And seeing we’ve got Helios the Sun God back on side we’re off Greek island hopping, so SYMI, see you, SYMI 2.
All of which will become as clear in time as the Aegean we’re sailing on to the Rhodes neighbouring island on our loveholidays odyssey.
Where after an hour and a half on the water on our Sea Dreams boat Symi 2.
The pristine blue and white Captains Houses and neo-classical mansions around Gialos harbour and hills hove into view.
We dive into island life though not literally.
Dive straight in
We will leave that to the likes of the moustachioed Stathis Hatzis, the legendary naked diver who stands sentry at the bay.
Who we learn dived to retrieve and tie an Italian anchor, holding his breath for nearly four minutes.
Now did we say that Gialos is breathtaking?
Particularly from higher up, as you can see from the lens of the expert in the family.
We scale the steep steps after calamari and a kalimera and Greek salad at Trata Trawler.
And discover that the best welcome is from a friendly Simi cat we christen Simi 2 after our boat.
The best habits
Alas, the mechanical Symi 2’s hooter reminds us that we must part.
But hopefully our prayers will be answered at our next port of call, a monastery on the north end of the island.
Greek churches as we have all come to appreciate appreciate their icons and you can’t move for them here.
At the Holy Monastery of the Taxiarch Michael Panarmitis.
Again, we bump into a Greek Orthodox priest in flowing black robe.
Now he may or may not know our Archbishop Makarios back at the Alphatron Hotel in Rhodes.
But we imagine he will be waiting near the bar for his liqueur as he has been all week.
Though not necessarily for us.
The cat’s whiskers of a deal
But Socrates, the hotel cat… OK, not the only one but the one we took to first will be.
And he can have the Amphitryon because Simi belongs to Symi 2.
Your friendly neighbourhood Bandanaman is travelling with loveholidays and EasyJet from Edinburgh.
And staying at the Amphitryon City Hotel, 800m from the Old Town.
All for £1,028 for two, B&B and evening meals, for a week with airport transfers.