Sunday 29 October 2017

Can you see me?



You can’t help but feel that the spirits over time on the Ancient ruins of Agios Stefanos have seen many things as the Basilica projects into the sea at the far end of Kamari Bay. Club Med is about to experience a new lease of life and even now at the end of the season tourists still swim out to the Island across the shallow stretch of water with a lone Pedallo floating on the sea. Wedding parties set sail to the small church, water sports delight tourists off the beach and local dog walkers seem to see this as a turning point on their jaunt along the sand.


It’s Ochi day and a group of people have decided to picnic under the tree and enjoy the view. As you walk round the edge of the ruin and glance down into the sea the Black Sea Urchins cling to the rocks and snails hug the dried barren vegetation. The mosaics reveal themselves in the sand and the pillars and stones gradually break down over time from the heat and rain.






As the tourists leave the site, the geckos scamper across the rocks to bask undisturbed in the sunshine. You’d be forgiven for not seeing them as their camouflage matches their surroundings so well and when they know you’ve spotted them they freeze as if their lack of movement makes them invisible. Move closer and they move too, get too close and they vanish as if like magic, into the crevices of the rocks and pillars. You can only imagine the picnic they’ll have when everyone has gone home for the season.
Can you see me?

and me?



Flamingos have the last laugh


In the warmth of the late October sun with the clear blue skies you can be forgiven for thinking it’s still Summer. But the absence of busy roads, sunbeds on the beach, hustle and bustle in the streets and a clear view across Eleftherias Square indicate the tourists have gone home and everyday life gets back to normal. The winding down after the Summer season has begun and Tavernas and shops are shutting up for the Winter.

The Greek equivalent of Costa and Nero have shot up yet the choice of coffee’s include Fredo Espresso and Frappe essential to the Greek way of life. Yet only Greek’s can do a coffee delivery service on their mopeds and young and old sit sipping coffee for hours under the bougainvillaea whilst smoking a cigarette and watching the world go by.


So on my way out of Kos town a detour to the Tigaki Salt Lake seems the perfect opportunity to see the Greater Flamingos. With no one around you soon realise another indication that October has arrived is the absence of sound, no cicadas the sound of silence is enormous. As we pull up to the lake side a flock of Jackdaws take to the skies cackling to each other as they fly off across the fields and rooks squabble in the trees.

Standing on the side of this shallow lake we are able to observe the Flamingos around the corner and decide to follow the path round to get a closer look. So just like David Attenborough we creep up silently  through the reed bed. We can hear them chatting to each other with that same laugh Ducks have when they are quacking about who knows what. They are so close and just as we peer round the grasses they spot us and take flight back to where we stood earlier. The salmon pink under wings are beautiful but they are too quick for us to capture on film.



We will try again next time and take our tripod to give us a better chance of capturing the spectacle. You can still hear them, laughing at our failed attempts, but they soon ignore us as they get back to feeding.