Adriana's Symi

Local Ingenuity at Work

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:58:00 +0000

Saturday was a glorious winter’s day, clear, calm and sparkling. Which is just as well because the rain clouds crept in again on Saturday night and it has been raining more or less continuously ever since. February is usually the worst month of the winter when it comes to wind, rain and shipping disruptions and so far this February is true to form. According to the long range weather forecast, there will be a brief pause in the rain on Wednesday to allow a South Easterly gale centre stage but once that blows itself out there will be yet more rain. As this is Carnival Week all this wet stuff is not much good. Shopkeepers have given up putting their wares on display outside but there are still fancy dress costumes, masks and other novelties to be had if one ventures inside. The problem is that Carnival on Symi is very much a children’s event with lots of fancy dress parties and the opportunity for the little ones to show off their costumes and getting children through the torrents and downpours without damage is a challenge facing many parents at the moment. We hope that it will be clear and dry for the main Carnival event on Sunday. Gales aside, wind is a definite requirement for Clean Monday, a week today, when tradition dictates kite-flying and picnics in the countryside.

Symi’s steep and rocky terrain is well known to visitors but have you ever wondered about how they get building materials to some of the less accessible sites? The ones where not even a donkey would be able to do the trick? Here are some photos taken during a sunny spell last week showing local ingenuity at work.

No, those are not hard hats, they are woolly ski hats...
Have a warm week.

Regards,

Adriana

On a Clear Day

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

It is another chill winter’s day on Symi. Temperatures have been in single figures for days and the deceptive glow of cheap Chinese halogen heaters creates an illusion of warmth in the shops and salons of Symi. The strong northerly winds have blown away all the clouds, leaving the air as bright and clean as any soap powder commercial. From the top of the Vigla the distant snow caps of Turkey form a white rim on the eastern horizon and it is possible to see as far north as Kos. Summer time visitors may be surprised not just to see how complex the coast line opposite Symi actually is with all its inlets and islands but also how very different Symi’s interior looks after several months of rain.

The clear conditions are expected to last until Saturday afternoon when the next low pressure system reaches our part of Greece and Symi is once again enveloped in rain and thunderstorms. In the meantime we shall do our best to enjoy them!

For some photos of the Smokey Thursday festivities in the Chorio Square, remember to have a look at Out and About.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Farewell to a Regular Symi Visitor

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Symiots and visitors alike cannot help but recognise the distinctive lines of Cockatoo, a restored British Admiralty pinnace, which has been calling in at Symi several times a year for the last 20 years or so. We are sorry to report the passing of her captain, Roy Edwards, in Turkey on 19 January 2010. In recent years Roy had been in poor health and spent most of his time on board and it was his wife, Sarah, who was the face of Cockatoo ashore in Yialos and Pedi, a familiar face as she walked the dogs and frequented local shops. Our sincere condolences to Sarah and we hope to see Cockatoo once again adding character to Symi harbour during the sailing season.

Always Pack an Overnight Bag

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:05:00 +0000

We have had every kind of weather short of snow on Symi in recent days. On Saturday afternoon we went up to the dump where they are making great progress with Symi’s first proper landfill. As we were leaving the day changed from tepid winter sunshine to gloom as low dark clouds rolled in rapidly from the north. As you can see from the accompanying photographs taken from the Panormitis road as it snakes round and down the Vigla, the effect was quite dramatic. Yialos was still in the sun at that point but by the time we reached the harbour the rain was pelting down and continued for some hours. The road to Panormitis is in surprisingly good condition this winter as there have been very few rock falls and not much erosion. The pond below Agios Konstantinos is full to the brim and springs are also seeping from between the rocks at many places along the road.

Unsettled weather is forecast for the rest of this week with temperatures ranging from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade and some showery days. There may be some shipping disruptions due to windy conditions so do check the forecast before travelling. It is that time of the year when those leaving Symi to go shopping in Rhodes always pack an overnight bag in case the boat can’t get back.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

A beautiful view of Adriana's recent blog posts!

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Click on the image below to view.

The Annual Ice on the Puddles Photographs

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:23:00 +0000

These were taken on the dirt road to Drakos

on the morning of Tuesday 26 January 2010

after a strong overnight northerly wind.

See... it does get cold on Symi in the winter :-)

As Far South as Symi

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:04:00 +0000

It is a cold clear day on Symi with white horses romping across the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean winter sea. The whole of Greece is in the grips of a cold spell at the moment with snow in the north and temperatures hovering perilously close to freezing even as far south as Symi. As Symiot architecture is designed for the summer sun the houses can be very chilly at this time of the year. Few have central heating and running air conditioning on ‘warm’ is a fast way to run up huge electricity bills. Instead we wrap up in countless layers of winter clothing and seek out the sunny patches out of the wind, like so many cats. Speaking of which, one can spot which cars in the town square are the most recently parked – look out for cats sitting on the bonnets soaking up engine warmth!

We can’t really complain – Symi has had an exceptionally mild winter thus far and although it is cold at the moment, we still haven’t had ice on the puddles. The long range forecast shows a slight increase in temperatures later in the week as the wind swings to the south, bringing, as it inevitably does, more rain. Friday’s gales blew down the brick pediments of the new sports stadium before the mortar had a chance to set and there was no sign of anyone working there over the weekend or this morning – just heaps of smashed bricks. There are limits to how much can be done in these conditions and evidently brickwork in a howling gale isn’t one of them.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Hail Stones

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:01:00 +0000

It is a wild and stormy winter’s day on Symi and the Proteus car ferry is tied up alongside the clock tower in Symi harbour, waiting for the wind to abate and the shipping ban to be lifted. Although it is mid morning it is so dark that the street lights have come on along the road connecting the harbour with Chorio. There is very little human activity to be seen apart from disgruntled figures huddled under awnings waiting for either the storm to abate or the shipping ban to be lifted or both. Thunder is growling round the Vigla and water is flowing through the lanes of Yialos and squirting from every downpipe. Most of the island’s cisterns filled up weeks ago.

The whole of Greece is experiencing harsh winter weather at the moment. With force 9 gales in the Aegean and heavy snow and ice on the roads of the mainland most of Greece is battened down to ride out the storm. Although the rain is expected to ease overnight as it pushes eastwards into Turkey, gale force winds are expected to continue over Greece well into next week and we can expect further shipping disruptions. January has been exceptionally wet on Symi this year and the so called Halcyon Days, a period of settled weather in the first half of January, failed to materialize this year. Instead there have been more wet days than dry ones and the locals are feeling the pinch.

Yesterday, Thursday, was the only clear day this week and that was so cold that the hail stones from the storm the night before were still in evidence in the verges at midday. A team of workmen took the opportunity to brick up the pediments on the new sports stadium. Once the roof is completed there will be plenty of undercover work to be done and then the rain and wind won’t matter so much.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Moss on the Rooftops

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:35:00 +0000

It is a damp and chilly Monday morning on Symi and the island’s cafeneions are noisy as Symi’s work force discusses yet another day written off to the rain. Voices and the combined aromas of coffee and tobacco rise from Pachos below and the huddle of motorbikes on the pavement grows larger. The whole of Greece is firmly under a cloud bank at the moment with thunderstorms, snow and rainy conditions countrywide. Up in the north temperatures range from 0-8 degrees centigrade but down here in the southern Dodecanese a cosy 9-16 degrees centigrade prevails. We can expect a brief cold spell mid week and then more of the wet stuff as we move into the next weekend. Fortunately at this stage no strong winds are forecast so shipping should continue as scheduled.

With moss on the rooftops and grass growing on the Kali Strata Symi is acquiring a greenish hue that would be quite surprising to summer visitors. Clumps of cyclamens are flowering in the cliff behind the bus stop in Yialos and even the rocky slopes above Pedi Bay are green as the thyme bushes are covered in tiny leaves. Mist blankets the mountain tops and the radio masts and wind turbine on the top of the Vigla are hidden by low cloud.

It is definitely time for indoor pursuits and those who are not seeking the convivial atmosphere of the cafeneions are tucked up in their houses or visiting friends. It is the time of year for reading books and watching DVDs, for making marmalade and catching up with correspondence. While winter on Symi may be too quiet for many, for those who are able to amuse themselves it is an enjoyable time indeed. This Wednesday at 10 a.m there will be another ‘learn to love your laptop’ session at the Olive Tree. If you are a laptop novice on Symi and want to learn more about how to Skype and use various other applications, this could be just the thing.

Have a warm dry week.

Regards,

Adriana

Patience and Good Humour

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:20:00 +0000

Symi is drying off after several days of heavy downpours and thunderstorms. More rain is forecast from tonight so a wet weekend is on the cards. Temperatures are around 13 degrees centigrade but it feels colder as everything is damp. Visibility between showers is clear and the sea is calm. There are not many boats in the water at this time of the year but those that are are taking advantage of good fishing conditions between pumping rainwater out of the bilges. The wet conditions are also good for the gathering of snails and chorta (wild greens) and many meals at this time of the year have their origins in traditional self-sufficiency rather than anything that the supermarket might offer. A few days ago I heard voices in the water course that flows through my farm and on investigation found a local father with his little girls, showing them which greens are good to eat and which are best left to the goats.

Pedi is very quiet indeed. Just the occasional chicken scratching for insects and damp cats snoozing among the boats at Apostolis. The fuel station opposite the power station has closed down so there is less traffic down the Pedi road than is usual for this time of the year. The Nimborio road is a chain of puddles and mud and most of the houses are shuttered against the winter weather. At some point someone put one of the old scarlet benches from the top deck of the old Symi I on the first little beach at Nimborio. This is now so buried under the sand bank that the winter storms have formed that only the top rail is visible. Speaking of sand, the sand has all washed away at NOS Paradise beach – Dimitri will have a lot of work to do in the spring.

The Symi II is now out of commission for maintenance so the ferry service is limited to the Proteus and the once a week visit from the Spanos on Sundays. A big boat from Pireaus is scheduled to call twice a week but as this is affected by weather conditions in the central Aegean which can be quite wild at this time of the year it is not very reliable. If you are planning to travel to Symi in the coming weeks please make sure not only that your travel insurance covers all contingencies but also that you remember to pack both patience and good humour in your hand luggage as you may well need both!

Have a warm dry weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Raising the Roof on Symi

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:50:00 +0000

The new covered sports facility in Chorio is making great progress.

Rainy weather did not prevent the roof from going up as you can see from these photographs.

This is quite an engineering feat for a small place like Symi.

Settling Back into Symi Life

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:42:00 +0000

It is a grey drizzly day on Symi with occasional patches of bright sunshine catching the fishing boats tied up in the harbour. So far Symi has had an exceptionally mild winter and I was amazed on my return from South Africa on Friday to find that the aubergines, chillis and peppers in my vegetable garden, usually long gone by now, are still covered in leaves, flowers and ripening fruit. The almond trees are also behind schedule, wearing last year’s leaves instead of bedecked with this year’s blossom so there is unlikely to be a nut crop this year. The citrus trees, on the other hand, are absolutely bowed down with lemons and oranges and the snails are tucking into the salad greens with gusto.

While I am settling back into Symi life, Wendy is still snow-bound in Suffolk. She recently had one of those ‘what a small world’ experiences while shopping for a new dining table at Mark Elliot (for our non-British readers, he is a master craftsman and maker of bespoke wooden furniture). Having chosen the table of her heart’s desire, she asked to have it shipped to a small Greek island of which she was sure no one had heard – only to discover from Mr Elliot’s rapturous response that he knows Symi well and has been holidaying here happily for years. As a sailor he likes to keep an eye on sea and weather conditions in our part of the world and is a regular visitor to the Symi Visitor Accommodation webcam.

Speaking of webcams, with the demise of Olympic Airways long haul flights, I had to fly with Emirates via Dubai and they have webcams mounted on their planes so that passengers can see what is going on beneath and ahead of the plane. While at 30 000 feet this is, of course, mainly clouds, but during clear spells and take off and landing it is quite fun to see the landscape rolling along below. Flying long haul is so high tech these days, Emirates even offer facilities for making mobile phone calls and sending emails and SMSs from seats in standard economy class. No, they are not selling off bargain bits of Palm Island at Dubai airport but the Emirates terminal ranks high in the world of duty free shopping emporiums. As a hub for long haul visitors to Greece it is a more comfortable option than Cairo or Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, back on Symi there is that brief lull between the Christmas and Easter festivities. With Easter falling early, on 4 April, Lent starts in mid February this year so Carnival is only a few weeks away and the island’s mothers are already planning fancy dress costumes and hunting for tulle and sequins.

Many thanks to all of you who emailed and sent messages to me when I left for South Africa in December. Despite six weeks in hospital, four of them in Intensive Care, my father has pulled through and is preparing to fight the next round in his battle against cancer. Thanks also to the staff and doctors at St Augustine’s Hospital, Durban, without whose dedicated efforts Musa Nkuna and many other South African singers would now be looking for a new coach.

Have a good week and for those of you who are up to your ears in snow, keep warm and remember that the days are getting longer again so spring can't be far away.

Regards,

Adriana

Symi in the Winter

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:54:00 +0000

It is a wet and gloomy day on Symi. Yesterday’s downpours have turned the water in Yialos and Pedi brown and puddles reflect the low clouds rolling across Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. The Vigla and surrounding peaks are wrapped in mist and brief rainbows arc over Chorio and Nimos. The weather is expected to remain unsettled with some very strong winds and thunder activity for the next few days. As you can see from looking at the various webcams around Greece on http://www.yassou.com/, the only part of Greece currently enjoying sunshine is Zakinthos! That is quite an impressive Christmas tree they have put up in St Markos Square, Zante Town. Definitely no tourists on the beach at Alykes though. It is quite fun panning around the various webcams in different parts of Greece on a rainy day, watching the locals bustling around the squares and the ferries come and go.

Here on Symi the Christmas decorations look a bit droopy in the wet, particularly the big Santa on the terrace of the house next to the Windmill Restaurant in Chorio. He is kept inflated by an air compressor which was definitely not running this morning - the crumpled remains of a larger than life pink and red Santa were draped forlornly over the railing amongst some very wet washing. I am sure he will revive though when the sun comes out.

This will be my last Symi blog for a while as my father is very ill and I have to return to South Africa urgently. However I hope to be back on line with news from Symi in mid January. In the meantime you will be able to keep up to date on daily life on Symi in the winter with http://symidream.com/wp/ You can also now follow Symi on Twitter.

Have an enjoyable festive season and a prosperous New Year.

Regards,

Adriana

Flowering in Confusion

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:35:00 +0000

It is a bright clear day on Symi. Saturday’s downpours have washed the island clean and the fishing boats are sparkling in the sun. The benches along the harbour front are full of locals warming themselves in the sunshine as the northerly breeze is quite chilly. Tuesday should remain dry and the next round of rainy weather will move in from Wednesday evening, once it has finished depositing snow on the Alps. On the whole, however, the temperatures have remained remarkably mild for the time of the year and the almond and oak trees are still covered in leaves. Some of the almonds are already flowering in confusion.

Up in Chorio the winter stock has finally arrived and Sotiris’ supermarket has an impressively cosmopolitan display of imported chocolates, German stollen and Italian panetone as well as the usual Greek honey and walnut cakes, dried fruit and nuts. Not a mincepie in sight, however, and Christmas shopping on Symi does not involve piped carols either – most shopkeepers have a television set somewhere in line of sight of the till so that they can keep an eye on the news and football matches in idle moments. For heated shops, window displays, tinsel and Bing Crosby one has to head further afield, to the bright lights of Rhodes, just under two hours away on the ferry.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Farewell to a Brave Symi Visitor

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:58:00 +0000

We are sorry to report the recent passing of Enfys Hankey, after a long and courageous battle against cancer. Enfys and her husband, well known photographer Barry Hankey, visited Symi as part of their twice yearly Dodecanese island-hopping holiday since 2000 and so will be familiar to many regular visitors and residents. An enthusiastic walker, Enfys did not allow her health to control her life and on her last visit to Symi in May 2009 was still to be seen striding out into the Symiot countryside, living life to the full until the very last.

The accompanying photograph was taken on Symi in May this year, in the oregano fields en route from Nimborio to Agios Nikolaos Stenou. Our thoughts are with her family at this time and we hope to see Barry on Symi again in the spring.

A Brief Day Off

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:05:00 +0000

After two days of stormy weather, hail, rain and wild winds, Symi is having a brief day off before the low pressure system that is currently spiraling across Italy, the Ionian and mainland Greece hits Symi in the course of tomorrow. While the fishermen are busy bailing out their boats and checking lines, everyone else is mopping, scrubbing and drying – when it rains on Symi water finds its way into unexpected places. The traditional Symi roof design with gutters set into the tops of the walls and channeled into a pipe set into the house wall to fill the cistern under the house often leaks in heavy downpours, particularly if hail stones prevent the water from flowing, as was the case in Thursday’s storm. Wednesday afternoon’s storm surge took breaking waves right up the customs slipway in the harbour but the raised pavements that were built along the front of Pachos and the other shops at the head of the harbour in recent years minimised the seawater flooding that used to be a problem for waterfront properties in Yialos during winter storms.

Today’s photos are for regular Symi visitors who may be surprised to see, firstly, a Christmas Tree, complete with baubles, tied to a fence post and Old Drakos signpost opposite Kampos supermarket in Chorio and secondly, who may not believe that the terraces in the Pedi Valley are ever any colour other than brown. With less agricultural activity on the island indigenous trees are taking over in the valley, creating a shady green garden out of what used to be vine-filled terraces and orchards. Just in case you are wondering, those plastic bags in the background are builders' rubble, awaiting collection by truck after being dropped off there by a mule train.

Many thanks to those of you who emailed us to point out that the webcam at Symi Visitor Accommodation was off the air – the power surge that caused the problem has been fixed and you can continue to enjoy a Symi winter from wherever you are in the world - until the next power outage of course.

Have a warm dry weekend.
Regards,

Adriana

Symi Christmas Decorations

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:59:00 +0000

After a showery Saturday and sunny Sunday, it is a cool calm Monday on the island of Symi with only a light breeze riffling the water of the harbour. High wind-blown streaks of cloud hint at the strong winds to come later this week as Greece prepares for another bout of wintery weather. The Ionian is already being buffeted by the same low pressure system that has brought winter to the Alps, Italy, Croatia and Albania. Gales, heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast for the whole of Greece from Tuesday night onwards until well into the weekend. There will be a slight drop in temperatures in southern Greece so Symi will remain fairly mild but areas to the north are preparing for the cold.

Here on Symi the municipality is taking advantage of this last dry spell to work on the official Symi Christmas decorations and small artificial trees are being set up along the promenade in front of Pachos in Yialos. The photographs show a group of trees waiting to be placed and workmen busy attaching one to the pavement. For an idea of what these look like at night when the lights are on, please log onto our webcam. Symi’s pretty neo-classical architecture turns into Toyland over Christmas as the island’s seasonal decorations are as small in scale as the houses themselves. As most houses are only one or two narrow storeys and have very limited internal space and few if any gardens, householders like to decorate the balconies, terraces, external stairways and pediments of the houses themselves rather than try to squeeze trees etcetera into the salon. All over Yialos, Chorio and Pedi dainty doves, boats, angels and other traditional motifs shine among the shuttered houses. Some people even go to the extent of outlining the architectural details of the house in flashing light tubes, not always with the results intended!

Have a good week. I am off to clear my gutters before the rain starts.

Regards,

Adriana

Dew in the Sun

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +0000

It is another still bright day on Symi. The sea is a shimmering sheet of pastel reflections, fractured by the wakes of puttering fishing boats. The Turkish coast has vanished in the mist and the rocks on the upper slopes of the Vigla gleam with dew in the sun. Municipal workers are making steady progress with Symi’s Christmas decorations and every night brings more lights. Householders are lagging behind a bit but then Greek Christmas is not the orgy of conspicuous consumption that it is in the West and I noticed in Rhodes on Wednesday that very few shops have received their Christmas stock yet. Even German discount chain, Lidl, was only just packing out the first baubles and tinsel amongst the baskets of cheap thermal underwear and back-to-school stationery offers. On a related retail note, regular British visitors who have occasionally been prevailed upon to bring various root vegetables to Symi in their luggage may be relieved to hear that Sotiris’ supermarket in Chorio now stocks parsnips on a regular basis.

The long spell of fine weather is expected to break this weekend with the possibility of thunder showers throughout Greece, starting from Saturday evening. Unsettled weather is forecast for most of next week and Greek winter in various forms may well be resuming from where it left off in mid November.

Walking down the Kali Strata this morning, I noticed that the ruined mansion house just next door to the old Glafkos Hotel has been tidied up. For many years it was an eye-catcher for photographers as a whole wall had blown over in a gale with the stones all still firmly attached to each other, resting gently in a shady garden of conifers and citrus. This surreal sheet of stone wall has now been dismantled and the stones neatly stacked, presumably for use when the house is rebuilt. A pallet of cement has arrived and is bundled under plastic sheeting against dew which would suggest that restoration will be commencing sooner rather than later.

In this winter sunshine picture you can see The Gate House (the white house at the top of the houses on the cliff, next to the ochre one). The roof tops of Iapetos Village Hotel and the tall conifers in the grounds of St John's church are in the foreground.

Have a good weekend.
Regards,

Adriana

On the Sunny Side

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:35:00 +0000

The weather on Symi remains unseasonably mild. Indeed not just Greece but the whole of the Mediterranean is enjoying some late season sunshine as a large area of high pressure dominates the weather over the area. After the deluges and stormy weather that marked the end of October and first half of November this is a welcome lull before winter resumes. High humidity means low cloud, mist and heavy dewfall. The Kali Strata, the historic flight of 400 or so steps that connections the old upper village, Chorio with the harbour, Yialos, is covered with a fine bloom of bright green moss and the stones are slick in the early morning. Snails glide slowly about their business and much of the new season’s growth looks decidedly nibbled around the edges.

With the low angle of the sun and mountainous terrain many north facing properties are now in shadow for most, if not all, of the day and it is the cafes on the sunny south-facing side of the harbour that are busiest at this time of the year. In the accompanying photos of the view from my office window taken at 10.30 this morning you can see this climatic difference between one side of the harbour and the other quite clearly.

The new Symi undercover sports facility in Chorio is making great progress, as you can see from this photo. That is the Taxiarchis hotel just visible, peeping out, at the right. I am sure they will be glad when the disruption of the building work is over.

Regards,
Adriana

Unexpected Places

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:03:00 +0000

It is a bright blue and white day on Symi. Small wooden fishing boats are puttering out across the bay, flags fluttering in the breeze. Around at Harani there is much scrubbing, scraping and rubbing going on as the water taxis and excursion boats have their bottoms cleaned of a summer’s worth of barnacles. Smaller boats are being hauled out on the customs slipway and it is that time of the year when café tables and chairs give way to boats on crates and cradles along the waterfront and tucked in lanes and unexpected places, often quite remote from the sea.

Temperatures are pleasantly mild with midday peaks in the mid twenties and evenings no lower than 15 degrees centigrade at the moment. The Pedi valley is a luminous patchwork of fresh green grass and the chocolate brown of newly ploughed fields. Little spires of bonfire smoke scent the air as farmers burn kermes oak prunings and clear the land for winter planting. Lupins, cyclamens and the ubiquitous Cape sorrel (Bermuda buttercups) are the most easily identifiable of the wild flowers on the terraces and stony places. On a clear Symi winter’s day one really does feel as though one can see forever.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Working Round the Clock

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:56:00 +0000

The weather on Symi remains clear and dry and there is an air of gritty determination on the island’s building sites as labourers toil on to catch up for days missed during the recent rains. Up in Chorio they have been working round the clock pouring concrete to complete the next phase on the undercover sports stadium behind the Taxiarchis Hotel. This should reach roof height in the next week or so if the weather remains fair.

Down in Pedi on Sunday it was all hands on deck to get the surfacing done over the main section of quay for the new marina. As you can see in the photographs the building supply ship came alongside the new quay and was able to dump gravel directly where the bulldozer could shovel it into position. The small utilities block is nearly completed and service pipes have been laid for water and electricity along the outer quay. The enclosed area is narrower than originally intended so there will not be room for yachts to come alongside on the inside of the quay. Yachts will have to moor stern to on the exposed outer side as they do in Yialos. It will however be considerably quieter as unlike Yialos yachtsmen will not have waterfront bars and other night time disturbances to contend with. As you can see from the photographs, the local small fishing boats are already in place along the inner shore line. At the moment the road around that side of Pedi is closed to vehicle traffic as part of it has been dug up in the course of the present works. The rest of Pedi is very quiet indeed.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Symi is Sparkling

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:46:00 +0000

After two days of alternating rain and rainbows, thunderstorms and rolling clouds, not to mention the odd passing waterspout, the wind has turned to the north and Symi is sparkling in a chill wintry breeze. Windy conditions are expected to prevail over Greece for the next for days and Symi will enjoy some dry, if chilly, weather. Temperatures will remain below 20 degrees over the weekend but may well be warmer in sheltered sunny areas.

Now that the Panormitis Festival is over, the ferries are now running on winter schedules. We remind late season visitors that these are subject to change and it is always advisable to allow some flexibility when travelling during the winter months. This year's visitors to the Panormitis Festival had a fairly bumpy ride home to Rhodes. These photographs were taken from the vehicle deck of the Symi II on Sunday 8 November 2009 and gives some idea of what sea conditions can be like at this time of the year, so remember to pack the Quells!

The Symi Gallery is opening its new exhibition in the cosy environs of the Two A’s Bar (ex Jean and Tonic) in Chorio tonight at 7.30 p.m. This will be an exhibition of print work in various media, featuring the work of Ian Hamilton Findlay, who was a Turner Prize nominee in 1985, as well as Stuart Brisley, widely considered the godfather of performance art in the UK, as well as prints by previous exhibitors Jytte Loehr, Paul Sanderson and Ian Haycox. There will also be contributions from artists from Canada, Scotland and England. So, if you are on Symi tonight, wrap up warmly and come along for a glass of wine and what promises to be a varied and interesting exhibition. The exhibition will continue for a month so if you can’t make it this evening, there will be plenty of opportunities.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Before the Next Rain

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:37:00 +0000

In the weeks I have been away Symi has made the transition from summer dust bowl to winter green. Good rains and mild temperatures have covered the island with a bright carpet of grass, moss and indigenous flora. The daintily painted leaves of the wild cyclamens turn barren stone terraces and cliffs into elegant gardens. In the vegetables gardens the last peppers and aubergines are ripening and chilli bushes make a final show before the falling temperatures send the plants into winter dormancy.

Symi has had some stormy weather but the rain held off long enough for the Panormitis Festival, see Out and About. The long range forecast shows lots more rain and thunder storms to come over the next few days, followed by some very heavy northerly winds at the weekend, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures for the whole of Greece. Down here in the south we will still be enjoying 12- 15 degrees centigrade but in the northern parts of Greece the thermometer will drop into single figures and the first night frosts have already been experienced.

Now that the Panormitis festival is over and the last visitors have left Symi is a very quiet island indeed. With most of the island’s male working population out on fishing boats, laboring on building sites or engaged in agricultural pursuits that need to be done before the next rain, Yialos is deserted. Coming down the Kali Strata this morning there was a bonfire burning in the grounds of one of the ruins as workmen prepare a site. Up in Chorio, Symi’s womenfolk are making the most of the dry spell to get bedding aired and washing dry before the next round of wet weather and every balcony is festooned. Not many Symi houses have space for tumble driers and indoor airers so every sunny day in the winter is used to best advantage. I am going home now to attend to a few agricultural and domestic chores myself before the rain comes. The potatoes were planted in my absence but there is still a lot to be done while temperatures are still mild enough for seeds to germinate.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Late Season Glamour

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:49:00 +0000

The tourist season may be drawing to a close on Symi but this quiet Greek island in the Dodecanese is still on the mega yacht cruising itinerary. Skat, the quasi-naval superyacht built by Lurssen for one time Microsoft Software Engineer and twice space tourist, Charles Simonyi, pulled into Yialos last night, giving the locals a touch of late season glamour. Painted battle ship grey, bristling with radar and communications gear and sporting a dinky helicopter, it looks sufficiently intimidating to be able to round the Horn of Africa without fear of attack from Somali pirates.

Megayachts and software millionaires aside, there are not many people around on Symi apart from residents, Symiot and otherwise. Pick up trucks stacked high with café tables and chairs inch round the waterfront and all the trappings of summer are being packed away into sheds and storerooms. The cafes that stay open are rigging winter awnings and dusting off their patio heaters. With fewer tourists staying on Symi or visiting from Rhodes, many businesses are working shorter hours and employing fewer staff. Others, like Symi Dream, are closing for a few weeks break and will then reopen in their winter format.

Temperatures are still mild for the time of the year but the weather is expected to break this weekend as the low pressure system that is working its way across Italy and mainland Greece reaches us, bringing several days of thunderstorms and, we hope, some much needed rain. http://www.ekathimerini.com/ has published the following:

Weather warning

The General Secretariat for Civil Protection yesterday issued a warning to local authorities that heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are likely to affect much of the country today and tomorrow. The Ionian Sea is expected to be the worst affected with southerly winds forecast to reach 8 or even 9 on the Beaufort scale. Winds are likely to intensify in the central and southern Aegean on Sunday and could affect scheduled passenger ferry itineraries

So it sounds as though winter is on its way!

This will be my last news update from Symi for a while as I am going on leave. I will be back on line on Symi on 10 November.

Regards,

Adriana

Still a Lively Place

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

It is a hot and hazy day on Symi. Occasional thunder clouds drift by and the temperature is once again hitting 30. Rain and showers are forecast for the whole of Greece but all we have had so far on Symi has been mud sprinkles and fleeting rainbows. Day trippers, fooled by the low clouds into thinking it will be a chilly day, are peeling off unwanted coats and fleeces and sunning themselves on the benches around Yialos. There’s not much movement among the water taxis and the beaches are packing away their sun beds and umbrellas for another year. In a few short weeks local boats will be hauled out on the same beaches in Pedi where visitors soaked up the summer sun in July and August.

At night there are fewer lights to be seen in the harbour as more houses are closed up for the winter and there are fewer people around. Evenings in the tavernas are cosier with more locals and fewer visitors. As you can see from the Out and About photos taken at Giorgio’s on Friday night, Chorio is still a lively place to be late in the season.

There have been significant changes to the ferry schedules as the shipping companies move towards their winter services and there are fewer boats around. For instance there is no longer an evening connection on Wednesdays, unless one waits for the big boat from Pireaus, the Ierapetra, which is currently scheduled to leave Rhodes at 10.30 p.m and passes through Symi at midnight. Extra trips to Panormitis are also being squeezed in to allow for the forthcoming festival on 8 November. Over the coming weeks more and more hawkers and stall keepers will arrive as the Panormitis Festival is as much a travelling market as a major religious event on the Dodecanese calendar.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana