Neither here nor there

 Monday 17th October - Hora, Livadi and Syros Ermoupoli 

I was thinking of Bill Bryson, his books, especially the one where he landed in the UK and had one heck of a culture shock. I wonder what he thinks of things now, for sure the UK has changed a lot since he typed in the prose that became that first book. My trip to Syros, it’s part of the process, in order to be able to stay here for any length of time. So the title here, is another of his books, and Syros, it’s not my home, it’s sort of in the middle, between the UK and Serifos. Not to worry, I will be going back tomorrow morning, seven am.!

Before my taxi picked me up from Hora, she rang me, was I sure the ferry was going to appear? It was very rough out there? I think in some places, it would be seen as a fare. She did not want to leave me in the windswept port with no prospect of going anywhere, only to have to ring her to take me back up to Hora, when the ferry did not turn up,

Photo interlude - the Artemis in Ermoupoli the following day.

I was a bit early, so I went into the cafe where we met Zoi, the TV was on and had a football match showing  and the place was full. I ordered a coffee and kept an eye on the Artemis. It had left Sifnos,  was in its way. When it was close by, I left and went into the passenger shelter. A couple were standing by and we soon got chatting. They had just come here for a few days after shutting up their hotel in Paros. The ferry goes to Paros on its way to Syros. We talked about the impact of the pandemic and it was very interesting and what they thought of Serifos. Of course they were to go to Athens soon!

Photo interlude - Syros the following morning 

We all clambered aboard the ferry and as the Artemis  left the shelter of the island we were soon rolling about. I tried to get some sleep, I think I did get some. Most people got off at Paros. It was clear that we were going to be very late, so I contacted the hotel, did they have a key safe? There was no point in two sets of people being up in the wee hours. They did and they sent me the code. Eventually we got to Syros, and it took two goes to berth the ferry. I walked to the hotel, and by three am I was in bed.

The following morning it was clear the wind was not as bad as expected. I got up, had a ham, tomato and cheese pie on route to the police station. I saw the policeman we met last time and very quickly I got my magic card. Next to  the Vodaphone shop, more quick service, the on button has two functions, depending on how you press it. I had set it to defaults, the guy put the settings back, all was now well. I then had a wander around Syros there are some quaint old shops mingled with the boutique ones. There was this cat in the window messing about, possibly with a fly. ( apologies for the reflections )

For the rest of the day, I will be wandering about, doing a bit of shopping, I have already found a magnificent hardware shop, like we used to have in the UK, and bought myself a laundry basket and litter picker. If I get any nice photos of the old town later on, I will do another post.  Here are two nice shops, a fish and a delicatessen one, I brought my friends from Sifnos a  present for helping me get my permit card.