Tag Archives: Symi

Symi: not-so-wild walks

Posted on April 27, 2016 by BarryH

Well, I made it to Symi. At first the weather was great, sunny with temperatures mid to high twenties. One day it dropped to a chilly low twenties with heavy overnight rain depositing half of the Sahara on the island. … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Spring | Tagged bush legumes, cornflower, cyclamen, Dragon Arums, Flora, Greece, hollyhock, Pedi, Pedi Bay, razor limestone, spring flowers, Symi, Symi harbour, Yialos | 2 Comments

Wales and Greece: life on the wild side

Posted on April 7, 2016 by BarryH

I first became fascinated by birds of prey when I was a research student and lived with friends in a tiny former lead-mining village in the mountains inland of Aberystwyth. The closest house was about half a mile away. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Aegina, bird calls, Bonelli's eagles, brecon beacons national park, Buzzard, Eleonora's Falcon, Golden Eagle, Greece, Imperial Eagle, kestrel, Little Owl, Mid Wales, Nisyros, ornithology, paragliding, photography, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Symi, The Mani, Tilos, trekking, Wales | 1 Comment

Canadian Rockies and Greek Islands: twittering and tweeting

Posted on March 20, 2016 by BarryH

2016 is not going at all well for me. Just diagnosed, I now have a long-term health issue, probably triggered by the flu, which means a period of monitoring and the need to review plans and maybe lifestyle. So, still … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Canada, Greece, Health and humour, Nature, Photography, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Canada, canadian rockies, Die Ztwitscher Maschine, Greece, Greek cuisine, Paul Klee, spanakopita, sparrows, swallows, Symi, The Twittering Machine, tweeting, twittering | Leave a comment

Canadian Rockies and Greek Islands: looking back, looking forward

Posted on March 9, 2016 by BarryH

So far 2016 has had its share of setbacks. A minor viral infection in January which kept me indoors in Banff for two day and impaired activities for the rest of the stay. A skiing accident resulting in a dislocated … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Spring, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Bow River, Bow River Falls, Canada, canadian rockies, Forty Mile Creek, Greece, Lappatoniou Castle, Snow and ice, squirrel, Symi, thermal springs, Vermilion Lakes | 2 Comments

Kalymnos: peace and tranquillity at the end of summer

Posted on December 14, 2015 by BarryH

I finished my summer in Greece with a short stay on Kalymnos. Its population of 16,000, making it the third most populous island in the Dodecanese group after Rhodes and Kos, is considerably increased in the summer by tourists. However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, new technology, Photography | Tagged autumn crocus, broadband, castles, Emborios, flowers, Greece, hiking, Hora, Kalymnos, Kastri, nature, photography, rock climbing, Symi | Leave a comment

Nisyros: Heritage Island

Posted on October 23, 2015 by BarryH

When I was young, summer holidays were a week at my grandparents’ in a small mining village in rural Carmarthenshire. I took every opportunity to escape the boredom of sitting around the house and walk the mile or so up … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Photography, Wales | Tagged barrel-arched building, Greece, heritage, history, Karpathos, Nifios, Nisyros, Olymbos, photography, Rural Carmarthenshire, Siones, St Fagan's National History Museum, subterranean church, Symi, thermal springs, Tilos, windmills | 5 Comments

Symi and the Glamorgan coast: compare and contrast

Posted on August 23, 2015 by BarryH

We were taught in school to prepare for exam questions of the type ‘Compare and contrast’ …. ‘The Hundred Years War and the Blitzkrieg’, ‘The East Coast of England and a South Sea Atoll’, ‘the character of Jane Austen’s Emma … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Photography, Wales | Tagged cliffs, Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Greece, hiking, limestone, Macross, Monksnash, Nisyros, photography, Plough and Harrow, rock pools, Severn Estuary, Symi, tidal range, Wales, wave-cut platforms | 2 Comments

Symi: Old ways and a long way back

Posted on August 9, 2015 by BarryH

But one day at a time they say And if you’re knowing where you’re going You’ll be finding your way. ‘Long Way Back’ from ‘Freedom Run’ by The Rifles, 2011 Some years ago, more than I care to remember or … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Weather | Tagged ancient routeways, Byzantine Stone Wine Presses, Four Peaks Challenge, Four Peaks Walk, Greece, huking, kalderimi, Lake District, Long Walk Back, Megalos Sotiros, Panagia Panaiidi, Panormitis monastery, photography, SKAI maps, Stavros Polemou, Symi, Symi Polar Bear, The Rifles, trekking | Leave a comment

Symi: high points

Posted on July 25, 2015 by BarryH

Having been identified as the Third Man and knowing he was pursued by Joseph Cotton, Orson Wells took to the labyrinthine sewers with a multiplicity of escape options and made the most memorable Sewer Speech ever. Unfortunately most Hollywood villains … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Butterflies, castles, Greece, hiking, limestone crags, mountains, movies, Symi, The Mani, tortoise, tower houses, treks, Turtle Dove, Viewpoints | 3 Comments

Symi: I lost my shirt ….

Posted on July 8, 2015 by BarryH

…. and I wasn’t even in Las Vegas! Nor does it have anything to do with the Greek economy which, despite the attempts of the IMF and the ECB to undermine it, and the grossly inaccurate and morally reprehensible scaremongering … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged bee hives, bees, dry waterfalls, Greece, Greek economy, Greek Island Walks, Gully bashing, hiking, Lapatonniou Castle, monasteries, mountains, photography, Symi, The Hot Rock, thyme, trekking in Greece | Leave a comment