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October
2002
The latest
news & weather from Symi, reported by Adriana Shum from 'The Symi
Visitor' office.
Adriana's
Greek Recipe of the Week: Village Vegetable Soup >>
Tuesday,
October 29th 2002
Monday was Ochi Day.* Bright flags fluttering in the wind and children giggling in their unfamiliar school uniforms as they formed up beneath the office window.
The Season is definitely over. Apart from a group of German day trippers yesterday things are very quiet. The few visitors still on the island are extremely conspicuous but they will be gone with the ferry tomorrow and that will be that for tourism until April.
Down in Pedi on Sunday morning boats were being pulled up the beach and awnings dismantled. The weather is still warm but the days are a lot shorter now and it is quite chilly by 3 o'clock when the sun disappears behind the crest. The nights are clear with bright stars and heavy dew. The rocks in sheltered places are slick with moss but many of the exposed areas are turning brown again as the early rain has not been followed by anything to sustain the new growth.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
The Symi Visitor
www.SymiVisitor.com
*Greeks
celebrate "Ochi Day" on 28 October. This is the day on
which the prime minister, Metaxas, said "No" (Ochi
in Greek) to the invasion by the Italians of Albania, thus effectively
entering the Second World War.
Friday,
October 25th 2002
The sky is streaked with fine high cloud this morning
and a tablecloth is unfurling down the Vigla. Although it is still about 24 degrees, it feels much warmer as the humidity is high today. Those who took spur of the moment late season holidays this year are all congratulating themselves as the weather has been gorgeous this week and looks as though it will hold for a few more days. The locals, on the other hand, are now wrapped up for winter, and the school children are firmly clad in jeans, sweatshirts and anoraks. Mind you, most of the schools are quite chilly, particularly the academic high school below the Kali Strata.
The packing away process continues and trucks stacked with taverna furniture and potted plants rattle past at intervals, headed for various winter storerooms. Awnings are being washed and packed away and the last postcards curl in the stands. The few remaining tourist shops only open for the few hours that the tourist boats are in port and are offering end of season discounts. Given the damp nature of Symi winters, no one wants to pack away more stock than is necessary.
The shops are starting to carry chocolate once again as it is no longer a risk having it on the shelves. As few shops on Symi are air conditioned, chocolates are a bit of a liability in August. Items of a predominantly expat nature such as Heinz baked beans and salad cream we will be seeing the back of till April. Those who can't live without them can use this as an excuse for trips to Rhodes. The rest of us find the new season's olives, black eyed beans, gigantes and olive oil mayonnaise more than acceptable alternatives.
Monday,
October 21st 2002
A dazzling Monday morning with visibility to infinity in all directions. The north wind has blown all the clouds away. It has also dropped temperatures quite considerably if one is in an exposed spot. The day trippers are still in shorts and t-shirts and every sunny bench has someone on it - and usually a cat or two in attendance. The waterfront tavernas are busy, the tables and chairs edging out of the shade of awnings into the warmer spots.
The normal ferry schedule has been considerably reduced so there is a lot more traffic for the big ferries from Piraeus. This morning an assortment of new arrivals trundled past our window with rucksacks and bags on wheels. October is surprisingly busy and the elections around the country have greatly increased traffic as Greeks have to return to the place where they originally registered as voters (usually their place of birth). The school children have had two long weekends because of this and countless bundles of rusks have travelled from one end of the country to the other.
Up in the hills the neatly painted leaves of the wild cyclamens are sprouting from the rocks and tiny scented narcissus bloom in goat-free areas. My neighbour rounded up all his sheep on Saturday and spent a cheerful afternoon trimming the long wool from around their hindquarters and necks so the sheep don't get muddy. His wife and several friends were gathering snails from the terrace walls. A day in the country,
à la Grècque.
Friday,
October 18th 2002
We have all been enjoying the autumn
sunshine and it looks as though the weather will hold for a few more days. The Pedi valley is a chequered board of new green grass and chocolate brown earth as those with time to spare have been out with their rotovators. The evening dewfalls have been quite heavy and the Kali Strata is slick first thing in the morning. Low mist over the Turkish coast burns off in the course of the morning but sometime shreds of cloud linger in the valleys, adding definition to a procession of endless purple hills and mountains. Crisp white sails of late season yachts pass in the distance. A few still come into Symi en route to winter quarters in Rhodes or Marmaris.
Many of the shops and businesses down in the harbour are starting to batten down for the winter although there are still plenty of people around on the excursion boats and trade is brisk along the front.
Monday,
October 14th 2002
This weekend was quite eventful. One could say that the elections went with a bang as torrential rain and rumbles of thunder dumped 22 millimetres of rain on the island in the early evening. Violent gusts of wind and black clouds scudding across the moon added to the drama as Symi's first new mayor in 12 years was voted in by a very tight margin. There was a recount so the final results were only announced at about 3.30 am. A cavalcade of hooting cars roared around the town and up the mountain amid fireworks and celebratory shouts. Greek elections are second only to Easter in the noise and big bangs department. The Symiots celebrate elections as wholeheartedly as they do weddings and christenings. The smallness of the community means that everyone participates to some extent and - when it comes to politics -everyone knows the people involved. No bland posters stuck to lampposts of anonymous people unknown to the electorate.
For details of the new incumbent, Lefteris Papakalodoukas, see the bulletin we have put up, taken from the election manifestos published in the October edition of the Symi Visitor. We will be covering the election results in greater depth in the November edition.
Meanwhile it is still raining as a succession of black clouds pass over the island. It is still warm with temperatures in the mid to high twenties so the grass is literally growing before our eyes. So are the weeds. My chickens enjoy the fistfuls of greens I toss their way as I remove the competition from rows of newly germinated spinach and carrots. The snails are out in profusion - closely followed by old ladies armed with plastic bags and brollies. Living off the land, Symi style.
Friday,
October 11th 2002
Election fever à la
Grècque has hit
Symi. Unlike those places where politicians spend most of the election year standing on soap boxes and kissing babies, on Symi things are very different. The Opposition, New Horizon, distributed their manifesto pamphlets last week. Each party has had a rally in the harbour this week, followed by one in Chorio. Greek dancing, fireworks and flares accompanied a certain amount of speech-making. The election is on Sunday and no alcohol may be sold while the polling stations are open. There will no doubt be more Greek dancing, fireworks and flares accompanied by a certain amount of speech-making once the results are announced. And that is that for another four years.
Meanwhile we are all basking that brilliant sunshine that recent rain leaves behind. The morning webcam shot requires three sunglass lenses to reveal anything at all as the sun shines directly into the office windows. There is a big high pressure system over the area at the moment and the water level in the harbour is very low. The cats are hunting for crabs in newly revealed shallows under the bridge. Temperatures are in the mid twenties but it can be chilly in the shade and the evenings are cool with heavy dew falls. More thundery showers are expected next week and the grass is growing rapidly now.
The local grocers are selling onion sets and those of us with land will spend much of this weekend upside down, planting our rows of onions for the spring.
Monday,
October 7th 2002
Drizzle! Clouds! Rainbows! Snails! Grass! Weeds! No boats...
It's that awkward time of the year when one doesn't know what to put on. Duvets are dug out, only to be tossed aside at 3 am. It is still about 25 degrees so raincoats are too hot and sticky. And I wish I could remember where I put my umbrella 6 months ago...
The good news is that the weather is expected to improve again towards the end of the week. And the island is looking greener by the minute.
There is an old chap sitting on an upturned crate under a beach umbrella in the town square, sorting chicory and rocket into crates. Every so often a local stops to chat and buy a bag of greens. Normal Symiot island life starts to assert itself at this time of the year. Rotavators are being oiled and agricultural implements rummaged out of sheds in anticipation of the onset of the growing season.
Think I'll go home now and look for my wellies...
Friday,
October
4th 2002
The grass is up! The first green whiskers are bristling over the terraces and poking up between the stones. The 'second spring' is on its way. The plant shop is selling bulbs and optimism is in the air. The olives are losing their wrinkles and neat rows of onion shoots march across the allotment gardens of Pedi and Chorio.
Meanwhile, large lorries full of hay have been arriving for the local sheep. They park at the hairpin bend on the road out of the town where bales are transferred to smaller pick up trucks. One afternoon, after such an exercise, the trucker was be seen stooped in the road with dustpan and brush, carefully sweeping up the fragments of straw... happily oblivious to the inevitable empty water bottles and cigarette packets around him.
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© Adriana Shum 2002
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