Here we are again in this magical place - Saturday morning.
The journey from the coast of Mid Wales started on Tuesday afternoon around 14:00. Having discovered the night before that EasyJet had altered the size of cabin baggage that they guarantee can be kept with us rather than be put in the hold so the Internet came to the rescue and we were able to buy a suitable bag en route (Cheshire Oaks).
We stayed overnight in Chester and had a stroke of good fortune when the Holiday Inn Express advised us they were overbooked and would we mind being upgraded to the Crowne Plaza
So after a leisurely Wednesday morning in Chester we headed to Liverpool Airport to meet our friends H and P who are with us for their third visit - yes; they are hooked too.
Being too late into Rhodes to catch the ferry to Symi we stayed in that famous of transfer locations - The International which is perfectly adequate for a clean room.
Had a very pleasant dinner in a taverna across the road (avec Bouzouki) that we had been to before and the taxi arrived next morning to take us to the ferry. A very leisurely journey really.
Quite a windy crossing on Thursday morning but that did not deter the Symi stalwarts from being up the front of the Dodek Pride to come round the headland to get the first glimpses of the harbour.
We were met off the ferry by our host Panagiotis of the Thea Apartments who popped us round in the car to his wonderful property.
We are about 25 steps up from the Taxi Rank and the apartments are beautifully designed and furnished and Panagiotis, like every Symi host we have ever met, simply cannot do enough for us. We even had a delivery of Greek yoghurt yesterday !!
First night and of course we climbed the Kali Strata to Yannis Rainbow Bar which was very busy due to the hustings (Election of the Mayor this Sunday) and saw quite a few known faces. Mezes in Giorgios was wonderful with the prawns in filo, the liver, the green beans, the small cheese pies and the aubergine balls and the obligatory retsina ending a wonderful day.
Friday saw us walk up the Kali, meeting Neil at Symi Dream (looking fit after all that walking !), and then down to Pedi for a light lunch of whitebait and beetroot with garlic sauce in Katsarsis - and walked back as the bus was over in Rhodes for a service. Some beer stops along the way in Yannis on the way down and Cafe Manteio on the return. Dinner last night in Trata was a Mezes of garlic lamb, feta stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes, the fantastic stuffed mushrooms, tuna salad and a wonderful green veg dish that I think was called horta. That walk to Pedi fairly gave us an appetite.
So now as the Saturday sun lights up the harbour and the sky is cloudless it is time to fetch the freshly baked bread, have a wonder round to the clock tower and back before breakfast and then make plans for the day.
Some photos and video clips are on Twitter : follow @rutakingthep and @greygirly who is also on Facebook as Eiri Stephen.
More to come each day on this thread if you can take it