The Whole Line UpIncluding Minister of Defence, Evangelos Meimarakis, General Secretary for New Democracy, Lefteris Zagoritis and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yannis Valinakis
Manos chatting with Deputy Minster of Foreign Affairs, Yannis Valinakis
Especially for Donkey Lovers
0 Comments Published by Mike Gadd on Friday, May 02, 2008 at 11:08:00 AM.
The new foal who appeared in the April edition of the Symi Visitor accompanies his mother everywhere, learning the different routes, although it will be a long time before he is allowed to carry loads. As you can see from the first photograph, he has already tried on a saddle, hence the flattened fur.
We caught up with him outside Pitini House, mooching along and nibbling the daisies.
After a warm and sunny Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday dawned overcast and at 1 p.m sharp the heavens opened. It rained intermittently all afternoon and evening, putting a damper literally on open-air lamb spit-roasts all round the country. It was still showery this morning but the rest of the week is expected to be dry with only the occasional passing cloud. The rain may have been inconvenient but it has washed away of the dust of recent weeks and the air was wonderfully crisp this morning.
Weather aside, it has been a good Easter for Symi this year with lots of visitors to the island, many of them Greeks fleeing south to avoid much wetter weather in other parts of Greece. Yialos and Pedi are full of yachts waiting for conditions to improve. With it being poor beach weather on Rhodes the day excursion boats are full and today the Salamis Glory from Cyprus glided into the harbour so there are lots of Cypriots around. Many have been bussed over to Panormitis to visit the monastery.
The cafes along the waterfront are bustling. Wendy has just come in from a foray into the harbour and announced that it feels just like August with so many people around. The temperatures, on the other hand, certainly aren’t like August – it is only about 20 degrees today which feels quite chilly after the high temperatures we had last week.
Today is a bank holiday so it is only tourist orientated businesses that are open. It is Bright Monday, the first day of Bright Week, a week as much dedicated to feasting as last week was dedicated to fasting. Those whose name days fell in Lent will be celebrating them today. Thursday is May Day, also a major holiday in this part of the world so life is only really going to return to normal a week from now.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
Weather aside, it has been a good Easter for Symi this year with lots of visitors to the island, many of them Greeks fleeing south to avoid much wetter weather in other parts of Greece. Yialos and Pedi are full of yachts waiting for conditions to improve. With it being poor beach weather on Rhodes the day excursion boats are full and today the Salamis Glory from Cyprus glided into the harbour so there are lots of Cypriots around. Many have been bussed over to Panormitis to visit the monastery.
The cafes along the waterfront are bustling. Wendy has just come in from a foray into the harbour and announced that it feels just like August with so many people around. The temperatures, on the other hand, certainly aren’t like August – it is only about 20 degrees today which feels quite chilly after the high temperatures we had last week.
Today is a bank holiday so it is only tourist orientated businesses that are open. It is Bright Monday, the first day of Bright Week, a week as much dedicated to feasting as last week was dedicated to fasting. Those whose name days fell in Lent will be celebrating them today. Thursday is May Day, also a major holiday in this part of the world so life is only really going to return to normal a week from now.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
A Wet and Windy Easter?
2 Comments Published by Mike Gadd on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 12:36:00 PM.
Happy St George's Day! Of course Greek George's will only be able to celebrate next week, on Bright Monday, as name days are put on hold for Big Week.
The internet has been more off than on this week and even when it is working seems to be crawling along at a snail's pace. I will keep this short so I can post it before the link goes again.
It looks as though we may well be having a wet and windy Easter and even snow is forecast for the high ground on the Greek mainland. After two days of strong sand winds and ferry disruptions things are much calmer today and the haze which obscured Nimos earlier this morning is lifting. Contact lense wearers have really been suffering from the dust in the air lately and, looking at the long range forecast, the next week or so looks no better.
Symi is much busier with lots of new arrivals and we are full at the Hotel Fiona. Last night Pedi Bay was full of bobbing mast head lights. There has been a lot of yachting activity this week as boats have struggled to find secure and comfortable berths in the strong easterly winds that have rolled into Yialos and Pedi.
More news the next time there is a stable connection!
Regards,
Adriana
The internet has been more off than on this week and even when it is working seems to be crawling along at a snail's pace. I will keep this short so I can post it before the link goes again.
It looks as though we may well be having a wet and windy Easter and even snow is forecast for the high ground on the Greek mainland. After two days of strong sand winds and ferry disruptions things are much calmer today and the haze which obscured Nimos earlier this morning is lifting. Contact lense wearers have really been suffering from the dust in the air lately and, looking at the long range forecast, the next week or so looks no better.
Symi is much busier with lots of new arrivals and we are full at the Hotel Fiona. Last night Pedi Bay was full of bobbing mast head lights. There has been a lot of yachting activity this week as boats have struggled to find secure and comfortable berths in the strong easterly winds that have rolled into Yialos and Pedi.
More news the next time there is a stable connection!
Regards,
Adriana
After several days of sunshine Greece is once again swaddled in heavy cloud and strong easterly winds are disrupting shipping. The sky is leaden and the harbour choppy. Large cold splats of rain are dotting the stone flags outside our office and the bougainvillea is flailing wildly in the gusts. Fortunately this spell of overcast weather is forecast to blow over quickly and the sky should be clear again tomorrow. Continued episodes of mud rain and sand storms are expected to continue, however, for the next few weeks. The Hellenic National Meteorological Office has been at pains to remind people that this is an entirely normal phenomenon for the time of year and various health officials have advised those with asthma and other respiratory problems to remain indoors to avoid dust-induced allergies.
Here on Symi preparations for the season continue unabated and every day more places are open for business. With Easter only a week away Symi’s shopkeepers are filling their shelves with Easter egg dye and foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. The annual Easter baking marathon is about to start and there is much tut-tutting about the exorbitant price of flour and dairy products in the supermarket queues. When traditional Easter koulouria and cheese pies are made by the kilo, 10-15% increases in the prices of basic ingredients have an enormous impact. The Greek television news programs are focussing on consumer surveys in the fresh produce and meat markets and costing out the rising price of the Easter Feast. Like the mud rains from Africa, this too is a seasonal phenomenon.
Here on Symi the lambs continue to munch the daisies, blithely unaware of the fate that awaits them next week. A short life, perhaps, but a happy one!
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
This weekend on Symi was the hottest so far this year, with temperatures hitting 30 degrees on Sunday. The haze of fine dust from Africa has not moved, however, as there is not a breath of wind and visibility is down to a few kilometers. The horizon begins just beyond the entrance to Pedi bay and the night sky is devoid of stars. There is a pinkish cast to the light and everything is covered in a film of fine sand. This phenomenon is very common at this time of the year and has been known to be bad enough to close Rhodes airport and even reaches as far as Athens.
We took the opportunity to catch up on the gardening yesterday, preparing the ground in my kitchen garden for the summer’s tomatoes, courgettes and peppers which will have to be planted out soon. The warm still weather and recent rains have brought Symi’s insect population out in full force and the first mosquitoes are already whining on the evening air. The spiders are a bit slow coming forward but the geckos have been active for a while now and the birds are busy. It is a pleasure to hear them chattering and twittering in the olive grove and almond trees.
While we were out with the strimmer and the hoe, clearing nettles and poppies, other locals were busy scrubbing the recent mud rains off their motor cars – I passed several Symiots similarly engaged when I went forth at midday in search of refreshments. The evenings are now mild enough to spend them outdoors instead of in and the barbecue season has begun.
Down in the harbour the number of yachts has increased and we have seen many old friends.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
We took the opportunity to catch up on the gardening yesterday, preparing the ground in my kitchen garden for the summer’s tomatoes, courgettes and peppers which will have to be planted out soon. The warm still weather and recent rains have brought Symi’s insect population out in full force and the first mosquitoes are already whining on the evening air. The spiders are a bit slow coming forward but the geckos have been active for a while now and the birds are busy. It is a pleasure to hear them chattering and twittering in the olive grove and almond trees.
While we were out with the strimmer and the hoe, clearing nettles and poppies, other locals were busy scrubbing the recent mud rains off their motor cars – I passed several Symiots similarly engaged when I went forth at midday in search of refreshments. The evenings are now mild enough to spend them outdoors instead of in and the barbecue season has begun.
Down in the harbour the number of yachts has increased and we have seen many old friends.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
It is a grey and windy day on Symi and waves are slopping against the quay beneath our window. April is a very changeable month as anyone who has ever visited the island at this time will have noticed. One minute we are basking in the sun and the next we are mopping the remains of mud rain off our steps.
It is also the month of frenetic activity as Symi prepares for the start of the tourist season. Here at the Symi Visitor we are busy with preparations for the new season. The first visitors are already settled in at the Hotel Fiona and every day brings more arrivals to Symi. Visitors armed with maps, cameras and sturdy boots are heading for the hills in search of wild flowers, romping lambs and amazing views to photograph. The cafes in the harbour are busier, particularly on wintry days such as today when no one wants to venture forth for fear of being caught out by the rain. Those plastic drop cloths are likely to remain in place for a few more weeks yet, but it is possible to roll them up more often as the sunny days start to outnumber the chilly ones. More restaurants and tavernas are opening, even if on limited menus and tourist businesses are opening up during the day time hours on the days when the Symi II comes over from Rhodes. This is still a bit hit and miss as it depends on demand and, of course, the weather.
Around at the Harani boatyard the Poseidon has just gone back in the water after her winter slipping and is busy testing her engines off NOS beach. It will be a while before the excursion boats resume but everyone is preparing for inspection. The berths in Yialos filled with fishing boats will be home to water taxis only too soon.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
It is also the month of frenetic activity as Symi prepares for the start of the tourist season. Here at the Symi Visitor we are busy with preparations for the new season. The first visitors are already settled in at the Hotel Fiona and every day brings more arrivals to Symi. Visitors armed with maps, cameras and sturdy boots are heading for the hills in search of wild flowers, romping lambs and amazing views to photograph. The cafes in the harbour are busier, particularly on wintry days such as today when no one wants to venture forth for fear of being caught out by the rain. Those plastic drop cloths are likely to remain in place for a few more weeks yet, but it is possible to roll them up more often as the sunny days start to outnumber the chilly ones. More restaurants and tavernas are opening, even if on limited menus and tourist businesses are opening up during the day time hours on the days when the Symi II comes over from Rhodes. This is still a bit hit and miss as it depends on demand and, of course, the weather.
Around at the Harani boatyard the Poseidon has just gone back in the water after her winter slipping and is busy testing her engines off NOS beach. It will be a while before the excursion boats resume but everyone is preparing for inspection. The berths in Yialos filled with fishing boats will be home to water taxis only too soon.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
After an extremely wet weekend everyone on Symi is mopping up. Fortunately Saturday night’s mud rain was followed by a squeaky clean downpour, albeit torrential, on Sunday morning so all the cars are shiny bright once more and the streets look as though they have been power washed with a fire hose. The grass and sweet Alexanders growing on the Kali Strata and outside the Symi Visitor office are still struggling to pull themselves upright. A few businesses have made the depressing discovery that awnings they thought would do for one more season failed to survive the weight of water and have to be replaced. There are still plenty of clouds about but wherever the sun breaks through Symi steams.
There was a shipping ban in force yesterday so some early visitors have arrived a day late but that is not unusual this early in the season. April’s Symi weather comes with no guarantees of clemency – but at least it is not snowing here, unlike London! The rest of the week should remain dry with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees centigrade. Of course it may be considerably warmer than that on the sunny side of the harbour and out of the wind.
The Pedi Valley is luminous with clean green new leaves on the trees and everywhere there is the twittering of birds eagerly snapping up newly hatched insects. The geckos have emerged from their winter sojourn behind the icons in my kitchen, chatting about the stupidity of moths as they evade the attentions of my cats.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
There was a shipping ban in force yesterday so some early visitors have arrived a day late but that is not unusual this early in the season. April’s Symi weather comes with no guarantees of clemency – but at least it is not snowing here, unlike London! The rest of the week should remain dry with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees centigrade. Of course it may be considerably warmer than that on the sunny side of the harbour and out of the wind.
The Pedi Valley is luminous with clean green new leaves on the trees and everywhere there is the twittering of birds eagerly snapping up newly hatched insects. The geckos have emerged from their winter sojourn behind the icons in my kitchen, chatting about the stupidity of moths as they evade the attentions of my cats.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
My Symi Wildflower Garden 5 April 2008
0 Comments Published by Mike Gadd on Saturday, April 05, 2008 at 2:54:00 PM.
Despite the inclement weather Symi is becoming steadily busier and a trip on foot round the harbour is a veritable daisy-chain of conversations with returned regulars, foreign property owners who are opening up their houses for the summer and business owners setting up for the season. This is a community where everyone knows everyone else and strangers quickly become friends.
The island’s artisans and craftsmen are in a state of perpetual motion as preparations are now well under way for the 2008 tourist season and the queues in the hardware stores spill out onto the pavement. The ferries disgorge display fridges, lumber, bathroom fittings and new cookers along with the usual truckloads of food and drink. The pithos and potplant man came off the Proteus today, his lorry stacked high with terracotta pots from Crete and a veritable forest of citrus and bay trees. He should do well as many of the cafes along the front have lost their pots to the winter storms.
We have had 40 mm of rain on Symi since Wednesday afternoon and the island’s wild flowers are flourishing. Even the cyclamens which have usually started to fade by now have revived with a fresh flush of delicately scented pale pink blooms. The purple tassel hyacinths are out along the verges and every stone wall and rocky slope is a tapestry of myriad small flowers and ferns. Carpets of creeping clover, vetch and pimpernels are a far cry from the baked hard dustbowl of summer and a feast for the eyes in a landscape where green is a rare visual treat. Fields of wild peas and poppies reach for the sky and paths untrodden quickly turn to jungle.
The rainy weather is expected to continue across Greece until Sunday night and there may be more showery weather again midweek when the clouds currently dripping over southern Italy head our way.
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
Poppy Daze - My Symi Wild Flower Garden
0 Comments Published by Mike Gadd on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 at 4:27:00 PM.
Spring is in the air and with the switch to summer time last Sunday the days are suddenly significantly longer. More yachts have appeared in the harbour, recent arrivals from Marti Marina in Orhaniye, across the way in Turkey. Cruising yachtsmen who have spent the winter safely berthed in a sheltered modern marina and who are now thrust out into the uncertain sailing conditions of April in the Aegean. Some are regular sailors in the area, others are new-comers, circumnavigators about to embark on their first Mediterranean cruising season after the long-haul passage-making of the Indian Ocean.
The weather is mild, if a little chilly, and rain is expected to reach us on Thursday with showers forecast for the rest of the week. Temperatures will remain around 20 degrees on Symi although it will be quite chilly still at night.
My Symi wild flower garden is a bobbing mass of red poppies, a-hum with orgiastic bees. They wallow in each bloom until all the pollen is gone and the papery petals are bruised purple and fall to the ground. There are many more hives on Symi this year – in fact a few weeks ago, returning from Rhodes on the Proteus, we were intrigued to see a stack of hives in the vehicle hold, lids taped down with parcel tape to prevent accidents with the inhabitants.
Here in Yialos preparations for the season are firmly underway – piles of tables and chairs stacked outside for repainting while awnings are restrung and the mildew of winter scrubbed off the walls. Boxes of souvenirs and summer clothes are being unpacked and the winter woollies have been marked down to bargain prices. Symi is unfurling from her winter sleep.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
The weather is mild, if a little chilly, and rain is expected to reach us on Thursday with showers forecast for the rest of the week. Temperatures will remain around 20 degrees on Symi although it will be quite chilly still at night.
My Symi wild flower garden is a bobbing mass of red poppies, a-hum with orgiastic bees. They wallow in each bloom until all the pollen is gone and the papery petals are bruised purple and fall to the ground. There are many more hives on Symi this year – in fact a few weeks ago, returning from Rhodes on the Proteus, we were intrigued to see a stack of hives in the vehicle hold, lids taped down with parcel tape to prevent accidents with the inhabitants.
Here in Yialos preparations for the season are firmly underway – piles of tables and chairs stacked outside for repainting while awnings are restrung and the mildew of winter scrubbed off the walls. Boxes of souvenirs and summer clothes are being unpacked and the winter woollies have been marked down to bargain prices. Symi is unfurling from her winter sleep.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
