2/10/18
Woke to a beautiful sunny day. As I was eating breakfast, I had a visit from Anastasia saying she’d had a phone call saying I need to go down to the Symi Tours office after 5pm this afternoon to collect my tickets. Hmm, my Olympic letter said I have to go the day before – which is tomorrow. The jobs of travelling with Olympic!
I wasn’t sure where to go today but set off through the village and on the donkey path. As the harbour came into view, I could see a large cruise ship moored by the clock tower. The Sea Dreams was approaching the harbour with the Dodekanisos Seaways ferry in the distance behind it. I watched with interest to see how they would all ‘fit in’ – by the time that the Dodekanisos ferry had docked there didn’t appear to be an awful lot of room to get in and out!
After my usual rest stop at the little church, I continued up the steep path to the road and turned right, debating whether to walk down to Yialos on the rocky path or continue on to Toli for lunch at the Daphne taverna. As there was a pleasant breeze, I decided to walk to Toli and hope that the walk back uphill wasn’t too much of a killer! After passing the army barracks, I stopped at the Taxiarhis Mihail Roukouniotis monastery and entered the grounds. The monastery was locked (I have been inside on a trip with Symi Tours and it is well worth a visit) but the toilets were open which came in very handy before I continued on the 3km walk (according to the taverna sign) to Toli. This part of the island is very barren, with very little shade on the road. There were a lot of goats around but apart from 2 motorbikes and a car that drove past, I didn’t meet anybody. As I made my way down the dirt track to the taverna I was relieved to see that it was still open and there were quite a few customers. I don’t generally eat a lot at lunch time (especially with a long walk uphill ahead of me) so just ordered a tuna salad with bread and water (7 euros), whilst those around me were tucking into the delicious meals that the Daphne provides. The tasty tuna salad (dip) was just the right consistency and with 3 slices of bread I was pleasantly full as I started my journey back up the track. It took me 15 minutes to reach the first lone tree, where I was relieved to stop in the shade and feel the breeze cooling me down. The walk back to the monastery took 45 minutes (it was a 35 stroll on the way down) which I didn’t think was bad going – I’m obviously getting fitter! After stopping to cool down and relax for a while in the monastery courtyard I continued up the road before taking the rocky path next to the little church going down the hill towards Yialos. The path zigzagged down the hill, keeping close to the water pipe much of the way. I could see the Dodekanisos ferry in the harbour below but the cruise ship had gone. When I reached the bottom of the hill I went through a gate before continuing on a rocky path downhill, which eventually joined some steps between houses before emerging at the back of the harbour.
As it was already after 4pm I decided to wait in the harbour until it was time to go to the Symi Tours office. I saw Nancy, the Olympic rep, talking to another Olympic customer and we both followed her to Symi Tours. I’m leaving on the 1500 Dodekanisos Express on Thursday which is very civilized! Rather than have to go back again tomorrow to collect tickets Nancy said she’d leave them with the mini bus driver – I certainly hope so!