This is the busiest period in the whole year for Symi.  Over the next few days the island fills to maximum capacity as even those who have not been able to take their usual week or two’s August holiday will none the less be trying to spend the Feast of the Dormition on 15 August with their families.  It is peak time for internal tourism and the big ferries are packed.   Last minute arrivals without prebooked accommodation are very much square pegs squeezing into round holes and the cleaners have a demented air as they dash from house to house, job to job.

It was very windy last night and this morning and the Panormitis was delayed by half an hour leaving Symi.  We were very relieved that the hydrofoil was able to run as scheduled, albeit 15 minutes late.  The wind is dropping now but there is a distinctly autumnal feel to the air which is at least a fortnight premature and thunderstorms are forecast in many parts of Greece over the next few days.  The opening of the Olympics on Friday could be interesting weather wise.  Perhaps it is just as well that they persevered with fitting the roof.  It is actually a rare August for Symi not to have a few drops of muddy rain at some point when the humidity goes off the dial.

There have been some very pretty traditional sailing yachts in the harbour this week and something only slightly smaller than an aircraft carrier was moored in Pedi last night, filling the bay from end to end and surrounded by an assortment of wetbikes, speed boats and rubber ducks for the amusement of those on board. 

There has been a bit of a lull in the roadworks and the great dunes of sand that obstructed the road to my farm have been shovelled away to fill trenches up several hairpin bends.  The shepherds are glad that the farm road is open again.   For the week that the road was closed they were having to carry jerry cans of water great distances over rubble and sand to reach their flocks whereas usually they are able to park their pickups only a few metres away from the their various fields.  In hot weather sheep and goats need considerable quantities of water on a daily basis and most of this has to be brought in canisters by pickup truck or donkey from the shepherds’ houses along with bales of hay and bags of animal feed. 

The island grows steadily fuller with every vessel that docks and houses that have been shut for a year are opening up as their owners arrive from Rhodes, Athens and elsewhere.  The island’s taxis are in a state of perpetual motion as hydrofoils and ferries of all sizes dock at all times of the day and night.  It was the name day at Megalo Sotiris, up on the plateau just before one descends to Panormitis, and they were ferrying people up there too as well as the usual circuit.

The ongoing roadworks in Chorio are not making life any easier although at least the Pedi road is now open after a fashion.  Vast stretches of the trenches now contain the new pipes and have been filled with sand.  Last night, setting off to meet some new arrivals off the hydrofoil, I was dismayed to discover that, in the brief interval I had been at home, the road gang had filled my entire access road with lorry loads of sand.   I had to pick my way cross country over the terraces to reach the motor road and arrived in the harbour rather more hot and bothered than was intended.

Down in the harbour there is an enormous motor yacht anchored off shore, complete with helicopter.  So far I have been told that it contains Richard Gere and/or the President of Albania or some very rich Australians.  As there are no goons trotting round the town looking mean it is unlikely to be a President and another story is that Richard Gere chartered the same 4-master that transported Tom Hanks but only popped into Panormitis to light a candle.  All may or may not be revealed if anyone comes ashore for dinner.  There have to be better ways of visiting Symi than sitting in an air conditioned yacht a kilometre off shore, watching the traffic go up and down the hill and waiting for the next ferry to slosh past.

August is usually the most humid of the summer months and this year is no exception.  Although it is still very hot the vegetation is starting to perk up again in the sub-tropical atmosphere and the nights are becoming perceptibly cooler. The hazy weather gives the light a golden quality and turns the moon to butter.  The murmur of bells continues through out the night as my neighbour’s sheep nibble happily in the moonlight.

The figs and grapes are ripening and it is a race between us and the birds as to who has them first.  A few nights ago I made a simple supper by wrapping fresh figs in bacon rashers and tucking them into a dish in the coals of the BBQ until the figs had softened slightly and started to caramelize in the bacon fat.  A dish of steamed potatoes (we are still working our way through this year’s harvest and it is a case of potatoes with everything before they sprout!) and a salad of red and yellow tomatoes from the garden topped with a handful of ripped basil completed the menu.  It’s quite fun ‘living off the land’ at this time of the year.  I plan dinner as I go up the garden path, picking whatever looks good en route from gate to kitchen.  If the hens oblige an omelette may be part of the mezze too.  I am keeping a close eye on the peppers which grow larger every day and the first aubergines are forming.

The Symi Festival is in full swing and the amphitheatre of the harbour resonated to the sound of Turkish and Greek folk music last night as dance troupes from both cultures demonstrated their skills.   In a part of the world where old enmities run deep and only a few years ago Greece and Turkey were on the brink of war it is heartening to see Greek and Turkish dancers share the same stage and the World Peace Day activities planned for next month are even more ambitious than last year.

Have a good week and if you don’t hear from me for a while, don’t worry.  It’s just that Mike is off, gadding about again (aauurgh.)

It is that time of the year again when half the world seems to be on holiday – and the other half is on the telephone, trying to find flights and accommodation.  Those of you on the Chat Page and Noticeboard hunting for bargain basement flight deals, spare a thought for your French and Italian cousins across the water.  Some of them have flights booked months ago and still don’t know from which airport they are flying, or at what time (!!) and others have had their flight times changed not just by a few hours but by days.  With this kind of sabotage by the travel industry itself, one does rather wonder how tourism survives at all.  Rant for today over.

It is a gorgeous sunny day.  The water boat by the clock tower has almost finished discharging its load and the glamour yachts are pulling out to make way for the day trippers.  A splendidly maintained Riva speedboat has just gleamed past, varnished teak bright in the sun, a big Turkish flag on the flagstaff at the stern and a big Greek courtesy flag fluttering beside it.   As you may have noticed, our new offices are ideally located for boat watching.

For those of you who are curious, the ducklings by the bridge are fast becoming ducks and they now have free range in the harbour.  They do, however, seem to spend most of their time sitting on the sill under the bridge, prudently avoiding the sun.

Mike and Jo passed through the office this morning, on the way down to Pedi to kick start the webcam down there.  Mike assures me he will be putting this up on the website for me this evening – and will have a go at sorting out the office webcam (the excitement of photographing the tall ship in the harbour on Saturday morning seems to have been too much for it)

Have a good week.