Tag Archives: Greece

Symi: a floriferous walk down the valley

Posted on April 16, 2015 by BarryH

Those who were on Symi over the winter tell me that the winter was the wettest they can remember. After a cloudy and cool start to my stay on the island the last few days have been sunny and increasingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Spring, Weather | Tagged beautiful dock, bermuda buttercup, blue periwinkle, broom rape, crown daisy, cyclamen, edible crysanthemum, Flora, flowers, Greece, leaf orchid, lupin, poppies, rock rose, star clover, Symi, tassel hyacinth | 2 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

From Wales to Greece: Greek Island Walks

Posted on March 30, 2015 by BarryH

Preparing to return to Greece has been taking precedence over escaping into the mountains recently. A spell of dry weather meant most of my time has been in the garden clearing, cutting back, pruning, planting, sowing, but that was brought … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Greece, Greek Island Walks, Nisyros, photography, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, Rain clouds, Symi, Wales, walking guides | 2 Comments

From Wales to Greece: preparations eclipsed

Posted on March 20, 2015 by BarryH

Wednesday and I was feeling pleased with myself. I finally got round to booking a flight to Greece. A bit of lateral thinking and I fly to Kos rather than Rhodes. The flight arrives on Rhodes after the Dodecanese Express … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Nature, Photography, Wales | Tagged Eclipse, ferries, Greece, photography, Wales | Leave a comment

From Grey Britain to Greek sunshine: looking forward

Posted on March 15, 2015 by BarryH

Into March now, in theory the beginning of spring. Despite the occasional day of sunshine it’s still mostly grey, wet and cold. Not much sign of the weather warming up significantly but my focus has shifted. I’ve reluctantly turned my … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged Crocuses, daffodils, flowers, Greece, Large Tortoiseshell, photography, spring, Wales, winter | 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: 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: Wildlife safari.

Posted on October 18, 2014 by BarryH

The searing heat of summer on The Hot Rock has passed. Life is beginning to emerge again from the crisp remains of the scorched landscape. Trekking in the mountains reveals more every day as plants and animals emerge from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged autumn, autumn crocus, biarum marmarisense, Coin-marked snake, Greece, Symi, The Hot Rock, tortoise | 3 Comments

Symi: A Taste of Honey and Dalliance with A Painted Lady

Posted on October 4, 2014 by BarryH

I stopped to chat with friends in Lefteris’s kafenion at the top of the Kali Strata on the way back to the house from the restaurant close to midnight. After a short while the owner started hurriedly carrying the wooden chairs … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged Biarum marmarense, Buterflies, flash flood, Greece, Horio, Kali Strata, Lefteris's kafenion, nature, Oertzeni lizard, Painted Lady, Sea squill, Squill, Symi, Thistle flower, thunderstorm, wildlife | 5 Comments