Tag Archives: Symi

Trek tech: technology and mountain walking

Posted on December 18, 2013 by BarryH

I’m no techno-geek but nor am I a Luddite. Decades ago in the office where I worked, I was one of the first to embrace word processing, the first below director level to have a corporate e-mail address and correspond … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, Mountains, new technology | Tagged frustration, GPS, Greek Island Walks, hiking, mobile phones, phone numbers, recycling, rock climbing, smart phones, Symi, trekking, walking guides | Leave a comment

Symi: history and the backbone of the island

Posted on October 24, 2013 by BarryH

Warning: This is a long walk ………. and it’s a long blog. Long, somewhat strenuous but not technically difficult, is the rewarding trek up to the main ridge on Symi and then along the spine of the island to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Byzantine Stone Wine Presses, frescoes, Greece, heritage, hiking, kaldarimi, Megalos Sotiris, Ottoman Empire, Panagia Panaidhi, polar bear, sponge diving, Stavros Polemou, Symi, trekking, viniculture, walking guides, walks | 1 Comment

Symi: the island experience

Posted on October 16, 2013 by BarryH

I sometimes wonder whether islands which are connected to the ‘mainland’ are truly still islands. It’s complicated. When we went to the Isle of Skye BTB (Before The Bridge) it had an intrinsic separateness even though there was only a … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Agios Emilianos, Agios Ioannis Theologos, Anglesey, causeways, donkeys, forest fire, Greece, Greek Islands, islands, islands of Britain, Isle of Skye, Lindisfarne, philoxenia, St Michael's Mount, Symi, tidal islands | 1 Comment

Symi: a gorgeous walk

Posted on October 12, 2013 by BarryH

Normally I’m obsessive about tidying up behind me. Food shopping gets put in the cupboard or fridge as soon as I walk in through the door. Clothes get folded or hung as I take them off. But I hate unpacking … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged Agia Paraskevi, Agios Vasilios, dehydration, gorges, Greece, hiking, kalderimi, rock climbing, Symi, trekking, unpacking, Vasilios Gorge, walking guides, walks | 4 Comments

Symi: below the surface

Posted on October 6, 2013 by BarryH

It has always struck me as odd that Symi, an island made up almost entirely of limestone, has no cave systems, or at least none that I could find out about. The ‘Round-the-Island’ boat trips advertised from the harbour offers … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged aquifers, calcite, cave systems, caves, freshwater springs, Greece, limestone, Otter Hole, Peak Disitrict, speliology, Swildon's Hole, Symi, Zoodohou Pighis | 5 Comments

Symi: going off-piste

Posted on October 2, 2013 by BarryH

The top of Vigla, the highest mountain on Symi, is always a little disappointing. There is a whole array of telecommunication masts on the adjoining peak, with a road for their construction and maintenance bulldozed on the south side. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged abandoned village, Aegean Sea, crags, goat paths, Greece, hiking, limestone crags, off-piste, Pedi Bay, rocks, rocky gullies, swimming, Symi, Symi harbour, treks, Vigla | Leave a comment

Greece: more high speed island hopping

Posted on September 28, 2013 by BarryH

Now that inter-island travel is both more rapid and more reliable it’s a viable option to hop from island to island for brief visits and sometimes when moving on it’s possible to make connexions without an overnight stay where there … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains | Tagged archaeology, Crusader castle, ferries, footpaths, Greece, Greek Islands, hiking, Kalymnos, Kos, minarets, mosaics, Nisyros, Profitis Ilias Kalymnos, rock partridges, Symi, treks | Leave a comment

Tilos: images, looking back.

Posted on August 9, 2013 by BarryH

I’m back home now and trying to sort out my garden and come to terms with the vagaries of British weather. The vegetables would have shrivelled and died if a friend hadn’t watered them for me in the heat and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged castles, cliffs, courgettes, drought, flotsam and jetsam, french beans, frescoes, gardening, Greece, Megalo Horio, Mikro Horio, mountain spring, mountains, nature, Nisyros, potatoes, rain, St Christopher, Symi, Tilos | Leave a comment

Tilos: what is getting the goat of the island’s landscape?

Posted on July 19, 2013 by BarryH

My attention was suddenly diverted from picking my way through the excessively prickly vegetation on a narrow mountain-side agricultural terrace to get into position for a photo of yet another abandoned olive press. A noise like a turkey having its … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Landscape, Mountains, Nature | Tagged Billy Goat, fresh figs, goats, Greece, Greek Islands, Landscape, olive press, ripe fruit, sheep, South Wales, strange sounds, Symi, thorns, Tilos, Wales | Leave a comment

From Symi to Kalymnos: from peace and quiet to tranquility

Posted on May 1, 2013 by BarryH

On my one full day on Symi I walked across the island to Agios Vasilios, a bay on the far side with a tiny monastery nestled into the cliffs. It was always a favourite with my late wife and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece | Tagged Agios Vasilios, Emborios, Greece, Horio, ησυχία, Kalymnos, Lapathos Bay, monastery, peace and quiet, Pothia, Symi, tranquility, Yialos | Leave a comment