Telltales 71: On the verge of 2006.
Chers One(s) and All,
And so yet another year has swept by with a myriad of adventures, tales of joy, experiences learnt and minor disasters as each year does, to make the picture complete.
We are writing to you from our house (!!), yes, albeit a rented one, but on a preliminary two-year lease basis, on the Greek island of Symi which is part of the Dodecaneses group, with Sylphe safely tucked away in Marti Marina near Marmaris in Turkey, which means that she is only about 25 kilometers away, in a straight line by sea, East from Symi. The only village, with some 3000 inhabitants is in the north west corner, under the word EMPORIO, the rest of the island is baren rock and a few monasteries.
This year’s charter season was very special for Roland, as it took him into the Black Sea with visits to countries and places we do not normally visit with Sylphe, like the Ukraine and Bulgaria, as well as to his beloved Greece and part of the Turkish Aegean coast. Marit meanwhile visited with dear friends in Greece and spent one month with her family in the Netherlands. Reunited after the summer months, we decided to start looking for a house to rent, to finally have all our “stuff” out of the depot where it has been sitting for the past seven years. To provide us with a place to go during the winter months when there is little we can do in and on Sylphe. To finally be able to receive our family and all those friends who prefer land rather than sea under their feet. AND to provide Marit with a home to go to when she has to abandon ship during Roland’s charter months. So we sailed into Symi port one beautiful late September day and decided that THIS was the place. And apparently it was meant to be, as two days later we had found the perfect house, had the landlord agree to a two-year rental lease and found a removal company willing to bring all our belongings from the Netherlands, via truck and ferries.
With all this in place there was only one thing missing: a small Symian fishing boat for us and all of you who want to come for a visit; to explore the shores of Symi, go to some of the most gorgeous beaches you have ever been to, but which are only accessible by sea. Or just join the Symians and go fishing. We held a small competition and asked many of you to come up with suggestions for a name, the winner being HELIODORA, which is Greek for “Gift of the Sun”. The boat needs a little repair, sanding and painting, plus an inboard engine, but has been bought and is already registered under the new owner “Maria”, as Marit simply does not stick with the Greeks, in the 200-year old book kept by the Harbourmaster.
And so we have spent Xmas in our new home on land, for the first time in seven years – with Roland building shelves in the kitchen and armoires in the bedrooms upstairs and Marit putting everything in primer paint. The house will soon be ready for you to pay us a visit and see for yourself – as ready as an old house can be…….Symian style.
We are thinking of you and wish you a Wonderful, Joyous, Healthy and Happy New Year, et meilleurs voeux pour l’An 2006.
Fair Winds,
Roland & Marit