Monday, December 30th 2002

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and are in fine shape to cope with NEW YEAR!!!! 

The rain held off for Christmas Day on Symi although it was a grey day. Much of Greece had a white Christmas and there were plenty of snowball fights on Greek television. On Symi Boxing Day degenerated into showers followed by steady overnight rain and a wet and squally Friday - with no boats. Saturday was a bit better and the boat was able to run. Sunday was wet as is today and the Panormitis is sitting at the quay, waiting for the anticipated south westerly gale which is likely to have the whole Aegean tied up until 1 January. Kassos, a small island south of Karpathos, was hit by a serious cloudburst on Saturday morning - something along the lines of the flash flood we experienced on Symi a few years ago. This time there were television crews to hand to film bobbing cars, raging torrents and tearful old ladies shovelling mud out of their kitchens. The absence of adequate storm water drains in a part of the world prone to torrential seasonal rains is a total mystery. And this lack is not uniquely Greek - the situation is the same in Israel and Cyprus too and apparently parts of Spain are similarly ill-prepared to cope with deluge diversion. 

Rumour in the harbour has it that this New Year will be one of the noisiest ever on Symi as the new Mayor celebrates. I shall keep you posted...

Happy New Year!

Regards,
Adriana
The Symi Visitor
www.SymiVisitor.com

Monday, December 23rd 2002

Greetings from a cold but clear Symi. Sorry about the lack of a report on Friday. Circumstances beyond my control and all that...

I went to Rhodes on Thursday, along with about 200 other Symiots who had things to do and things to buy before Christmas. It was pouring with rain in the morning, with a slight southerly chop which made the journey less than comfortable but nothing to get excited about. By 3 pm when we all regrouped at Kolonna to depart for the return journey the rain had stopped and the wind had swung round to the north. We were told to come back at 6pm and the boat would leave then. Well, by 6pm the wind had intensified, waves were starting to smack the quay and we were told to come back at 9 the next morning. By which time all shipping in the Aegean had been stopped, the commercial port had been closed, the sea was breaking over the road in front of the old town and it was obvious that nothing was going anywhere for a while. They told us to come back at 4 pm... The Panormitis had mysteriously disappeared by then, but not in the direction of Symi. At 9 am on Saturday when the storm finally abated, the Panormitis came chugging back into Kolonna having spent much of the previous day sheltering in a tiny fishing port way down the south side of the island. As those of us who came over on Thursday had now been joined by those returning to the island for Christmas from further afield and several days' accumulated freight, plus all the shopping done while killing time, the Panormitis was very full indeed when it finally docked in Symi on Saturday morning. After everyone and everything had been unloaded, of course it had to turn around straight away to take all the Symiots with planes to catch and shopping still to do over to Rhodes...

So, you see, even Christmas shopping can become an adventure if you live on Symi.

There was frost on Friday night, the Turkish mountains are covered with snow, the day time temperature on Symi is about 10 degrees and the rain should hold off until Boxing Day, we hope!

May you all have a warm and well-fed Christmas!

Monday, December 16th 2002

Saturday was wet and stormy. The Panormitis set off on its scheduled run at 7 am but soon turned back as it could make no headway against the strong easterly winds. We had over 80 mm of rain in 24 hours. My chickens were very disgruntled, peering out of their hutches at the streaming rain. This morning they were stomping around in the mud, stabbing at any snail or earthworm so unfortunate as to have been washed into their enclosure. The cats and dog, on the otherhand, enjoyed the full benefits of log fire and the happy transferral of mud from garden to sofa... 

This morning was flat calm and the ferry left as usual. There are a few clouds around and the north wind is of the penetrating variety. I passed several mule trains on the way down this morning - it gives the Kali Strata a distinctly nineteenth century feel to be surrounded by donkey traffic! The angelica is growing between the stones so they munch as they go.

The first lambs and kids were born in the course of the past week. Proud ewes and nanny goats show off their knock-kneed progeny on the verges and terraces and the shepherds are very active in the fields behind us, checking that there are no losses.

Friday, December 13th 2002

Greetings from a dry but chilly Symi. We have all been beavering away this week, getting outdoor jobs done before the rain forecast for this weekend arrives and drives us all indoors once again. Meanwhile Greek television has been providing the usual winter footage of snowstorms, blizzards and floods. One novelty amongst the interminable shots of indignant householders showing flood tidemarks on their living room walls and even more annoyed farmers tossing fruit crates into the air in snow covered maize fields was the small village somewhere up north where it rained sardines... Apparently a waterspout must have scooped them up and then deposited them inland. Another urban legend comes to life...

We have the heater on in the office today - the first time since we turned off the air conditioning about a month ago. Anonymous muffled figures trailing scarves are chugging by sedately on motorbikes, trying to minimize the wind-chill factor. The one that is easy to identify is Wendy - she is sporting a cheery red hat, scarf and matching mittens.

Monday, December 9th 2002

It was very very wet this weekend and the harbour, despite an all-day clean up operation by the municipality armed with bobcats, shovels and high pressure hoses still bears the muddy remains of yesterday's cloudburst. The Panormitis was allowed to leave this morning, having been tied up all weekend, but has so far not been granted permission to leave Rhodes for the return trip to Symi this afternoon. There is a general gale warning in force for the whole of Greece with northerly Force 9 in the northern Aegean and 8s everywhere else. 

There was extensive flooding in many other parts of Greece and the island of Chios, just to the north of Symi, has been hard hit twice in less than a week. Heavy snows have already affected northern and central Greece and it is getting progressively colder. During a brief lift in the cloud cover yesterday it was apparent that the Turkish mountains are also under a blanket of snow.

The December edition of the Symi Visitor came over on Friday's boat and I have been busy, preparing the subscription copies, but at this stage it is unclear when the post will actually leave the island, so please bear with us! Quite a few of the people who went over to Rhodes this morning are also uncertain as to when they will be able to get back to Symi... and that includes two thirds of the Symi Visitor staff!! Oh well, my loss, Marks and Spencers' gain...