rock, science fiction, Symi, tear-pants limestone | Leave a comment

Tilos: the kamikaze trail

Posted on July 1, 2014 by BarryH

Hopping between Greek islands has become more difficult over recent years as older, less efficient boats were deemed financially unviable or failed to meet rising safety standards and have gone out of service. Operating companies are fewer in number and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Wildlife | Tagged dodecanese, dragonflies, Eristos Beach, ferries, footpaths, Greece, Greek island treks, Greek Islands, hiking, island hopping, natural springs, Nikia, Nisyros, Panteleimon monastery, Profitis Ilias, Tilos, trails, trekking | 2 Comments

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: 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 | 4 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