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The latest news & weather from Symi, reported by Adriana Shum from 'The Symi Visitor' office. Adriana's Greek Recipe of the Week>> FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st 2003
The first official pronouncement
that something was about to happen was when the Town Hall
announced over the tannoy that all cars and boats in the town square
should be moved or secured as bad weather was expected. As the
tourist boats had not appeared and everyone was still cleaning up the
mess from Tuesday's bad weather, the general packing up for the winter
continued. Truck loads of stacked taverna chairs trundled round
the harbour to various storerooms as heavy clouds rolled in from the
south. By midday it was starting to rain and the wind had picked
up again. By late afternoon it was coming down in torrents with
violent horizontal blasts lashing at Mavrovouni. It poured for a
good solid 10 hours, followed by continued showers through the night.
All shipping was stopped and we are still waiting for the all clear.
The temperature is rising and it is very humid. Although there
isn't much wind now there is still a heavy sea running and the boats
in the harbour are surging on their lines. A few forlorn foreign
souls are moping around, waiting for news of the first boat out and
schlurping coffee behind the plastic drop cloths of the cafe at the
head of the harbour, surrounded by drooping knapsacks and suitcases
with dinky little wheels. (Don't worry, Pachos hasn't succumbed
to plastic drop cloths - his clientele at this time of the year are
made of hardier stuff and hunker down in the drizzle, oilies round
their ears, ballasting themselves with Greek coffee before hoiking the
next boat out of the water)
Every so often the sun breaks
through and sends a blinding shaft through a sky the colour of a black
eye. The cloud over the Vigla is down as low as Profiti Elias.
The children are excited by it all, running through the puddles
in the bright tracksuits that are their winter school uniform and
prodding for shiny things among the drifts of seaweed.
Looking at the satellite picture it
seems as though there is plenty more rain to come. We just hope
it is all over by next weekend for the Panormitis festival.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29th 2003
The warmest October anyone
can remember came to a dramatic
close yesterday afternoon as gale force northerly winds lashed the
island. The day had started off quite warm and sunny with a brisk
breeze fluttering the flags for the Ochi Day parade but by the time
the march past was over waves were starting to break in the harbour
and whirlwinds were hammering Pedi. The Ilion which had come over from
Rhodes for the day was fortunate in that it had the wind behind it for
the return trip and the last package holiday makers were taken off on
it, a day early, as it was impossible for the Symi II to leave Rhodes
to come over and fetch them.
The temperature has dropped from
the high twenties to about 11 degrees with the wind chill considerably
lower than that. The hawkers are doing a brisk trade in socks,
boots, carpets and anoraks while waiting for the next boat to take
them on their way. At this stage it is not certain if there will be
any boats today although there has been an announcement over the
tannoy to say that the medical hydrofoil, 'Life and Hope' would be in
later this morning. Presumably it is setting off from somewhere up
wind of us!
Meanwhile, back in the Symi Visitor
office the kettle is on for the next round of hot drinks and we are
putting the finishing touches to the November edition of the Symi
Visitor. Sometimes it is quite nice to be on the sunny side of the
harbour!
Have a good week (what's left of
it!)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20th
2003 The weather broke on Sunday bringing a sedate procession of high grey clouds and occasional spatterings of rain which became more frequent during the night. A few strong gusts rattled the shutters in the early hours but the wind has moderated to a gusty Force 5. Low cloud is still lingering over the Vigla although the temperatures remain warm and it is very humid. The weather forecast for the remainder of the week is unsettled and although tomorrow is likely to be partly cloudy, Wednesday or Thursday may well bring more squalls and rain. The trees look greener as much of the dust has washed off but the drizzle did not penetrate the ground which is still baked rock hard and it will take several serious downpours before it will be possible to start ploughing the terraces. There are still quite a few people around although many of the more tourist-dependent businesses are starting to pack up for the winter. Sale signs are going up as it is in most instances more practical to sell off summer stock than to find somewhere dry to store it over the winter, particularly clothes and leather goods which quickly mildew in a wet winter. Preparations are under way for the Ochi Day Parade. The kerbs have been whitewashed and the tamarisk trees in the square have been decapitated again. New flags are fluttering over the heads of the day trippers listening to the sponge talk on the bridge. Have a good week! FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17th
2003 Everytime the television cameras
show downtown Athens it seems to be raining but the sun continues to
shine on Symi. Small trains of low grey clouds puffed gently
across the early morning sky and soon disappeared, leaving blue sky and
golden hills behind them. The tangerine moon is still a feature of
the night sky even though it is waning. Dining al
fresco remains pleasant although we do tend to toss an extra log on
the fire after the cooking is finished.
Down in the harbour visitors
continue to enjoy excursions and although some of the beaches have started
to pack away their umbrellas etc this is more to avoid damage when the
wind does blow than due to any serious lack of custom. The Kali
Strata is dotted with water colourists and I know of at least one family
of Germans who set off at daybreak this morning to walk to
Panormitis. Scanning the hills and valleys with binoculars reveals
bobbing sunhats and flapping maps as hikers, botanists, photographers and
ornithologists traverse the landscape on their various
quests.
Among the locals, on the other hand,
there is a frenzy of activity to complete various weather-sensitive jobs
before the first deluge. Roof trusses are going up on various new
projects and all hands are busy to weather proof houses and boats while
wood is still dry and outside work is still possible.
Have a good weekend. Mike will
probably be posting up next week's reports by various devious means via
the Symi Visitor office as he is arriving here this weekend!
Saturday was very windy and
the excursion boats were not allowed out so no bargain hunting in Datca
this weekend. On Sunday the wind dropped and a big high pressure
system settled in over the area, bringing with it warm temperatures,
cloudless skies and glassy seas. The October full moon has been
quite spectacular this year as the weather has been exceptionally
clear. It is almost bright enough to read by and the stars have been
astonishingly bright. Yesterday afternoon from Megalo Sotoris it was
possible to see not just Halki, Tilos, Nissyros and the Datca peninsula
but also Kos in the distance.
This fine weather is expected to
continue for most of the week although there are likely to be strong winds
in the central Aegean mid-week. Purple crocuses are
appearing in great swathes in parts of the Pedi valley and on the slopes
around the Castro so the tiny scented narcissus should be popping up
soon. It has been drier than usual this year which has slowed
down many plants. The deciduous trees have very few leaves left now
and the almonds and figs are almost bald. While the temperatures may
feel summery the autumn leaves continue to fall.
Have a good
week.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10th
2003 Yesterday Symi woke to a clap of
thunder and a rainstorm swept past to the north of the island, tossing
a few drops in our direction as it sped on its way. Since then the
air has cleared, the humidity has lifted and visibility is infinite in all
directions.
Walkers and hikers are lacing up
their boots and heading for the hills, relieved that the oppressive
weather which was hanging over the island has finally cleared.
Views from the top will be splendid today.
Despite the lateness of the season
the island is still busy. Visitors to the island at this time of the
year tend to be older but not always, and come from all walks of life and
with a wide variety of interests. In the last few days people who
have passed through our office for one reason or another have
included a retired Israeli physicist, retired English botanists, a
German poet, several Danish painters, a prize-winning English amateur
photographer and an Israeli goldsmith to mention but a few. The
excursion boats are still coming over from Rhodes and some of their
patrons have come in, enquiring about staying longer next time which is
always gratifying.
Have a good weekend
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6th
2003 While other parts of the country
have already experienced significant rainfall, Symi remains dry and even
the dewfall has not been as heavy as it usually is for October. If
there isn't a good shower soon the ploughing of the terraces will be
seriously delayed. That initial shower is needed to soften the
surface which at the moment is more like concrete than earth. The
primary agricultural implement in this part of the world tends to be the
pick...
Have a good
week
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3rd
2003 The sinuous spires of sea squill
flowers are pushing up through the sun baked earth along the road out
of town - plumes promising rain to come. The tamarisk trees have
also burst into bloom this week - clusters of tiny pale pink flowers ahum
with drowsy bees.
An enormous motor yacht from Bahrain
has been in the harbour all week. Mysterious behind reflective black
windows all we have seen so far has been crew scuttling about at intervals
whenever it has to be moved from one berth to another. Whether some
exotic potentate lurks behind those windows we do not know but it is
certainly an unlikely sight at this time of the year when the rest of the
beautiful people have migrated to sunnier and more exotic climes.
The traffic boom has committed
suicide. Apparently it came down with some velocity at the weekend
and broke into two pieces.
Have a good weekend.
© Adriana Shum 2003 Send Adriana E-Mail News Archives |Jan '03|Feb '03|Mar '03|Apr '03|May '03|June '03|July/August '03| |September '03| 2002 News Archive HOME |
