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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>> Symi report; Monday 27th September
It's a breezy
cloudless day. The ripples on the water slap
gently against the side of the Symi Fish boat beneath our
window. The crew are busy loading pallets of
polystyrene fish boxes into the hold. There are
plenty of yachts about. Yesterday when we were at
the 'all hands on deck' stage of working on the newspaper
we could see a whole flotilla sailing sedately in circles
round a large red buoy off Harani. Evidently the
flotilla leader wanted to be sure that everyone knew their
bumps and grinds before setting off for the day's sailing.
There are lots of
walking enthusiasts on the island, some British but also
lots of Germans, Danes and Norwegians. One cheery
young German couple staying out at Nimborio told me that
they were happy to walk across the top of the hill into
Yialos every night for dinner and then stroll along the
coast road back but not all of September's visitors are
quite that energetic!
Sunshine from the Chat
Page came into the office this morning. Apparently
someone was supposed to email him via us about a door
knocker...
Symi report; Friday 24th September Anyone looking at the
webcam shot I
have just downloaded will see that it is a calm and misty
day on Symi. We had heavy dew during the night and there are
low clouds hanging over Nimos. The Turkish coast is
invisible and even Nimos is hazy. The Kali Strata was shiney
this morning and the moss is starting to green over in the
corners. There is a low pressure system over northern Italy
at the moment which is slowly moving South East so we may
catch a shower or two in the course of the weekend. Corfu,
on the other hand, can expect real downpours. There are
definite advantages in being this far south! Symi report; Monday 20th September The apricot sunrises of summer are changing to the opalescent mists of autumn as the equinox draws near. One does not have to rise particularly early to enjoy them either! Usually when I feed the chickens in the morning they have already been up and about for some time and may even have laid an egg or two but with the darker mornings they are getting lazier. The tortoise as good as told me to come back later when I offered him his selection of finely sliced cucumber and chicory leaves. (Spoiled? No…) The vegetable hawker in the town square was selling fresh beetroot this morning, not to mention sturdy carrots complete with tops. My own root crops will have to wait until after the first rains as the earth is very hard. Preparing the ground for the first lettuce seedlings, we had to break it up with a pick before we could run the tractor over it. There is a small low pressure system over Sicily and north Africa that is slowly making its way eastwards. This may bring us some wind late in the week and even the possibility of a shower or two. It is too soon to tell if it will head northwards over the Aegean or pass to the south of us. It is unlikely to affect arrivals on Symi on Wednesday and Thursday. If you log onto www.emy.gr which is the Greek Meteorological Service’s website and click onto English, you will be able to see the weather forecast for the next 24 hours - not very useful but what is handy is that they post up gale warnings and the weather for shipping as it comes through, which is useful not only for yachtsmen but also for guessing how soon that gale bound boat is likely to be allowed to leave port. Symi report; Friday 17th September 2004
It's a glorious day.
Not too hot or too cold with just enough of a breeze to be
comfortable without blowing over the umbrellas or making
anyone seasick. A sprinkling of white sails is
drifting sedately past on the horizon and the wakes of
passing speed boats criss-cross the blue waters.
Small wonder that September is such a popular month on
Symi.
It is not quite so
tranquil up in Chorio, however. The roadworks
continue and the section between Kampos supermarket and
Lieni is closed everyday from 8 am until 4 pm while they
quickly do the trenches and pipes in the narrow bits.
The road is a bit like an assault course when it is open
and a great deal of care is needed to negotiate the
hazards. Everyone has more or less given up on
dusting for the duration. Rumour has it that some
areas will be on continuous daily water within the next
few weeks. Whether this is to placate the locals or
will actually come to pass remains to be seen but it will
be nice if it happens.
Something else that is
going on in Chorio is that a drilling rig is busy taking
core samples on the old football pitch. No, this is
not a quest for oil or a rehash of the Great Symi Borehole
Project. They are, in fact, checking that the area
is suitable for the construction of the long awaiting
sports facilities that the local youngsters have been
waiting for. This will make a big difference,
particularly in the winter, when the rain comes down in
torrents and the teenagers are running up and down the
walls. Symi houses tend to be on the small side -
not a problem in the summer when everyone is out working
and life in general tends to take place out of doors, but
in the winter it is not too surprising that the menfolk
are swept out to the cafeneions the minute their wives can
get them out of the door!
Symi report; Monday 13th September 2004
It's Monday and
the Kallisti is humming off the balcony. There has
been a trampling of enquiries and there is a huddle of
bodies on the steps below, munching sandwiches and
pondering how best to kill the time until departure, Symi
Visitor newspapers in hand. Now that it is a
little cooler people are feeling more energetic and bold
enough to tackle the Kali Strata and further afield.
The wind is easing off
and although it will be breezy this week there don't seem
to be any major systems lurking in the wings. The
clarity of light is amazing. Last night the lights
along the Turkish coast were so clear that it was possible
to see car headlights moving on the coastal road.
The harvest moon hangs crisp among the stars and anyone
with decent binoculars is out, star gazing.
Temperatures are around
28 degrees at midday, dropping to about 19 at night. Sitting
outside in the evenings is fine but do bring a shawl or
cardigan. The beachgoers are still happy and are
going brown instead of pink, being less inclined to burn
at this time of the year.
Symi report; Friday 10th September 2004
It is still quite
wild and windy on Symi and the hydrofoil is not
running at the moment. Some of our guests arrived on
the Dodecanese Express this morning and others managed to
come on the Kallisti, the mammoth excursion boat. I
am not sure if they would ordinarily allow one way traffic
but it is useful to bear in mind that this is a
possibility in extremis!
The wind has brought
cooler temperatures, around 27 degrees, and improved
visibility. One can literally see for miles.
The low pressure system causing all this is moving east
quite fast so the wind should moderate by tomorrow
afternoon. The big boat schedules are in disarray as
the Aegean is still experiencing heavy seas and shipping
to and from Pireaus has been delayed. One can hardly
move in Symi post office for mail bags. The equinox
is around the corner so it is not really unusual to have
some blows at this time of the year. The long term
forecast,however, shows that it will be improving early in
the week so Sunday and Wednesday arrivals should be fine.
Symi report; Monday 6th September 2004
It
is exceptionally warm for September
with temperatures reaching 37 degrees on Symi yesterday.
This is set to change in the next few days however as they
are already experiencing gale force winds in the central
and southern Aegean. Mykonos is being buffeted by a
force 9 at the moment. Way up north, Thessalonica
had a heavy downpour at the weekend that washed away
several roads and sent a few cars bobbing into lamp-posts.
We're rather more
sheltered in our little corner and it has been remarkably
windless of late. There are lots of late
season cruising yachts pottering about, heading towards
their various winter berths, and it is unusual to see them
pass by under sail except in the late afternoon breeze.
Walking to work this
morning I noticed that the roadworks have reached the
tricky bit between the turn off to the Taxiarchis and the
old garage. The road is in fairly dire condition
where the foundations are collapsing. The workmen
seemed to think so too as there was much debate on where
and how to dig the required trench - one false move and it
could all wind up on the old football pitch! My walk
home could be interesting.
Symi report; Friday 3rd September 2004 Another bustling day in Yialos. The Kallisti is once again rumbling outside our windows and the hydrofoil is humming alongside. Tour parties play follow-my-leader round the quay and water taxis skim across a burnished sea. September is the golden month on Symi. Autumn tints the terraces and summer's dust turns the moon peach. The last of the grapes ripen on the vine and in Rhodes great baskets of grapes are already being harvested. Anyone catching a ferry from Kolonna may notice an alcoholic whiff on the air if the wind blows over from the CAIR winery near the commercial port.
The Greeks who have
spent the summer holidays visiting friends and relations here
are starting to depart, returning to post-Olympic Athens.
Every departing boat seems to have people wishing each
other Kalo chimonia (good winter) as bags of paximadia are
passed over the railings. Shutters are closing and
umbrellas packed away for another year but for most of us
the season is by no means over. For every bag of
paximadia departing there is a suitcase full of English
teabags arriving as the island's 'regulars' clock in for
their annual sunshine fix.
|Summer 2004| |
