Our transfer arrived at 7.20 am. With provisions packed as though for a long expedition, we set off on the winding road. Gökhan felt carsick, while Derin was waiting aboard and Berfin was travelling from Istanbul.
Our meeting point was Beetfish. Passport formalities went smoothly, and we left Bozburun at 3.15 pm.
Symi was as beautiful as ever, greeting us with its colourful hillside houses. We went ashore intending to swim and ended up at Tholos for Symi shrimp and slow-cooked goat.
The evening’s surprise was the festival at Megalos Sotiris Monastery, held for the Feast of the Transfiguration. Music filled the courtyard and everyone danced hand in hand. Children ran around while the older guests watched from plastic chairs. Food and drinks were shared freely, and we ate far too many freshly made loukoumades.
The celebration reminded us how precious it is to enjoy life together. Symi harbour was noisy, so we slept in the cabins—but first marked our twenty-sixth wedding anniversary quietly with a glass of whisky.