The next day brought us to the incredibly beautiful Island of Symi with its smattering of various pastel colored houses sitting on the turquoise Aegean waters against the backdrop of yet another ancient city. It was another magical place and as we entered the harbor we knew we were in store for a treat. A very busy and bustling place with many day trippers and ferries we had to wait in the mouth of the harbor while the harbor master and our lead crew got us lined up for our stern to mooring. Dropping the anchor in the center of this circular Harbour was a bit daunting-are we clearing the anchors of all the other boats? I am sure there are some very interesting situations here if folks don’t know what they are doing! Our expert captain Ward pulled if off again without a hitch and all secure in no time and ready to embrace Symi town.



Again felt as if we were in a real life postcard…beauty all around us






although we have seen them in every Harbour we have visited , I am still fascinated by the little toy like fishing boats in theses seaside havens.





Spent the afternoon browsing the many shops…everything from typical Greek trinkets to high end leather shops. Very cool place. We needed to re provision a bit so we were after wine, ouzo , cheese bread and olives (all a girl really needs right) .

The scenery is equally spectacular from the other side ...





Found a great little spot for a cool Mythos and a tasty gyros - think typical Canadian donaire but with a Tzatziki sauce instead of sweet garlic – yummy .

Now off to the beach area for a little swimming in the refreshing, very salty sea. Perfect end to our afternoon. All cleaned up then drinks and appetizers aboard with the Aussies . Getting to know these others sailors on the flotilla has been amazing. Out for another fun group meal, ouzo nightcaps in the cockpit and early to bed . A climb to visit the monastery is in order for morning.

Up and up we go …









wow the ruins along the way are spectacular



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The colours of the flowers and the foliage against the pretty pastel homes is so gorgeous.

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and the views simply breathtaking.

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Spent the day wandering around this magical place high atop the Harbour trying to imagine what life is like here….I think I would like it .

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The many islands of Greece are all different and all equally charming. I hate to leave this place but off we go again for the next adventure….

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Fantastic fotos!

Thanks , it's been fun going through all the pictures and remembering the great places.. it truly is an amazingly diverse country .

Looks like you had a great trip, and those photos are outstanding. Been looking for places to go and thinking about a floatilia in the Greek islands. I see you have made two trips, any preference of one vs the other, also what charter company did you use? Thanks

Thanks for the pictures, they are stunning !! The colors everywhere are just breathtaking. I would love to travel there one day. My paternal Grandparents were born there.

Magical photos! Postcard perfect!!! Thank you for sharing!

I had to look up where Symi is as we are sailing in Greece again this year. I am tempted to change our location! OR maybe plan a 2017 back to Greece!

We are going to the Cyclades for 2 weeks in September 2016. We sailed one way Athens to Paros and loved it so much had to plan a return trip. Can hardly wait to go back! BVIs first in June though.

Hi....sorry have not been over here for awhile....planning a BVI adventure soon. I really can't say which area I liked better ...they were both different and magical in their own way. We did a partially land based trip in 2015 which included Mykinos and Santorini so that was incredible....don't leave Mykinos off the table when looking at which islands to explore....much less touristy and incredible. the pelopenese area was more coastal then islands but very historic...we visited Navplion the old capital and climbed the 999 steps to the top..very cool ...we chose the docadanese area in 2016 for more wind but ended up motor sailing a lot....can't really control that....no meltimi thank god...The many islands of that area including some that are Turkish were spectacular. I think in hindsight that area was better <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />...We chartered with Seafarer holidays out of London and did a flotilla. I would not hesitate to bareboat now that we have done it a few times. the stern to " parking " as they call it can be a bit daunting in strong winds but my hubby is a harbour pilot and man handles super tankers and cruise ships so we had no problems. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />...any other questions PM me