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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>>
MONDAY, DECEMBER
29th
2003
While it is not actually raining it is certainly very black this morning and rain is forecast for most of the week. Unfortunately strong winds are also expected so there is some anxiety among those who need to travel in the course of this week. The Aegli is not allowed to run in even moderate south westerly winds and in strong ones all shipping is banned for the whole of Greece anyway, regardless of local conditions.
It was shipping as usual over
the weekend so there was a great pile of mail at the post office
this morning - Christmas on Symi lingers on until the last card
arrives which can be sometime around Easter in a stormy year.
This is quite fun. What is less amusing is when serious
stuff like bank cards and telephone accounts fail to turn up in
time.
Temperatures remain mild,
between 10 and 15 degrees centigrade and even warmer when the sun
breaks through. Symi is probably one of the warmest places
in Greece at the moment. The mountainous areas on the
mainland are more or less permanently under snow now and some
villages in the north, particularly close to the borders with
Albania and FYROM are quite inaccessible. Meanwhile, down
here, some of the foreign property owners who are here for the
festive season are swimming every day and Sotiris from the photo
shop has just gone past on his Vespa with an armful of big round
fish traps.
There are several hawkers
trundling up and down the island at the moment, selling carpets,
quilts, oranges and tangerines. The vegetable man from Tilos
is also here, parked in the town square, with a fine
display of beetroot, radishes, greens and neat stacks of new
potatoes. There is a mad scramble for cover as the heavens have
just opened...
Happy New Year, everybody, and
there will be more news from Symi on Friday.
Adriana
The Symi Visitor
www.SymiVisitor.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26th 2003 We had a wet and stormy Christmas with plenty of rain and no boats. As there were gale force winds on Christmas Eve many would be returnees were not able to get onto the island and Yialos and Pedi were home to an assortment of commercial vessels which had been instructed to head for the nearest port and stay put. The search for survivors of the refugee boat which sank between Marmaris and Rhodes on Sunday was finally called off on Wednesday as sea conditions were so bad it was putting more lives in jeopardy and the chances of finding anyone alive were unlikely.
A Korean registered boat
travelling from Port Said to Montenegro ran aground on Santorini in
heavy seas. The manifest said it was carrying cement but the
coastguard who rescued the crew found it was actually carrying 35
tons of contraband cigarettes so the crew are currently under
arrest... Perhaps they should also have listened to the
weather forecast and anchored somewhere quiet until conditions
improved!
Most people closed the
shutters and stayed indoors on Christmas Day. Boxing Day,
which is also a bank holiday in Greece, was a bit blustery but the
sunny intervals between showers gave us an opportunity to stretch
our legs. The Symi II left this morning for Rhodes so with a
bit of luck there will be fresh stocks in the shops tonight - and
those who spent a reluctant Christmas in Rhodian hotels will finally
get home.
We should have dry weather for
the weekend but more rain/snow/gales are forecast for the whole of
Greece starting Monday so travelling over New Year is also likely to
be a fraught business. The Greek ski resorts are doing well,
as are panel beaters and sellers of snow chains!
MONDAY, DECEMBER 22nd 2003 It is heavily overcast today and there was drizzle during the night. The barometer is falling steadily and strong winds are expected tonight and tomorrow.
The Christmas lights are spreading
across Chorio as householders get busy with lengths of bendy neon tube
and fairy lights. Most are quite pretty - twinkly lights in
cypress and lemon trees and stars, sailing ships and snowflakes on
balconies and chimneys but occasionally someone doesn't know where to
stop. There is at least one house completely outlined in
flashing lights - which wouldn't be too bad if all the flashes were
synchronised... The effect is something like the onset of migraine
seen through the bottom of one Metaxa too many! Inflatable
Santas are doing quite well this year although it is advisable to keep
them firmly tied down - I have seen a few fatalities impaled on rose
bushes and wrought iron railings. Symi's strong sea-faring
tradition inspires not just lights shaped like boats but displays of
purpose made minature caiques with lights in the rigging on balconies
and in courtyards.
The first lambs have been born and
were out with their mothers in the winter sunshine on Saturday, along
the verge of the road from the harbour to Chorio. While in the
summer that verge is a strip of thistles, in the winter it is covered
with lush grasses and the benches at the viewpoints make conveniently
solid objects for tethering grazing ewes. Speaking of roadside
activities, more planters have been built at the back of the town
square and the new playground in upper Chorio, near the Agia Marina
cemetery, is nearly finished. It is a spot with the most
spectacular views and lots of shady trees so the benches are likely to
see quite a lot of use.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19th 2003 Did I say it wasn’t really cold yet? Well, allow me to reconsider, fumble-fingered and red nosed. The last time we saw the hydrofoil was when it pulled out of Symi at 10.30 on Tuesday morning on its return trip to Rhodes. All the ports have been closed for most of the week. Force 11 winds were recorded in the Aegean and a Cambodian-registered tanker got into trouble off Hydra after its engines failed. The crew were air lifted to safety by a Super Puma helicopter in extremely difficult conditions and the last we heard the tug trying to tow the boat to safety in mountainous seas had snapped its lines. The port authority once again reiterated that although shipping bans may sometimes seem inconvenient, they are essential as when things go wrong in extreme conditions it very difficult to put them right – and puts more lives at risk. As things stand chances are good that much of Greece will have a white Christmas – including Athens. Today’s anticipated maximum in Rhodes is only 6 degrees and we can expect ice on the puddles tonight. Although things should warm up a bit over the weekend, the wind is going to change to the south, bringing with it further rain and strong winds early in the week. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15th 2003 We had our fourth rainy day of
the winter yesterday. It started with a Force 9 easterly gale
which pushed ever heavier rain clouds across the sky. By mid afternoon
the first drops started to fall and by early evening the television
transmitters had been knocked out, several areas had experienced power
cuts and the Agia Marina river was flowing briskly through our bedroom.
Symi as a new winter white water rafting destination? FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12th 2003
Sorry to depress all of
you who are muffled à la Michelin Man and are
worrying about winter heating bills but it is still
extraordinarily warm on Symi and we haven't lit the fire once
yet. It has only rained properly three times so far this
winter and it is the heavy dew and high humidity that is
keeping everything growing. I have never had
aubergines and peppers in the garden this late before and the
sweetcorn will soon be ready for the pot. Yesterday it
reached 20 degrees on Symi at midday and in the evening the
temperature did not drop much below 15 degrees.
Visibility is poor as the sea is steaming. The opposite
coast only becomes visible when it catches the sun.
While the other Aegean islands are still being buffeted by
gales, the sea around Symi is flat as a mirror. The moon
rising through the mist over Pedi is quite spectacular.
There are some interesting
wild mushrooms and toadstools around, but in the absence of
reliable information as to what is edible and what is lethal,
I shan't be experimenting!
Christmas is sneaking up on
us discreetly. The lights are spreading up the hill to
upper Chorio and a manger is being set up in the square.
Christmas trees made of lights have been set up along the head
of the harbour and in the town square. As the weather is
so mild there is every likelihood that the decorations will
all be complete in time for Christmas Day, unlike last year
when, between gales and downpours, the decorations were never
really completed and one light tree wound up looking more like
a maypole after a tornado hit it.
I have put up the first of
the Christmas recipes. Remember to check back through
the recipes for the previous festivities for side dishes and
baking recipes.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 8th 2003 Most of Greece is shivering in the snow with blizzards, tumbling temperatures and gale force winds in the Ionian and the Aegean. Symi is happily sunny and still mild. Light rain skittered over the roofs last night and mist filled the valleys. This morning clouds were hanging low over the Vigla and a few can still be seen on the horizon. It would seem that the Symi II will be able to make the return trip from Rhodes this afternoon as the gales have passed us by.
There are plenty of families
out enjoying the winter sunshine, buying salad vegetables for
lunch from the truck by the bridge. This is the season for
leaf vegetables which are consumed in great variety and profusion
- all sorts of endives and chicories, spinach, chard, beetroot
(the Greeks eat the leaves as well as the roots) and Cos lettuces.
Most of the ploughing is
finished and the Pedi valley is a patchwork of rich dark fields
and bright green verges. The new grass is coming up quickly
and the sheep are spoiled for choice. They no longer have to
scramble up and down the hillsides in search of food but are
confined to smaller areas where they can mow the weeds and
grasses. The first lambs will soon be putting in an
appearance.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5th 2003 You know it's winter on Symi when...
An hour after the Symi II departs
in the morning it is seen passing Pedi in the wrong direction - a
blanket shipping ban due to a gale warning has come through and she
has been instructed to return to port ASAP.
Every electrician on the island
is busy putting up the municipal Christmas decorations.
You pick up the telephone and
instead of a dialling tone you receive a message saying that you
have dialled the wrong number and should check directory enquiries
(or, more interesting still, an engaged tone).
Your mobile phone keeps welcoming
you to Turkey.
The post office is piled high
with mail bags waiting to go out when shipping resumes and someone
you know receives a birthday card that was posted from France in
August.
Oh well. The sun is shining
even if it is a little chilly outdoors. The first snows are
gleaming on the distant peaks of Turkey. There are quite a few
new decorations in the town this year including small sailing
ships on the lamp posts along the yacht berths and doves of peace on
the flag poles on the bridge. Work has started on stone paving
the sidewalk from the bridge towards the clock tower and
the old Symi Taverna building is being gutted as it will be the new
premises for the National Bank of Greece.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1st 2003 The party is over, the Symi I is being hauled out in a dockyard in Piraeus today, the newspaper is at the printers and the rain is lashing against the windows. December has arrived with a crack of thunder, sheets of lightning and a mean surge sloshing through the harbour. It is raining over most of Greece and a drop in temperatures is expected as the wind changes to the north. About time really as it was getting a bit boring to still be wearing summer T-shirts in November. Today's Symi fashion statement at the Visitor office is a T-shirt, chinos and wellies with tasteful camou patterned rainproof plastic poncho for odd forays to the post office etc. (That's me - Wendy is more elegantly attired but she's in Athens today, not paddling through the streets of Symi)
A big ferry came through this
morning and two trucks came off, one selling vegetables and one
selling fish. They are both parked under the shelter of the
awning of the taverna by the bridge and various figures in oilskins
can be seen weighing out purchases and handing them to other oilskin
clad figures. Despite the heavy rain there are quite a few
people around. Many of the cafes now have weatherproof drop
cloths with big plastic windows and the locals like to lurk behind
them, coffee in hand, and watch the white horses march up the harbour.
Symi houses are generally quite small and cramped so the menfolk get
shooed out, rain or no rain, while the housework gets done, and head
for the nearest dry place for coffee, gossip and a game or three of
backgammon. These places serve almost like offices in that if
you are looking for your plumber, electrician, bricklayer, trucker or
whatever, the first place you look is his favourite coffee haunt.
If he isn't there, someone else there will know where to find him.
Business is organised, appointments are made, advice given, all within
the comfortable ambience of a cafeneion.
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