Pedi Port, Symi
Vasco da Gama
Ian Strathcarron
Thu 11 Aug 2011 15:26
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We are back in Greece, tied up alongside a town
quay in a quiet port. There is only one line of buildings ashore, but the
bay is full as all the yachts are sheltering from a coming storm, already the
winds are gusting at 35 miles an hour. We were lucky to find a space on
the quay, as everybody at anchor is bouncing around and being driven in large
circles around their anchors. The sun is shining down on us all, and it's
still too hot to be outside in the afternoon, but we've just been for a
refreshing swim off the side of the boat, and we're looking forward to dinner in
a taverna ashore.
We spent an idyllic week anchoring in sheltered
bays along the Turkish coast, all of them with unpronouncable names, but all
very quiet, sometimes with a restaurant in a beach shack hidden in the
spectacular scenery. Each morning started with an early swim for me to
untie us from the rocks to which we attached a line ashore, and then out of the
bay into the wind-swept sea, sometimes we were tossed around as though we were
in a giant washing machine, but of course it was very exhilirating, and to be
drenched by a wave in the intense heat was very exciting. One bay, called
Circe Limani, was long and thin like a fjord. We were helped to anchor by
a friendly Turk called Osman who met us in a dinghy, and he tied us up in a
beautiful quiet cove, surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs. Ian was
immediately inspired to go completely native, tore off his clothes and jumped
overboard. I followed close behind and soon found myself skinny dipping in
a Turkish fjord, for the first, but I hope not the last, time.
The following day we arrived at Symi, one of the
nearest Greek Islands to the Turkish coast. I had fallen asleep on deck,
but woke to see a small town on a hill, dotted with domes and crosses rather
than minarets and crescent moons and with the sound of bells rather than
the muezzin. Symi was once a centre for sponge fishing and was very
prosperous in the nineteenth century, providing the Ottoman sultans with
sponges, and also renowned for ship building. Nowadays it's a popular
tourist resort. We went by bus to the main port this morning. Symi
port is built in a large horseshoe shaped bay, whose steep-sided
surrounding hills are lined with Venetian-inspired sea captain's
houses. It's very picturesque, but August is not the best time to visit,
as hordes of tourists arrive regularly on day trips from Rhodes, so we were glad
to escape back to our quiet bay.
When the storm has passed we will continue our
journey west, back to Turkey for a few nights, on our way to Cos.
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