A Frappe in the Sunshine

It is one of those spring days when it is definitely pleasanter out than in. Unfortunately we are doomed to be 'in' as we are putting the final touches to the May edition of the Symi Visitor but there are some fortunate souls out there, dozing in the sun. Most of them are of the furry four-legged variety but there are also a few people taking time out from the seasonal round of painting and decorating to enjoy a frappe in the sunshine. The northerly breeze has cleared away the haze and visibility in the best it has been in weeks. There are a few shreds of high cloud and the sea is a deep and chilly blue. The beaches in Pedi are still covered with boats and it will be a while yet before the various tavernas, water taxis and excursion boats start up for the season. Most of them are still being repainted and prepared for the season while the beach franchise operators remove the debris of winter storms and search for their missing sand, armed with shovels and wheelbarrows.

Meanwhile the ditch diggers dig on. They have started filling in some sections of the trench but it will be a while before the cement capping is poured. Still on the subject of roadworks, we have just heard that the roadgang will be back on the Pedi-Periotissa road from 5 May, this time getting on with the resurfacing and tarring. At least this should (she said, optimistically) be a relatively quick and quiet procedure in comparison to last year's interminable jackhammers.

With the shortage of charter flights to Rhodes the few tourists that are about tend to be either Germans or Greek, or those French and Italians who have properties here and are taking advantage of the Mayday bank holiday to spend celebrate Greek Easter. Things should be a bit busier next week when the flights start.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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Tomorrow is Lazarus Sunday

It is still overcast and hazy on Symi. There were several mud showers yesterday and judging by the low clouds and darkening sky there may well be more on the way. There is a chilly wind blowing across the harbour which makes it seem cooler than it is and there were white horses whipping across the bay towards Nimos earlier. Everyone seems to be waiting until the last possible minute to do the whitewashing this year - only those painting their houses ochre are proceeding as normal.

The road around our side of the harbour is closed at the moment as the great ditchdigging project continues (see webcam). Apparently it should be open again for Sunday. In the meantime the boats are coming in over on the other side of the harbour by the clock tower and the bus is operating from up by the fuel station - and the cars are parked up to the hairpin bend...

Tomorrow is Lazarus Sunday and then it is Palm Sunday so Holy Week or Big Week as it is called here will soon be upon us. There seem to be sheep tethered in all sorts of unlikely places, including the playing field of the gymnasium and the football pitch, and the butchers are taking orders for Easter lamb. Speaking of things tethered, there is a seriously pregnant donkey tied up among the oregano bushes on the way to our place. Viewed end on she has the voluptuous tumble-home of an old galleon so she cannot have much longer to wait. Returning after dark we proceed with caution as she sometimes lies down in one of the dips in the dirt road instead of on the verge. Although cars and trucks may be proliferating on the island there are still many places only accessible by donkey or mule train and until every last ruin around the Castro and in the remoter reaches of Chorio has been rebuilt, there will always be a need for donkeys on this island.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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It is time to forget about spinach

The big sandstorm which paralysed much of Greece also affected Symi with the thickest cloud of dust passing over the island in the early hours of this morning. We will be covering the story and its ramifications in greater detail in the May edition but suffice to say, not even the Symi was not allowed to run in this one and is only just about to depart for Rhodes now with a boat load of rather disgruntled tourists who spent an unscheduled weekend on board! We have heard that Rhodes airport has now reopened, as has Pireus so things should be back to normal soon. The forecast for the rest of the week remains unsettled with more southerly winds and possible rain on Friday and Saturday.

Unfortunately none of the rain which was supposed to accompany this latest storm fell on Symi apart from a few muddy spatters. It has been a very dry spring thus far and the grass is dying back in many places. The wild garlic only lasted a few days and it is only those plants whose defence mechanism for survival involves producing as many flowers as possible in a short time that are putting on a good show at the moment. This is one of those years when the poppies outnumber the yellow daisies. In the garden, despite daily watering, most of the radishes ran to seed without forming good roots and leaf crops are bolting. It is time to forget about spinach, parsley and lettuce and concentrate on tomatoes, courgettes and peppers. Digging up potatoes for dinner is becoming increasingly hard work and now involves cracking the crust with a pick!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Greek Easter Draws Near

The wet and stormy weather that has bedevilled Italy recently has headed in our direction. Thunderstorms have been passing over the island at frequent intervals since yesterday, bringing downpours, hail and squalls. The weather is expected to remain unsettled for the next 10 days or so with several more of these storm systems moving through the area. Strong winds are forecast for Sunday and Monday and again midweek with the possibility of more showers. This is all quite normal for this time of the year and usually we have more of it so we cannot really grumble! The clouds have brought cooler temperatures and it is about 18 degrees at midday and just under 10 at night.

The road is closed intermittently between the Symi Visitor office and towards the taxi rank as the pipe-laying project continues. There was an interesting interlude on Wednesday when the water main was perforated but the resultant gusher was quickly quenched. For the time being the ferry is docking on the other side, by the clock tower.

As Greek Easter draws near preparations are well underway. The grocers have special offers on flour and other ingredients necessary for the amazing amount of baking required and Zeferelli's 'Life of Christ' is being given away as a 4 DVD part-work, to be collected with the bulk packs of evaporated milk. One of the Greek Sunday papers is giving away DVDs of 'Quo Vadis' and we are entering into Biblical epic season on Greek television. Packets of red dye for eggs and boxes of firecrackers are prominently on display, along with processional candles decorated with silk flowers and ribbons.

Have an enjoyable weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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A Happy Haze of Ice Creams and Frappes

It has been abnormally warm for April the last few days but it is cooling down again now and today is overcast with high cloud. There is the possibility of some showers later in the week and some strong winds.

Down in the harbour they are digging again - this time it is a trench to take the water and electricity cables for the yacht service points which are being installed along this side of the quay. It is has been very noisy in the Symi Visitor office today, the only respite being when the fellow operating the cutting machine reached the extreme end of the hose pipe that was providing the cooling water for the blade. Things came to a sudden halt in a gush of water. The workmen have now adjourned for lunch.

It is the time of year when teenage school children make their cheerful round of Greece, visiting islands and historical sites in a happy haze of ice creams and frappes. This is as much an annual event as the fattening of the Pascal lambs which is taking place in many a lush field. This year, however, the annual 'massacre of the innocents' is on a rather larger scale. Some of you may have read in the latest Symi Visitor about the cull which is taking place on a variety of islands in order to reduce livestock numbers and alleviate erosion problems caused by over-grazing. Well, the cull on Symi starts later this week and some 2500 sheep and lambs comprising four flocks are to be culled. This will be with the supervision of a state appointed vet but will obviously take place over some time so walkers beware! We have not yet been informed of exactly where these culls will take place but the farmers have been given permission to sell on the meat as the animals are not diseased, merely being culled to reduce livestock numbers, so the tavernas should do well over Easter.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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The Heavy Scent of Orange Blossom

The day started off the colour of pigeon plumage with grey clouds and smooth pearl grey seas but has brighten considerably in the last few hours. It is expected to become quite warm this weekend with temperatures in the mid twenties this weekend. Cooler weather is forecast for next week. Although strong winds are expected in both the Ionian and the Aegean at this stage it looks as though they will give us a miss. There may be some disruptions to the big boat schedules if things turn bad in the central Aegean but the local service should not be affected (she said, optimistically!)

Spring flowers at Nimborio

The workmen are making good progress with rebuilding the big wall that collapsed behind the bus stop in heavy rains earlier in the year. It is quite a task as they are having to build a rampart along the top of the cliff and are working on a perilous scaffold. Lakis parks the bus rather gingerly at the moment as part of his space is occupied by a regularly replenished heap of stones for the masons and he also wants to avoid collecting any dislodged rocks on the roof of his bus. The replacement wall is securely glued together with cement mortar and has a few drainage holes so it is unlikely to suffer the same fate as its predecessor.

Business owners who winter elsewhere are returning to the island to prepare for the season. Every person one sees in the street seems to be in painting overalls and the bakeries sell out of spinach pies early in the day with so many Symiots eating on the run. There is a shortage of cement on the island and the hardware stores are doing a brisk trade. Meanwhile up in Chorio blankets, duvets and carpets are being washed and dried for summer storage and the heavy scent of orange blossom from the gardens mingles with those of detergent and fabric softener as terraces and balconies are turned into open air laundries.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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The First 'Official' Tourist Run

The weekend was wild, windy and cold with a northerly Force 9 blasting through the whole of Greece, disrupting shipping and sending everyone searching for blankets once again. The wind has steadily eased and today is partly cloudy. It is still quite chilly - only about 13 degrees - but it is expected to reach 24 degrees by the end of the week as the wind changes to the south. As there are a number of summer-house owners currently on the island, preparing their places for the season, the end-of-winter clearance of halogen heaters at various shops has been brisk!

The cold dry wind has speeded up the disappearance of the cyclamens and the grass is started to die back in many places. We have had a lower than average rainfall this year and it shows. Dracunculus vulgaris, the slightly sinister purple member of the arum family which makes its stately, albeit it stinky, appearance at this time of year in many parts of the island is looking distinctly droopy. March was a dry month and unless we have some good showers in April it is going to be a very long summer indeed.

Most of the shops opened today for the first time as the first 'official' tourist run took place today. The Symi has just docked (see webcam) having come through from Rhodes via Panormitis. As you can see, it's not exactly packed! The shortage of charter flights to Rhodes might have something to do with it.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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The Citrus Trees are Flourishing

Winter has trickled back this way, turning the whitewash to ochre in a mud drizzle that lasted all of yesterday. Temperatures have fallen throughout the country with snow on high ground and northerly gales in the Ionian and Aegean. It is heavily overcast and quite chilly. I will be moving quite a few plants back into the greenhouse as night time temperatures are expected to drop as low as 5 degrees for the next few evenings and with this wind direction it will be colder than that.

The damp weather has brought the slugs and snails out, eager to make the most of the all the spring greens. They seem particularly partial to my young coriander plants and lettuce seedlings and something has been munching its way through the petunia seedlings too. All my new potato plants are up and the radishes and carrots are plumping nicely. They seem to be winning the competition with the poppies but I have to be conscientious about weeding every day as they quickly gain the upper hand. The Valonia oak trees now have their full cover of fresh light green leaves and catkins. Drifts of pollen accompany every passing breeze. The olive trees are starting to flower and we will soon be able to see if it is likely to be a good crop or not. The citrus trees are flourishing and, as the hens are giving us more eggs than we can eat at the moment, lemon curd seems to be a logical way of preserving some of the glut.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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