Adriana's Symi

A Sunny Spring Day

2008-05-16T13:22:00.001+03:00

It is a sunny spring day on Symi with a cool northerly breeze riffling across the water. Wednesday’s thunderstorms and showers have brought a freshness to the air and the vegetation has perked up perceptibly. The snails are out in the shady places and the island’s insect life is hatching in profusion, much to the joy of the arachnids who are busy shrouding everything that does not move in cobwebs.

The roses are coming to an end, slightly battered by the recent storms and succumbing to the aphid onslaught. The geraniums are taking over in every conceivable shade and hue, from cool whites and candy colours to hot pinks, purples and sizzling scarlet. Speaking of opulent colours, Wendy has just come into the office with some perfect fresh black cherries – an encouraging sign as the recent strikes have caused disruptions in the fresh produce supply lines in Greece and truckloads of fruit and vegetables are stuck on Crete at the moment.

Speaking of strikes, the pilots of Olympic Airways propeller fleet are on strike which means flights to many of the smaller islands are cancelled. There are also strikes affecting OTE (the Greek telcom company), the air traffic controllers, various banks and health workers. INKA, the Greek consumer watchdog organization, is also calling upon consumers to boycott the fresh produce markets today in protest against profiteering and high prices. It is not just tourists who are grumbling about high prices …

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

My Symi Wildflower Garden in May

2008-05-12T13:22:00.003+03:00

A neighbour's donkey in a cloud of oregano and fennel flowers.

A wild hollyhock in the olive grove.

The knautia attract butterflies...

... and bees...

Pink bindweed in the Agia Marina watercourse.

Wild chicory flowers in the bottom meadow.

Launching the Haskas Boat 23 April 2008

2008-05-10T09:49:00.003+03:00

VE Day 2008

2008-05-08T15:24:00.002+03:00

The Whole Line Up

Including Minister of Defence, Evangelos Meimarakis, General Secretary for New Democracy, Lefteris Zagoritis and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yannis Valinakis

Manos chatting with Deputy Minster of Foreign Affairs, Yannis Valinakis

Especially for Donkey Lovers

2008-05-02T11:08:00.003+03:00

The new foal who appeared in the April edition of the Symi Visitor accompanies his mother everywhere, learning the different routes, although it will be a long time before he is allowed to carry loads. As you can see from the first photograph, he has already tried on a saddle, hence the flattened fur.

We caught up with him outside Pitini House, mooching along and nibbling the daisies.

Bright Week

2008-04-28T14:37:00.001+03:00

After a warm and sunny Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday dawned overcast and at 1 p.m sharp the heavens opened. It rained intermittently all afternoon and evening, putting a damper literally on open-air lamb spit-roasts all round the country. It was still showery this morning but the rest of the week is expected to be dry with only the occasional passing cloud. The rain may have been inconvenient but it has washed away of the dust of recent weeks and the air was wonderfully crisp this morning.

Weather aside, it has been a good Easter for Symi this year with lots of visitors to the island, many of them Greeks fleeing south to avoid much wetter weather in other parts of Greece. Yialos and Pedi are full of yachts waiting for conditions to improve. With it being poor beach weather on Rhodes the day excursion boats are full and today the Salamis Glory from Cyprus glided into the harbour so there are lots of Cypriots around. Many have been bussed over to Panormitis to visit the monastery.

The cafes along the waterfront are bustling. Wendy has just come in from a foray into the harbour and announced that it feels just like August with so many people around. The temperatures, on the other hand, certainly aren’t like August – it is only about 20 degrees today which feels quite chilly after the high temperatures we had last week.

Today is a bank holiday so it is only tourist orientated businesses that are open. It is Bright Monday, the first day of Bright Week, a week as much dedicated to feasting as last week was dedicated to fasting. Those whose name days fell in Lent will be celebrating them today. Thursday is May Day, also a major holiday in this part of the world so life is only really going to return to normal a week from now.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

A Wet and Windy Easter?

2008-04-23T12:36:00.001+03:00

Happy St George's Day! Of course Greek George's will only be able to celebrate next week, on Bright Monday, as name days are put on hold for Big Week.

The internet has been more off than on this week and even when it is working seems to be crawling along at a snail's pace. I will keep this short so I can post it before the link goes again.

It looks as though we may well be having a wet and windy Easter and even snow is forecast for the high ground on the Greek mainland. After two days of strong sand winds and ferry disruptions things are much calmer today and the haze which obscured Nimos earlier this morning is lifting. Contact lense wearers have really been suffering from the dust in the air lately and, looking at the long range forecast, the next week or so looks no better.

Symi is much busier with lots of new arrivals and we are full at the Hotel Fiona. Last night Pedi Bay was full of bobbing mast head lights. There has been a lot of yachting activity this week as boats have struggled to find secure and comfortable berths in the strong easterly winds that have rolled into Yialos and Pedi.
More news the next time there is a stable connection!

Regards,
Adriana

Seasonal Phenomena

2008-04-18T12:31:00.002+03:00

After several days of sunshine Greece is once again swaddled in heavy cloud and strong easterly winds are disrupting shipping. The sky is leaden and the harbour choppy. Large cold splats of rain are dotting the stone flags outside our office and the bougainvillea is flailing wildly in the gusts. Fortunately this spell of overcast weather is forecast to blow over quickly and the sky should be clear again tomorrow. Continued episodes of mud rain and sand storms are expected to continue, however, for the next few weeks. The Hellenic National Meteorological Office has been at pains to remind people that this is an entirely normal phenomenon for the time of year and various health officials have advised those with asthma and other respiratory problems to remain indoors to avoid dust-induced allergies.

Here on Symi preparations for the season continue unabated and every day more places are open for business. With Easter only a week away Symi’s shopkeepers are filling their shelves with Easter egg dye and foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. The annual Easter baking marathon is about to start and there is much tut-tutting about the exorbitant price of flour and dairy products in the supermarket queues. When traditional Easter koulouria and cheese pies are made by the kilo, 10-15% increases in the prices of basic ingredients have an enormous impact. The Greek television news programs are focussing on consumer surveys in the fresh produce and meat markets and costing out the rising price of the Easter Feast. Like the mud rains from Africa, this too is a seasonal phenomenon.

Here on Symi the lambs continue to munch the daisies, blithely unaware of the fate that awaits them next week. A short life, perhaps, but a happy one!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

Dust from Africa

2008-04-14T10:55:00.000+03:00

This weekend on Symi was the hottest so far this year, with temperatures hitting 30 degrees on Sunday. The haze of fine dust from Africa has not moved, however, as there is not a breath of wind and visibility is down to a few kilometers. The horizon begins just beyond the entrance to Pedi bay and the night sky is devoid of stars. There is a pinkish cast to the light and everything is covered in a film of fine sand. This phenomenon is very common at this time of the year and has been known to be bad enough to close Rhodes airport and even reaches as far as Athens.

We took the opportunity to catch up on the gardening yesterday, preparing the ground in my kitchen garden for the summer’s tomatoes, courgettes and peppers which will have to be planted out soon. The warm still weather and recent rains have brought Symi’s insect population out in full force and the first mosquitoes are already whining on the evening air. The spiders are a bit slow coming forward but the geckos have been active for a while now and the birds are busy. It is a pleasure to hear them chattering and twittering in the olive grove and almond trees.

While we were out with the strimmer and the hoe, clearing nettles and poppies, other locals were busy scrubbing the recent mud rains off their motor cars – I passed several Symiots similarly engaged when I went forth at midday in search of refreshments. The evenings are now mild enough to spend them outdoors instead of in and the barbecue season has begun.

Down in the harbour the number of yachts has increased and we have seen many old friends.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Frenetic Activity

2008-04-09T12:57:00.000+03:00

It is a grey and windy day on Symi and waves are slopping against the quay beneath our window. April is a very changeable month as anyone who has ever visited the island at this time will have noticed. One minute we are basking in the sun and the next we are mopping the remains of mud rain off our steps.

It is also the month of frenetic activity as Symi prepares for the start of the tourist season. Here at the Symi Visitor we are busy with preparations for the new season. The first visitors are already settled in at the Hotel Fiona and every day brings more arrivals to Symi. Visitors armed with maps, cameras and sturdy boots are heading for the hills in search of wild flowers, romping lambs and amazing views to photograph. The cafes in the harbour are busier, particularly on wintry days such as today when no one wants to venture forth for fear of being caught out by the rain. Those plastic drop cloths are likely to remain in place for a few more weeks yet, but it is possible to roll them up more often as the sunny days start to outnumber the chilly ones. More restaurants and tavernas are opening, even if on limited menus and tourist businesses are opening up during the day time hours on the days when the Symi II comes over from Rhodes. This is still a bit hit and miss as it depends on demand and, of course, the weather.

Around at the Harani boatyard the Poseidon has just gone back in the water after her winter slipping and is busy testing her engines off NOS beach. It will be a while before the excursion boats resume but everyone is preparing for inspection. The berths in Yialos filled with fishing boats will be home to water taxis only too soon.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

The Stupidity of Moths

2008-04-07T12:28:00.000+03:00

After an extremely wet weekend everyone on Symi is mopping up. Fortunately Saturday night’s mud rain was followed by a squeaky clean downpour, albeit torrential, on Sunday morning so all the cars are shiny bright once more and the streets look as though they have been power washed with a fire hose. The grass and sweet Alexanders growing on the Kali Strata and outside the Symi Visitor office are still struggling to pull themselves upright. A few businesses have made the depressing discovery that awnings they thought would do for one more season failed to survive the weight of water and have to be replaced. There are still plenty of clouds about but wherever the sun breaks through Symi steams.

There was a shipping ban in force yesterday so some early visitors have arrived a day late but that is not unusual this early in the season. April’s Symi weather comes with no guarantees of clemency – but at least it is not snowing here, unlike London! The rest of the week should remain dry with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees centigrade. Of course it may be considerably warmer than that on the sunny side of the harbour and out of the wind.

The Pedi Valley is luminous with clean green new leaves on the trees and everywhere there is the twittering of birds eagerly snapping up newly hatched insects. The geckos have emerged from their winter sojourn behind the icons in my kitchen, chatting about the stupidity of moths as they evade the attentions of my cats.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

My Symi Wildflower Garden 5 April 2008

2008-04-05T14:54:00.001+03:00

Strangers Quickly Become Friends

2008-04-05T14:51:00.001+03:00

Despite the inclement weather Symi is becoming steadily busier and a trip on foot round the harbour is a veritable daisy-chain of conversations with returned regulars, foreign property owners who are opening up their houses for the summer and business owners setting up for the season. This is a community where everyone knows everyone else and strangers quickly become friends.

The island’s artisans and craftsmen are in a state of perpetual motion as preparations are now well under way for the 2008 tourist season and the queues in the hardware stores spill out onto the pavement. The ferries disgorge display fridges, lumber, bathroom fittings and new cookers along with the usual truckloads of food and drink. The pithos and potplant man came off the Proteus today, his lorry stacked high with terracotta pots from Crete and a veritable forest of citrus and bay trees. He should do well as many of the cafes along the front have lost their pots to the winter storms.

We have had 40 mm of rain on Symi since Wednesday afternoon and the island’s wild flowers are flourishing. Even the cyclamens which have usually started to fade by now have revived with a fresh flush of delicately scented pale pink blooms. The purple tassel hyacinths are out along the verges and every stone wall and rocky slope is a tapestry of myriad small flowers and ferns. Carpets of creeping clover, vetch and pimpernels are a far cry from the baked hard dustbowl of summer and a feast for the eyes in a landscape where green is a rare visual treat. Fields of wild peas and poppies reach for the sky and paths untrodden quickly turn to jungle.

The rainy weather is expected to continue across Greece until Sunday night and there may be more showery weather again midweek when the clouds currently dripping over southern Italy head our way.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

Poppy Daze - My Symi Wild Flower Garden

2008-04-01T16:27:00.002+03:00

My Symi Wild Flower Garden

2008-04-01T16:12:00.000+03:00

Spring is in the air and with the switch to summer time last Sunday the days are suddenly significantly longer. More yachts have appeared in the harbour, recent arrivals from Marti Marina in Orhaniye, across the way in Turkey. Cruising yachtsmen who have spent the winter safely berthed in a sheltered modern marina and who are now thrust out into the uncertain sailing conditions of April in the Aegean. Some are regular sailors in the area, others are new-comers, circumnavigators about to embark on their first Mediterranean cruising season after the long-haul passage-making of the Indian Ocean.

The weather is mild, if a little chilly, and rain is expected to reach us on Thursday with showers forecast for the rest of the week. Temperatures will remain around 20 degrees on Symi although it will be quite chilly still at night.

My Symi wild flower garden is a bobbing mass of red poppies, a-hum with orgiastic bees. They wallow in each bloom until all the pollen is gone and the papery petals are bruised purple and fall to the ground. There are many more hives on Symi this year – in fact a few weeks ago, returning from Rhodes on the Proteus, we were intrigued to see a stack of hives in the vehicle hold, lids taped down with parcel tape to prevent accidents with the inhabitants.

Here in Yialos preparations for the season are firmly underway – piles of tables and chairs stacked outside for repainting while awnings are restrung and the mildew of winter scrubbed off the walls. Boxes of souvenirs and summer clothes are being unpacked and the winter woollies have been marked down to bargain prices. Symi is unfurling from her winter sleep.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Spring Flowers 28 March 2008

2008-03-28T18:15:00.003+02:00

The recent wet weather has given the wild flowers a boost. The cyclamens are growing out of the rockface behind the bus stop. The chamomile and poppies are near Stavros' metal shop behind the Opera House, just where one turns off the Kataraktis.

The Stones Steam

2008-03-26T12:23:00.003+02:00

The strong westerly winds that brought rain to Symi on the morning of Independence Day were still pounding the island that afternoon. We took these photographs of the coastline around Panormitis monastery at sunset yesterday afternoon after a visit to the Marathounda farm. The discolouration of the water inside the bay is caused by sand churned up by the sea pounding in through the entrance. For an idea of the size of the waves slamming the shore, look at the red roofs of Kalodoukas’ dairy farm on the left of the slope!

This might not be a great time of the year for sunshine holidays but there is no shortage of subjects to photograph.
The weather is expected to remain unsettled for the rest of the week, with more showers and strong winds to come. Temperatures are quite mild, though and whenever the sun breaks through the stones steam.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Sunday 23 March 2008 - Early Morning

2008-03-24T10:10:00.004+02:00

This branch came down in the course of Saturday night. As for Lakis on the right, sometimes it is better to just let sleeping dogs lie!

This squall practically knocked the cameraman off his feet.

Michaloutsos and the williwaws.

Line squalls dancing towards NOS beach and Harani.

And another whisking straight up the harbour. Not a good spot to be tied up in an easterly blow.

Chocolate-coated Halva

2008-03-21T10:09:00.001+02:00

It is the season for mud rain and murky skies and today is no exception. Symi has been blanketed by low cloud for much of the week and last night sporadic light rain began just before midnight. It has been raining steadily since the early hours of this morning. The high dust content in the air, product of sandstorms in North Africa, gives the light a strange orange glow and where the water pools the reddish particles settle out. The long range forecast is for more of the same for about a week, punctuated by gale force winds.

Meanwhile, the Greek government sat until late last night and finally passed the pension reform bill. It was quite interesting watching the debate on Vouli, the parliamentary channel, on television last night. What they didn't show was the demonstrators outside parliament and their clashes with the riot police - for that we had to watch the BBC this morning where Greece's social security woes knocked the Tibetan lock-down and the health of the US dollar out of the top slot on the 7 a.m broadcast. The unions have said that they won't accept the reforms so we can expect more industrial action in the weeks to come. As this may affect people's travel plans we will try to give advance notice of airport strikes whenever we can. As it is, some visitors to Symi have already been affected by this week's airport strikes and have had to cancel their Easter breaks or try to get onto later flights. Fortunately Symi, unlike Athens, has not been affected by either dustbinmen's strikes or power cuts, so as long as you remember to bring your plastic for the hole in the wall (which usually works, even if the bank workers are on strike) there is nothing to stop you enjoying Symi once you actually get here, strikes or no strikes!

On that cheerful note I wish you all a happy Easter – we have another month to go yet before Greece and the other Orthodox countries celebrate theirs and the shops are still largely devoid of chocolate rabbits and gift wrapped eggs. Instead we are fasting on mussels, prawns and chocolate-coated halva.

Regards,
Adriana

Squalls and Showers

2008-03-19T12:46:00.000+02:00

Spring is in the air and typically unsettled equinoctial weather is buffeting the country with squalls and showers. Snow is expected on high ground in the north but down here in our little corner it is quite warm, if overcast. The poppies and corona daisies are already taking over in the countryside and the ground is starting to crack from lack of rain.

Greece is still in the grips of major countrywide strikes which are affecting the airports as well as banks, power, refuse collection and public transport. As journalists and state television are also on strike until Friday in effect there is a news blackout. In a nutshell the strikes are a response to proposed long overdue reforms to the Greek social security system which, like many other European countries, is suffering from an increasingly elderly population and not enough people paying in. While in small communities like Symi the demographics have changed favourably with more young families on the island as the benefits of tourism have enabled Symiots to marry younger and afford families, in Greece as a whole the birthrate has dropped, with the inevitable result that more is coming out of the pot than going in. In the time I have lived in Greece I have seen the retirement age for women raised from 55 to 65 and I should imagine that by the time I am 65 retirement will be a concept people look back on with nostalgia!

I went to Rhodes yesterday to do the usual round of errands for this time of the year and it was very quiet. One cruise ship arrived in the course of the afternoon but the Old Town vendors evidently did not think it was worth unpacking for them and the place remained closed up. The season proper only really gets under way with Greek Easter in April and for many businesses it is not worth the effort and expense of opening up for a few hours in the middle of March on the off chance someone might pass through. Even in Marks and Spencer I had to cajole the solitary salesperson to open a till so I could pay for my purchases. Browsing in the computer shops, on the other hand, I was practically mobbed by enthusiastic sales staff as the first potential customer they had seen in days!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Sesklia 10 March 2008

2008-03-11T12:40:00.005+02:00

Wendy gets to meet Sesklia's new custodian, a very friendly bitch living in the farm house on the top of the hill.

Although the Dodecanese Day celebrations were marred by the first sand storm of the season, the weather stayed fair and dry for the whole holiday long weekend. We took the opportunity to nip over to Sesklia for a Clean Monday picnic. Summertime visitors will be amazed to see the fields in the middle of the island glowing with golden mustard flowers and the rocky slopes covered in white lilies. I am hoping to cajole another trip in a couple of weeks to catch all the wild delphiniums when they come into flower.

Meanwhile, on a more practical level, the Aegli hydrofoil is not running this week and will be out of service until 22 March. The strikes as a result of social security reforms will continue to affect the public power company, banking sector and civil service for the next few weeks so business trips to Rhodes and Athens require very careful planning to avoid futile expeditions. We have been fortunate here on Symi in that we have not been affected by the power blackouts that have caused problems in other parts of the country.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

A Fine Crop of Poppies

2008-03-06T12:45:00.002+02:00

It has been quite hazy this week with low cloud and drizzly weather. Yesterday I went to Rhodes on the Proteus, to attend to some business. Half of Symi seemed to be on the boat, including Neil and Toby who were heading for Rhodes Hospital to find out if the ironmongery was ripe for removal.

Rhodes is, if anything, even less ready for the forthcoming season than Symi. As I had errands on both sides of the Old Town I took a short cut through the middle and can report that apart from someone pumping out a flooded basement with the help of the local fire brigade I saw no signs of activity whatsoever. There were no cruise ships in the harbour and no early tourists to be seen.

The accompanying photographs show a fine crop of poppies in the moat. You will notice that the moat also serves as a football pitch!

Tomorrow is Dodecanese Day and it is Clean Monday on the 10th so we have a 4 day bank holiday to look forward to. The bunting for tomorrow's parade is already fluttering in the breeze outside the War Memorial.

Have a good weekend. I intend to spend mine catching up on the gardening.

Regards,
Adriana

A Sea of Mist

2008-03-04T12:52:00.001+02:00

This morning we woke to find the island surrounded by a sea of mist with just the highest points poking out above the clouds. The gardens dripped with dew and the Kali Strata was running with water when I walked down shortly before eight. The March equinox is only weeks away now and the adolescent gurglings of my young roosters herald an ever earlier dawn. The almond blossom is giving way to perky bright green leaves and the verges are alight with glossy yellow buttercups. We will probably only have one more serious cold snap before spring gives way to early summer. Night time temperatures are already around 12 degrees centigrade and last night, cooking on the wood stove, I had to open the kitchen door to let some of the heat out!

Down in the harbour some businesses are starting to get ready for summer, to the accompaniment of cheerful Greek 'hits of the 60s' drifting around the amphitheatre. The Dimitroulla has just called in en route from Piraeus to Rhodes. The big boat schedule is now so erratic it has become a case of 'take it as it comes - unfortunate for both potential passengers and the shipping company concerned as it is obviously preferable to book on something that is definitely coming than something that might pass through if circumstances permit.

As this weekend coming is Carnival and the weather looks promising for Clean Monday everyone is planning picnics and outings up the mountain or on the water. Displays of kites for sale have appeared outside unlikely vendors and the supermarkets are filling their freezers with mussels and other approved fasting foods.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Smokey Thursday - Party Time in Chorio!

2008-02-29T14:52:00.003+02:00

Toby poses for Wendy's camera!

For more photos see Out and About.

A well known rep lurks behind this mask. Answers on a postcard, please!

Not her normal fare - Lemonia from Syllogos passes round the pork souvlaki.

Pretty in pink - a bevy of local beauties pose for Wendy.

Down in Pedi

2008-02-27T14:42:00.003+02:00

Symi has warmed up considerably over the past week and temperatures are starting to nudge 20 degrees centigrade. Everywhere there is stuff growing and we have to beat a path through the Alexanders to get to the office gate. Fields of lupins echo the azure sky and the rocks are slick with dew each morning.
The first fancy dress party of carnival took place on Sunday evening and even the supermarkets in Chorio are selling carnival novelties, silly masks and weird masks. Tomorrow is Smokey Thursday, traditionally celebrated with a big fancy dress BBQ party. Last year we had torrential rain and the party was held inside the vehicle deck of the Symi ferry which was conveniently spending the winter alongside the quay outside Pat's bar. This year there is no handy ferry available for the purpose so we hope that there isn't too much truth in the rumours of rain on tomorrow's weather forecast!

Down in Pedi work has started on the new marina. Bulldozers and heavy lorries were busy this morning, levelling the shoreline and dumping fill into the sea, as you can see in the accompanying photograph. There will be full details of the project including views from various sources in the March edition of the Symi Visitor and we will also be publishing up dates on this site at regular intervals.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana