Adriana's Symi

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Delightful in the Sun

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:32:00 +0000

It is a breezy spring day on Symi, chilly in the shade but delightful in the sun. Midday temperatures are in the twenties and evenings are still cool. In the Pedi valley the lizards and snakes are waking up, sunning themselves on the warm stones but never far from the safety of hiding places in the old dry stone walls and terraces. In Yialos and Chorio feral cats are snoozing on sunny dust bin lids, delicately alert to the next interesting deposit to come their way. Looking out of my office window, a local fisherman is busy whacking an octopus against the quay to tenderize it. The Proteus is due in from Rhodes shortly so trucks are gathering on the dock. It is always a scramble on a Friday as the boat continues northwards and there is only a short interval in which to get passengers, goods and vehicles off the boat before it leaves again.

Other parts of Greece are still experiencing quite blustery weather and there is the possibility of showers and thunderstorms throughout Greece over the next few days with winds touching Force 8 in the Aegean. It might be sunny on Symi but the weather in the Mediterranean does not really stabilize until June so if you are visiting our part of the world in the next few weeks do remember to bring some warm clothes as well as summery things.

If you are on Symi at the moment, the local dancing school is giving a free concert at the convention centre at the Opera House Hotel at 18.00 tonight.

In answer to those of you who have emailed, asking if Symi is being affected by current economic crisis and strikes, life is still very quiet and undisturbed on our little island on the far side of Greece but if you are travelling via Athens you may see picket lines in central Athens if it is a protest day. The only strikes likely to affect visitors are those of air traffic controllers and taxis and these have been happening for years!

Have a good weekend,

Regards,

Adriana

Burnished and Rosy

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:32:00 +0000

Symi basked in exceptionally fine and sunny weather over the Easter long weekend this year and everyone who took a gamble on the weather to come to Symi for the Easter break was happy that they did so. The clouds are rallying and we may well be in for some stormy weather across Greece in the days to come but by that time the Easter visitors will be heading home, burnished and rosy. Mike Gadd and Wendy Wilcox are sorting through the hundreds of Easter photos taken over the festivities so you can expect to see some on Out and About soon.

After the early Easter flurry Symi will go quiet again for a few weeks until the tourist season officially starts in May. The excursion boats and water taxis are still in the boatyard in Harani or on the beach in Pedi. The Nireus Hotel opened its doors and put up its nice new umbrellas for the Easter holiday but there is still a lot of painting and decorating going on in that part of the harbour and many businesses that opened for Easter will be continuing with their annual maintenance and refurbishments in the lull before the season proper begins.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Ceremonies and Festivities

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:59:00 +0000

It is a breezy spring day on Symi. Birds are chirruping in the lane and gulls are wheeling over the harbour, chasing bits of bread tossed on the waves by passing visitors. The island has been steadily filling up as Symiots from all over Greece return to Symi for the Easter celebrations and every ferry arrival brings happy reunions. There are lots of young people around as the universities and colleges are closed for the holidays and Symi’s youthful population has returned to help with the ceremonies and festivities.

Visitors who have never been to Greece at Easter may be surprised at the seriousness with which Easter is celebrated here in comparison to the commercial chocolate fest that it has become in many Western countries. Indeed for many Symiots nothing more substantial than halva is consumed this week as even those who don’t fast for the whole of Lent do so for Big Week. In the Greek islands Easter is definitely a religious event rather than an excuse for a four day bank holiday and being able to share all aspects of the festival with close family members is important. Tomorrow evening, Good Friday, the bells will toll as each parish has its candlelit procession with icons and funerary biers. It is taboo for carpentry work to be done on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. On Saturday evening everyone goes to church to celebrate the Resurrection at midnight with the customary fireworks and dynamite, followed by the traditional breaking of the fast with mayeritsa soup. Early on Sunday, fires are lit for the roasting of lambs and the day is spent in convivial celebration, culminating with the burning of the effigy of Judas in the harbour.

Have a good weekend, and Kalo Pasca everyone!

Regards,

Adriana

Very Greek

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:19:00 +0000

It is a cloudy day and we woke up to growling thunder and distant lightning. So far the showers have skirted Symi and are hanging about over the Turkish coast. At the moment it looks as though Symi will be set fair for the Greek Easter long weekend. The bells have been tolling intermittently since last night as the solemn order of service for Big Week has commenced. Many of the island women wear black for the week before Easter, even if they are not widows, and this is a period of great solemnity. It is also a period of great activity as there is so much to be done in preparation for the Easter Sunday feast while at the same time attending all the appropriate church services. Many of the Symiot men are busy with the slaughtering of the hundreds of lambs and kids that make up the mainstay of the feast and the sound of bleating as sheep are transported by the truckload, combined with the tolling of the bells, is very much a soundtrack for the island at this time of the year. On a more cheerful note, the Easter chocolate has finally arrived and chocolate praline eggs, big chocolate eggs wrapped in foil printed with all the popular Greek football clubs and chocolate hens decorated with sugar flowers are all available at the supermarkets in Chorio. For those wishing to make a statement, chocolate Father Christmases are also for sale at selected outlets in Chorio. Not a Hot Cross Bun to be seen but there are plenty of traditional Greek Easter cookies to be found in the bakeries. The lanes of Chorio are wonderfully fragrant with mastic, vanilla and aniseed.

Down in the harbour preparations for the first tourists continue. Pickup trucks laden with tottering piles of café chairs and pot plants trundle round the harbour and the dress code at Pachos is definitely paint-spattered work clothes. It will be several weeks yet before the water taxis, beach tavernas and excursion boats come into operation as these don’t start until May but the harbour cafes and tavernas are opening up for Easter trade.

Today’s photographs were taken while waiting for the Symi II to come in on Saturday afternoon and show octopi hanging out to dry in a safe outside Mr Tasty’s taverna. A very Greek usage of a road sign.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

A Breezy Spring Day

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:06:00 +0000

It is a breezy spring day on Symi. Birds are chirruping in the lane outside the Symi Visitor Accommodation office and municipal workers are busy hosing down the waterfront with a big seawater pump. A fisherman is whacking an octopus against the quay to tenderize it. With longer days, bright mornings and sunny weather everyone seems to be getting up and about earlier and for once we aren’t anticipating the leap to European Summer Time on Sunday with reluctance. Some years the clocks change but the weather remains wet, grey and gloomy whereas this year apart from the possibility of a passing mud shower on Sunday spring is running well ahead of schedule. It is now a month since the last proper rain on Symi and March has been unusually dry.

The cable-laying crew got as far as the Aliki Hotel, filled their trench with sand, loaded their gear onto the Ierapetra car ferry on Saturday and disappeared. Looks like Symi will have to wait a while longer for its fibre optic cables and high speed internet access. The Nimborio road is being concreted, not tarred as originally stated. As the concrete is being poured in sections, during which, of course, the road is closed, and each section has to harden for two days before it can take traffic, vehicle access to Nimborio is effectively closed for the next week or so. The contractors say they don’t know how long it will take as it depends on all sorts of variables. In the hour I was out there on Wednesday afternoon their bulldozer broke down and closed the road so this could take a while… Walkers can get across via the mountain path across Drakounta and many Nimborio residents are putting their boats in the water rather earlier than usual.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Poppies and Peas

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:07:00 +0000

Symi is shining in the spring sun. Blue skies, calm seas and busy people cleaning, scrubbing, painting and varnishing. The fishing boats in the harbour are relaying their moorings to make space for visiting yachts and ferries. The road gang is hard at work, widening and grading the road to Nimborio. The whitewashing of the Kali Strata steps is nearly done. With all this activity down in the harbour the bakeries sold out of cheese and spinach pies much earlier than usual today. The gyros bars are switching to their Big Week menus of seafood and taramasalata. Big Week, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the week running up to Easter, when even those who don’t normally observe the Lenten fast often cut out meat and anything containing blood. The butchers in the harbour and Chorio have signs up advising Symiots to place their orders NOW for Easter lambs, kids and other Easter specialities.

Houses are being aired and every Symi balcony boasts its fair share of rugs, carpets, quilts and blankets. A well known harbour hound actually took his first paddle of the year this morning but most of the island’s human inhabitants are leaving swimming until the sea has warmed up a bit more. After months of abnormally high tides and flooded shoreline we now have the opposite and visiting Pedi yesterday some of the boats were actually aground. A high pressure system over the Eastern Mediterranean combined with the equinoctial spring low is responsible for this sudden drop in sea levels. The countryside is lush with spring flowers and the bees are having a wonderful time in the poppies that have opened in my pea fields.

Thursday 25 March is the Feast of the Annunciation and also the commemoration of the start of the Greek War of Independence. It is a public and religious holiday in Greece and even those who are striking may well put their placards down for the day and wave flags instead as parades take place in every town and village in Greece.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Convivial Work

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:47:00 +0000

It is a clear sunny spring day on Symi. Fields of poppies are nodding in the cold northerly breeze and we are all wrapped up against the chill but if one can find a spot out of the wind it is very pleasant indeed. As the scented cyclamens fade away in the drought, bright billows of yellow and white daisies are taking their place and spires of deep blue lupins rise above the greenery. The workmen busy tiling the roof of the new sports stadium up in Chorio are still in anoraks and woolly hats despite the bright sunshine and pause at frequent intervals to warm numb fingers and gaze out over the Pedi valley.

Seasonal preparations are well under way in the harbour and there is a whiff of fresh paint on the air. It may be cold but at least it is dry and everyone can get on with painting, varnishing and other outside maintenance – convivial work as people stop to admire each other’s handiwork and exchange gossip and cigarettes. On Wednesday the Dodecanese Seaways catamaran brought a few day trippers over from Rhodes and I saw at least one optimistic tourist shop displaying flimsy kaftans and drifty sundresses to potential customers more interested in scarves and mittens.

The long range forecast remains clear and dry with no prospects of rain on the horizon. Temperatures will remain below seasonal averages and the northerly wind will persist.

The road around Harani and on to Nimborio is closed at the moment. Work has commenced on widening the Nimborio road and at the same time the channel is being dug round the harbour for the new fibre-optic cables for OTE, the telephone company. Apparently the waterfront road around Yialos will be closed to cars all day on Sunday while this is done and only pedestrians, bicycles and motorbikes will be able to get through. Other news is that Dodecanese Seaways will be running a regular service out of Symi in April.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Delicious Spring Weather

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:54:00 +0000

After a glorious weekend of delicious spring weather a brisk north wind whisked in during the night, sending temperatures plummeting around Greece. Chilly winds are forecast for the rest of the week and temperatures on Symi will be around 18-20 degrees centigrade at midday, falling to about 10 degrees centigrade at night. Not quite time to pack away the duvets and sweaters just yet.

With the first visitors expected for Easter at the end of this month and the Symi II commencing day trips to Panormitis and Yialos with effect from tomorrow there is a sudden flurry of activity in the harbour. The owners of tourist shops are dusting, polishing and painting with gusto. It may be windy but the air is clean at the moment and visibility is good. The sandstorms of last week have been blown back to Cairo and the sky is blue instead of pink.

Easter stock is appearing in the shops at last – big wheels of cheese, sacks of flour and packets of ammonia and yeast for Easter baking, sachets of red, green, yellow and blue dye for colouring eggs, tall processional candles decorated with sprays of flowers and small toys – and amongst it all, a few imported chocolate rabbits. More chocolate may appear in the shops later but it is not a big feature of Greek Easter and in these times of austerity measures and the like, it is traditional delicacies that are at the forefront. The run up to Easter is a culinary marathon for the housewives of Symi as traditional koulouria (biscuits) and cheese pies are prepared by the hundred. Once the cake tins are full it is time to start on the Easter feast preparations. This being a hands-on sort of place, many an unsuspecting lamb is munching his last in the family allotment and will soon fulfill his function in life on a slow turning spit on 4 April.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

An Invitation to a Veritable Banquet

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:03:00 +0000

It is the season for the annual battle between sandstorms and whitewash as the Greeks scrub and paint in anticipation of Easter and nature repeatedly covers the country in a fine crust of Saharan dust. For those who really couldn’t be bothered about gleaming paintwork and dazzling white walls, spring is an invitation to a veritable banquet of lush greenery as today’s photos show. Only the ancient blue car, which has been home to poultry, rabbits and pigs at various times in its history since it ceased to be roadworthy gives a clue to regular visitors that this is actually on the Pedi road and from June to October is just a dusty bit of hillside with an old blue car abandoned in it.

Higher up, at the top of the Pedi Valley, the tiles have arrived for the new undercover sports stadium and the workmen are wrestling with large sheets of rock wool insulation. Down in Yialos, the harbour, it is surprisingly quiet. The Asian hawker with his station wagon full of cheap Chinese ghetto blasters and plastic novelties has drifted on to a different island, taking his techno-pop and talking dolls with him. A huddle of heavy vehicles waits at the clock tower in anticipation of tomorrow’s Pireaus car ferry. Locals hang about in Pachos cafeneion, drinking thick black coffee and discussing the economy, or lack thereof. With the fine pall of dust still hanging in the air there is little point in washing taverna tables or painting shutters. The Proteus will be in from Rhodes in a couple of hours and then Yialos will be galvanized into action as everyone rushes to unload stock and collect ordered items but for now Yialos is quiet and biding its time.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Fruit and Flowers

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:22:00 +0000

Sunday was calm and cloudy and conditions were perfect for the Dodecanese Day Parade. It was very much the calm before the storm as the weather deteriorated in the late afternoon and by early this morning Symi was being lashed by a full blown Force 10 south-easterly wind which is showing no signs of abating. Rhodes airport is closed due to gusts of 82 kilometres per hour and all passenger vessels have been stopped in the Aegean. At the moment many are sheltering at anchor in the lee of Rhodes and other islands, unable to dock with safety.

We took advantage of the still conditions on Sunday morning to make sure our boat was well secured against the forthcoming blow. Sitting out in the middle of Pedi bay in the dinghy I realized to what extent that view would have been THE view of Symi in the days before the neoclassical buildings of the late nineteen century were built in Yialos. The castro, or the remnants thereof, perched on top of its acropolis and the houses huddled round for safety. The fertile fields and orchards of the Pedi valley rolling down to the sea. The Symiots with their pirate steps leading to look out points on the rooftops of Chorio would have had plenty of warning of the arrival of trouble.

Wild weather aside, when it is good it is very very good on Symi at this time of the year. Bees droning in the lavender, citrus trees laden with fruit and flowers - and drifts of dainty pink cyclamens continue to perfume the air in every patch of shade.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Yellow Freesias

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:56:00 +0000

Spring is struggling to put in an appearance on Symi this week as strong winds alternate with grey calms and the temperatures are still fighting to rise above 20 degrees. Muddy patters of rain turn cars from white to dusty pink and the horizon has disappeared in the humid haze that southerly winds always bring to this part of Greece in March and April. Regular Symi Visitor Accommodation webcam viewers will have noticed the rise and fall of the sea level in Symi harbour as cars splash through the floods outside Pachos whenever the barometer drops.

As the new tourist season approaches the ferry service is improving and the Proteus comes back into service today in addition to the Symi II. Dodecanese Seaways has slotted in another trip to Symi midweek so it is now possible for visitors to Rhodes to come over to Symi for the day on a Wednesday in March. The ferry schedules for April, however, still have not been announced and at present the ANES schedule only covers the Easter long weekend.

Down in Pedi work has ceased on the marina, due to the inevitable cash flow problems caused by the economic crisis. Fortunately the work men tidied up before they left so that side of Pedi is actually in better shape than this time last year and the concrete road along the front towards Agia Marina is no longer awkward to navigate. Today’s photograph shows Alla and George Hadzipetros’ delightful cottage garden just beyond the Pedi Katoi and Pedi Anoi. The massed yellow freesias smell wonderful.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Fallen Almond Blossom

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:45:00 +0000

It is a calm grey day on Symi with high cloud and a hazy horizon. The water level in the harbour has finally dropped after a second weekend of floods caused by abnormal spring tides combined with barometric lows. Vehicles from the island of Symi are readily identifiable by the mechanics and car washes on Rhodes as they are famously rusty underneath from driving through salt water in Yialos, Pedi and Panormitis in the winter. The Lunar Park packed up and departed on the big boat on Saturday afternoon so the town square in Yialos is once again providing parking above the high tide level. Shop and property owners are getting fed up by the constant flooding this winter as ground floor sea level properties are very damp with salt water seeping up through the flagstones and foundations – a reminder of why the quayside in Yialos has been repeatedly widened and raised over the years, not to mention the building of the bridge at the head of the harbour and the exaggeratedly raised pavements around the waterfront.

We may be approaching the spring equinox but the long range forecast for this week is very unsettled with midday temperatures still hovering at 19 degrees centigrade and some strong winds on the agenda. Nights are mild with temperatures around 10 degrees centigrade and on windless evenings it is perfectly possible to sit outside. On a clear night the stars are astonishingly bright and at the moment we are enjoying a glorious full moon. Moonlight shining on the fallen almond blossom is the closest we are likely to get to snow on Symi this year.

The ANES ferry schedules up to 5 April are now available on line so Easter visitors to Symi can make some plans. The schedules for Dodecanese Seaways still only cover March with a service to Symi on Sundays only. Please remember that all ferry schedules are subject to the weather as safety is put ahead of customer convenience and it is not always possible for boats to dock in Rhodes in a strong easterly swell.

Regards,

Adriana

Symi Spring Holiday

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:19:00 +0000

After a week of squally weather and thundershowers Symi is enjoying a brief sunny interlude before the next front arrives on Saturday. With mild temperatures and lengthening days the island’s vegetation is growing at an amazing rate. Anyone venturing out for a walk between showers cannot fail to return with bunches of delicately scented pale pink cyclamens. Indigo blue lupins and scarlet poppies are unfurling in the sunny spots and ribbons of small white daisies and flowering garlic edge the verges. Silvery pink asphodels poke up through the rocky slopes and everywhere there is the sound of munching as the sheep do what sheep do best. For those of you coping with winter snow and floods, you can take a 5 minute Symi spring holiday by clicking here and joining Symidream for a walk in the Pedi valley. Yes, it really is like that – when it isn’t raining.

Down in Yialos the annual preparations for the season have begun. With Easter so early this year everyone is off to an early start despite the weather. There is much wrestling with swollen doors and shutters as businesses that have been closed since October are assessed by the owners and job lists drawn up. Carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers and metal workers are psyching themselves up for the frenzy that is March. February is a hard month in the islands and there are many who will be glad to be back at work after a month or so of drinking coffee in Pachos and watching the rain come down.

The Symi II is making a trip to Datca tomorrow. It was supposed to make this trip last Saturday but gale force winds prevented the Symi II from ever leaving Rhodes. The usual Datca excursion boats, the Triton and the Poseidon, are both still on the hard in Harani, being repainted and prepared for inspection for licenses for the forthcoming season, as are the water taxis. Apart from a few fishing boats and the occasional ferry or naval patrol Yialos is empty at this time of the year and it will be some weeks yet before cruising boats pulling out of Turkish marinas after the winter start to call into Symi before heading off into the Aegean and Mediterranean

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Innocently Fattening

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:25:00 +0000

It is a cool clear day on Symi, a peaceful interlude after a stormy weekend. Once again the barometer dropped so low that the harbour was flooded in places on Saturday and there were heavy showers and strong winds overnight. The captain and crew of the Piraeus-Rhodes vessel, the Ierapetra, had to do some complicated manoeuvres to dock in Symi harbour on Saturday afternoon. With a strong on-shore wind blowing it was uncertain whether they would manage to get the ramp down safely and all the vehicles aboard without being blown across the harbour. At one point there was a huge amount of tension on the warps as the boat was winched into position and the ramp had to be raised again to prevent it demolishing the navigation light at the end of the quay. Yes, that is a bit of the Nireus Hotel, well wrapped up in plastic drop cloths, just visible on the right hand side. It is amazing how different Symi looks in the winter… Not an umbrella or sun-lounger to be seen.

The gaudy revolving dinosaurs have moved from the waterfront and are now part of a Luna Park which is currently set up in Symi town square. Carnival might be over in the rest of Greece but on Symi the party lingers on.

The weather forecast for Greece remains unsettled for the rest of the week with more wind than rain on the horizon for Symi as we move towards the spring equinox. The days are getting longer and warmer with temperatures around 20 degrees at midday, dropping to around 10 degrees at night. The Easter lambs are fattening innocently on a diet of lush spring grasses and the local ladies are stocking up on ingredients for the traditional Easter baking – little cheese pies, koulouria and other seasonal delicacies. The countdown to Pascha 2010 has begun.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Sheep and Laundry

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:32:00 +0000

It is a still spring day on Symi. The almond trees are humming with contented bees and sheep are munching on every patch of greenery. There was heavy dew last night and walking to work this morning down the mossy Kali Strata I had to tread carefully on the slick stones. Humidity is currently at about 90%, a marked contrast to the dry dust storm conditions of last week. Unfortunately this brief spell of settled weather is set to break on Sunday as the front currently raining over Italy heads our way and we can once again look forward to strong winds, thunderstorms and rain sweeping across Greece. The housewives of Symi are hard at work, washing and airing what they can before the next onslaught. As you can see from the photos, sheep and laundry do mix on Symi!

The new ANES timetable for next week is finally available on line. It only shows a limited service with the Symi II, which has just had its annual maintenance, as the Proteus is due for her own inspection. As this means that for the rest of February there won’t be boats every day do check carefully if planning to travel. The Proteus only comes back into service on 5 March. The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran still only stops at Symi on Sundays. There is a big Pireaus boat twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday, but as this can be delayed or cancelled if the weather is bad in the Aegean this is not to be relied upon if timing is tight.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

The Sunny Side of Pedi Bay

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:56:00 +0000

It is a blustery winter’s day on Symi. As the wind is from the south temperatures are fairly mild but the sky is grey and the sea lumpy. The few boats left in the harbour are tugging restlessly at their lines and gulls are wheeling over head. This is all a marked contrast to Clean Monday where the sky cleared as if by appointment at midday, just as everyone was starting their picnics, and the howling gales of the weekend were replaced by a steady westerly breeze. At the Pedi Katoi on the sunny side of Pedi Bay where we held our celebrations the water was actually warm enough in the shallows for some brave souls to take a dip. The long range forecast remains unsettled but with rather less rain than we had in January.

Lent proper has now begun and the handful of tavernas still open at this time of the year are offering traditional fasting foods such as mussels, calamari and octopus. The island’s butchers have cut back on their meat stocks and topped up their freezers with fish and shellfish. In traditional communities such as this one seasonal eating habits still prevail and every shop and household has a calendar of the saints and name days, identifying the various fast days and dietary prohibitions throughout the year.

Here are some scenic shots taken in Pedi on Monday afternoon. For more holiday photos, see Out and About.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Carnival in Greece

mike-gadd@ntlworld.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

It is Carnival in Greece and a long weekend as Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece. Despite gale force winds and a shipping ban a brightly coloured children’s merry-go-round has appeared on the waterfront, a jolly sight in the economic gloom. We just hope that it is only passing through for the holiday as Symi in the long term isn’t really plastic dinosaur country. The shops and kiosks are selling kites and pickles for Monday’s kite-flying picnics and masks, streamers and fancy dress costumes for Sunday’s revelleries.

The long range weather forecast remains unsettled with the possibility of showers over the weekend and some very strong winds, mostly from the south so temperatures remain mild for the time of the year, around 17 degrees centigrade at midday, dropping to around 10 degrees at night. Other parts of Greece are not faring so well though as they are experiencing strong northerly winds and snow.

The ferry schedules are still in disarray after the storms of Wednesday and Thursday and at the last minute today’s Symi-Rhodes-Kastellorizo-Rhodes-Symi run was replaced by Symi-Rhodes-Tilos-Nissyros-Kos with the result that a lot of people who thought they had a 10 hour shopping trip to Rhodes had to either get everything done in 2 hours or stay overnight and catch the big Pireaus ferry back which leaves Rhodes at 17.30 on Saturday afternoon. Although Monday is a public holiday at present ANES is showing a Rhodes-Tilos-Nissyros-Kos route. As usual, we advise anyone intending to travel at this time of the year to double check all arrangements – and always have a Plan B just in case the unexpected turns Plan A on its head.

As this office will be closed for the holiday, I will post my next blog on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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