In the Sunshine on Saturday

The Taxiarchis Hotel surrounded by daisies at the border between Chorio and the Pedi Valley.

Wild Pear Blossom

Waiting for warmth - no new leaves yet on the Valonia oaks.

The Nireus Hotel is still wrapped up for the winter.  As are Sofia's House and Sofia's Apartment next door.
 In May the waterfront here is pretty with umbrellas, cafe tables and sunbeds.

The Proteus lies alongside in Yialos, awaiting her fate.  To the right, the waterfront tavernas have taken their tables outside so that the interiors can be repainted and cleaned for the first visitors in April.

Small boats like theser are used by the locals to go out fishing  on sunny days in the winter.

After a gloriously springlike weekend winter reappeared all over Greece in the course of Sunday. Many parts of Greece have experienced heavy snowfall, not just in mountainous areas but also in Athens and as far south as the Peloponnese. Here on Symi we have had torrential rain since Sunday evening and the usual Clean Monday activities of picnics in the countryside and the flying of kites were a complete wash out. The waterfront cafes in Yialos were relatively busy as locals sought refuge from the weather and the lone taverna open on the waterfront at this time of the year was packed. With gale force winds and a shipping ban we are unlikely to see the Blue Star ferry anytime soon as the weather is not expected to improve before Thursday. Anticipated lows for Rhodes and Symi tonight are in the region of 3 degrees centigrade and it is unlikely to climb much over 6 degrees centigrade tomorrow. There is a good reason why local farmers don't believe winter is over in our corner of the Mediterranean Basin until at least 15 March. Lent is off to a soggy and sombre start.

As I am sure everyone knows what a rainy day looks like at this time of the year I decided to share with you some photographs I took in the sunshine on Saturday - a reminder that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

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Civil Unrest? No, Haggling over Fish.

Civil unrest?  No, haggling over fish.

Today is one of those early spring days where everyone one meets exclaims, ‘What a glorious day!’ and yearns to be out of doors.  Indeed, looking through my office window, this is the most people I have seen out on the streets since I returned from South Africa 3 weeks ago.  No they are not having a protest meeting or staging a demonstration, despite the sensationalist obsessions of the foreign media and the alarmist propaganda of the British Foreign Office.  They are standing around in the sun, buying fish for Clean Monday and discussing the merits of the different kinds of seafood that have just been brought in on the fishing boats.  It is the final weekend of Carnival and Clean Monday, a day traditionally spent in the countryside, flying kites and eating seafood picnics, marks the beginning of Lent for Orthodox Greeks.  Speaking of the media, there is a Greek film crew on the island today, filming Symi in the sunshine.  Something that the international press often forget to mention is that Greece is actually a very safe country  and has an enviably low crime rate.  This is particularly apparent in the areas mainly visited by tourists.  One of the reasons why a place like Symi is so popular with single women as a holiday destination is that one can walk home alone at any time of the night without fear or threat and there are not many places in the world where one can truly say that.

A Welcome Sight

 The sky is cloudless blue, the sea calm and clear.  Spring flowers blanket the hills and valleys and the first poppies are opening.  Walking to work I saw munching sheep and, oh joy, the Blue Star ferry!  While the car ferry situation is still precarious with no long term schedules available as yet, it is reassuring that the Blue Star is flexible enough to make a detour through Symi en route from Pireaus to Rhodes. As the Blue Star Diagoras then continues to Kastellorizon the departure from Rhodes will be quite late this evening but it does mean that goods and vehicles have another opportunity to reach the island. For regular updates on how to get to Symi, my companion blog written by Andy Ward is a mine of information on the subject and is not just aimed at British visitors either.  He covers flight details from other countries of origin too, as well as monitoring the ferry situation.  If you are a Facebook person, you can also catch up with the updates on our Symi Visitor Accommodation Facebook page.  For day to day life on the island, www.symidream.com is also entertaining reading.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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A Walk in the Winter Sun

Wild cyclamens growing from a gate on the Kali Strata.  

Somehow the fat purple tubers find enough space between the dressed stones to survive from one year to the next, inaccessible unless the masonry is actually taken apart, and provide a charming floral interlude each winter.

Sunshine and shade in a lane off the Kali Strata. 

That is the little monastery on Nimos visible across the water in the background.  The puddle on the paving is the only clue to the recent heavy rain, that and the small clump of weeds at the base of the wall.  It is not unusual to find sheep browsing on the wild flowers on the Kali Strata at this time of the year.  Free grazing is always welcome.

Arbour Day?

Much to the amazement of many, Symi Town Hall has embarked upon a tree planting campaign in the town square in Yialos.  It is a strange location to be planting a new forest but no doubt the story behind it will be revealed eventually.  The first hurdle will be how well the saplings survive the annual carnival festivities that will be taking place in the square this weekend.  The children present their tableaux on the stage currently half-hidden by the diggers and plastic chairs are laid out in rows on the area now being planted.

A place in the sun.

At this time of the year many houses, such as Villa Iris and Spiti Grand Helene, are still closed up for the winter but those that are occupied are easily identified by the rugs and blankets airing over the balconies on sunny days.

Some Chorio cats soaking up the winter sunshine. 

This is the lane that leads from the Cottage to the shops and tavernas in the village.  In a few weeks that green patch will be a mass of yellow daisies and by the time the July tourists are here the same path will be baked bare.  Only the cats remain constant.  Symi's face changes with the seasons and there is always something new to look at, even as one walks the same paths and byways.  

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

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Still Beautiful

Storm clouds over the Kastro

After a week of grey skies and squally weather Symi is in bright winter sunshine today.  The north wind froze the puddles on the Vigla overnight and it was only 4 degrees in my kitchen this morning.  February is often the coldest month of the year, even though Easter is only weeks away.  The first tourists arrive in April, including an international team of herpetologists, a classicist and visitors from all over the world who want to experience Greek Easter at first hand and enjoy the spring flowers.  The forecast for the next few days looks promising, with wind and clouds rather than hail and thunderstorms on the menu.  For those who associate Greek islands with endless sunshine and blue skies, I have taken some photographs of what Symi really looks like at this time of the year.  Still beautiful, but not the land of the travel brochures.

I wonder what stories this old barred window in Chorio has to tell.

Even the walls become gardens in the rainy season.

Back yard chickens are an increasingly common sight.

The Proteus has made her last trip of the winter to Rhodes before going in for her annual maintenance and inspection.  Dodecanese Seaways have put up their schedule for March which, at present, seems to be the same as February, with boats to and from Symi only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The Mayor is negotiating for the Blue Starferry to stop at Symi more often until the Dodecanese Seaways car ferry, the Panagia Skiadeni, comes into service.  Getting people to and from Symi is only part of the equation – it is getting vehicles and freight on and off that is the real challenge as the old network of trading caiques that was operational around the islands as recently as 25 years ago has long since been replaced with big refrigerated trucks and long-haul lorries which require big car ferries to deliver their goods.  

Leafless and dormant - the oldest oak tree in Lieni waits for spring.

Lemons in Lieni

Despite all the gloom about Greece in the international press there are plenty of people, regular visitors and new comers, who are expressing their solidarity with the Greeks and booking their holidays here.  It is when times are hard that true friendship shows.  Thank you very much to all of you.  The politicians cannot take away Greece’s beautiful scenery, lively culture and friendly welcome.  These ancient hills and bays have seen thousands of years of history – the latest news is only a brief blip on the timeline.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

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