Detour to Symi...

Directly opposite Datca lies Symi. It is a Greek Island and you'll find if you scroll back to the blog on Symi that it is a great place to visit even though it was the venue for the first attempted mutiny on the Summer Amy!

We had dropped it in the plans as a possible stop on the way to Kos, but only if time and weather permitted. We wanted to get Mark back to Kos by the 2nd as he flies out of there on the 4th.... a day for washing, packing etc.

Well, we did have a day up our sleeves, the weather was going to deteriorate but the wind direction would be in our favour and neither Al nor Mark had been to Symi.

There was one other minor issue to be addressed.....

When we left Kos headed for Bodrum in Turkey with the Frasers 3 months ago, we neglected to officially check out of Greece...

You may remember we had sustained some damage in Kos Harbour which had necessitated the hauling of the boat out of the water at Kos Marina. When the repairs were complete, the boat was put back in the water but there was nowhere to park it as the marina was full. The only option was to head straight for Bodrum in Turkey and worry about the Greek admin when we returned..

Symi is a sleepy little port, the authorities would not be overly fastidious, particularly at this time of the year, so we figured it would be a better place to check back into Greece than the larger port of Kos.

The first order of subterfuge was to lower the Turkish and raise the Greek flags so we'd be entering Symi as if from another Greek port.

One of the entrances into Symi bay takes you through this narrow gap where the depth rises from over 100 meters to just 5 at the gap. The water is crystal clear making it appear even shallower.... Once through it, hang a right and motor into the most quaint of ports.

Now also in winter mode, it was hard to find a spot in this uncrowded harbour. Large boats had moored themselves with long lines going in all directions such that they could handle any wind or weather without contacting anything solid for the entire winter. Each one taking up the space that would normally accommodate six boats.

We did find a spot and with all necessary paperwork under my arm I headed for the Port Police to check into Greece. It all went very smoothly although the Police were at the far end of the harbour where I was sent to first, then to customs who were closed for siesta to reopen at 5:30 but turned up at 6:15, then back to the port police for the final stamping of this that and the next thing. The washup being that we were all now legally in Greece, so when we leave there should not be any hassles.



Time to sit and enjoy the peace of a quiet harbour and our first Greek meal in three months. It was a cracker!