The wild thyme bushes are waking up on the hills..

Thunder heads continue to mass on the horizon and grumble round about but Symi itself has remained dry and warm all weekend. A stiff breeze is blowing across the Nimos channel and we have just closed the windows despite the heat, growing bored with chasing bits of paper around the office. Gulls bob sideways in the chop and yachts heel hard over in the squalls as they head for Yialos. The light is changing from gold to mauve as the rumbles grow - perhaps this inky anvil will pass over us instead of sliding round. There is an electric whiff in the air and the birds that nest in the office roof are restless.

The geraniums I tucked between the hibiscus bushes in the planter outside the office door are starting to look as though they have taken root. Speaking of hibiscus bushes, the municipality has replaced a number of the winter-ravaged shrubs around the harbour periphery with these to good effect. The oleanders on the road out of the town are all in full bloom now. It is interesting to note that the ones on the Pedi side which had the benefit of sunshine during the winter are doing considerably better than the ones on the Yialos side. Even so, the heavy trusses of opulent white, cream, pink, cerise and wine coloured flowers have certainly livened up a bleak bit of roadside. The wild thyme bushes are waking up on the hills - neat cushions of tiny purple flowers very different to the pale garden varieties. The palm trees in front of Pachos are sprouting fresh new leaves and look quite promising now after their spring haircut. The geese pose for photographs with the tourists and the ducks are still terrorising the harbour cats.

Despite the odd nerve-jangling jackhammer beneath the windows and the minor inconvenience of not having had any water in the office all day as they are working on the pipes (we don't have a cistern), there are definitely worse places to be when sitting in front of a computer all day - and few could possibly be better!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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Tipsy pink hollyhocks and faded blue thistles..

As it is newspaper time once again I set off early this morning, long before the sun cleared the hills above Pedi. Most of the hay has been cut and is drying in the fields, golden in the oblique rays of dawn. The lush show of spring has given way to tipsy pink hollyhocks and faded blue thistles. Tangles of pale bindweed straggle in the fences and the last wild campanula wilt among the lizards in the dry stone walls. But there is another quiet spectacle waiting in the wings to reward the early risers on a summer's morning.

The first sign that there is something useful amidst the straw is the sight of various locals bent double and stuffing things into blue plastic bags. No, it is not snails - those have long since sealed themselves up in their shells to survive the summer. It is the first tender shoots of the caper bushes that are attracting attention now. These are picked and brined in the same way that the buds will be prepared when they start to appear in the next week or so. Caper flowers are amazingly opulent and extremely short-lived, budding overnight and opening at dawn. Late risers would never know they existed as the delicate papery petals burn away to nothing when touched by the sun.

Yesterday's rain lasted only a few minutes on Symi but other places were not as lucky. Up in the north Thessalonika had floods. In Athens the downpours were heavy enough to disrupt traffic. Most extraordinary of all, however, was the SLEET which hit parts of Crete and laid waste large tracts of agricultural land. The weather is expected to remain changeable with widespread thundershowers and squalls over the whole of Greece for the next few days.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com

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A slightly eccentric large white catamaran...

There's a steady northerly breeze blowing across the harbour and a small yacht is swinging at anchor off Nos beach. The Symi came in by the clock tower today, just to keep us on our toes. Someone else is being driven mad by the incessant rumble of her generators... There is a big 3 masted gulet tied up on the quay outside the bank.

Symi Fish is tied up beneath our balcony and the road gang is on the last 100 metres or so of trench. The Panormitis has roared in and tied up by the bus stop. Things are pretty busy out there. Pity the webcam server seems to have gone out to lunch (probably pulling Christmas crackers with the retro version of our homepage that popped up over the weekend..!)

There is a slightly eccentric large white catamaran gliding in, of a design which I recognise from Israel 14 years ago. It has an aerofoil mast which pivots and acts like an additional sail and the accommodation is in both hulls, with just a trampoline between the two. A fleet of these catamarans arrived in Jaffa while we were living there. They had been built in Latvia, trucked through the then USSR and sailed down from Yalta in the Black Sea. The one which has just slipped into Symi has engines but the originals had no engines at all, not even outboards, but were so easily driven they were just like big Hobie cats. While not exactly built for ocean crossing, on a flat sea with a bit of a breeze they are pretty impressive. And go to prove that it is possible to have speed on the water without converting fuel, and money, into noise!

ERT, the state television which promoted Greece's Eurovision entry this year is very smug at Helena's win. Actually everyone seems pretty chuffed, even though quite a few think that Sakkis' song last year was better... I wonder if statistically women are more likely to win than men? After all, the last three years have all seen women come first. Some bean counter out there is probably keeping a record of this with a view to a doctoral thesis proving that women vocalists with dance troupes of handsome young men stand a better chance of winning Eurovision than handsome young men with dance troupes of pretty girls... (over to you, Ozzie Geoff, you're our trivia expert...)

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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Temperatures will remain in the high twenties

We were awakened by the patter of muddy raindrops on the roof during the night and the morning was very hazy. It is now clearing, to the relief, no doubt, of those whose holiday was already cut short by arriving a day late due to the strikes. While no doubt the object of organising an effective strike is to inconvenience as many people as possible and thereby draw attention to the cause, popular sympathy for Olympic Airways is evaporating fast. This was the second consecutive Wednesday of disruptions and it was by no means only tourists who were inconvenienced.

A storm system is passing over Greece this weekend but the worst of the weather is expected to pass to the north of us, affecting central, northern and north-eastern Greece with thundershowers and squalls. We may, however, have a few more spots of rain in the course of Sunday. Temperatures will remain in the high twenties.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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The Excursion Boats are Running

A clear calm cloudless sunny day on Symi. There's just enough wind to riffle the water but not quite enough to flutter a flag.

Last week's arrivals have lost their pallor and settled into the holiday routine. The excursion boats are running and reports are coming in that sunbeds and brollies are being deployed at various beaches. It is expected to become warmer as the week progresses so this week's new arrivals should be pleased.

The hay wagons are on the island - big lorries loaded with neat cubes of fodder. The gypsies park them on the verge up above the bend on the way to the windmills and sleep underneath them. It is warm enough to sleep out and it is not uncommon to see quilts, blankets, football magazines and other items of domesticity arranged in the shade of these large trucks while they wait to offload their hay onto the smaller pickups belonging to the local farmers.

Have a good week.

regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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Goats with Gourmet Tastes

It seems to be summer. It was 32 degrees in my olive grove yesterday and the ambient noise was the steady munching of locusts working their way through the few remaining lettuces that are not actually flowering yet. They haven't discovered the wild hollyhocks as they are still preoccupied with gorging on the roses. Being the only patch of greenery in the area makes our plot irresistible to every known garden pest from innocuous-looking old ladies just wanting to strip the rosemary bushes to insects looking for a snack and goats with gourmet tastes. The first and the last have been discouraged by the presence of Dog but the insects are not so easily put off.

Down in the harbour there is merry bedlam below the window. The Symi is preparing to depart and there are several Greek school parties gathered, teachers trying to do headcounts while their charges chatter excitedly. Hawkers and truckers are trying to load vehicles amid squealing teenagers and the crew members sound increasingly testy. Phew. They seem to be sorted out now and departing. That's it. All gone for another day.

Have a peaceful weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
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The Symi is docked below my window

The Symi is docked below my window, eager to depart for Panormitis and Rhodes. There are two large lorries struggling to make the turn to reverse on, to the accompaniment of 100 advisers and much argument. Tourists are craning over the top deck to watch the proceedings and other interested parties are starting to gather on the steps of our office and environs. After much palaver the larger one has managed to turn around and drive on forwards, presumably in the hope that reversing off in Rhodes is easier. There is just enough clearance to shut the ramp and they are off. With their departure I should be able to see if The World is still anchored off Nimos - (see above) yes, indeed it is. There is also a long sleek expensive sailing yacht lying off Harani with a big red ensign fluttering from the stern.

We had some really strong winds on Saturday and the boats were stopped until quite late in the day. There seems to be a pattern lately for the forecasters to be more optimistic than the reality. Can't say I'd like to be in one of the penthouse suites at the top of The World in any kind of heavy weather as she looks as though she would roll like mad. It's bad enough on the top deck of the ferry in a popple. Looking through the binocs it looks just like a low level apartment block with a point at one end... For that kind of money I think I'd want something a bit prettier looking! And what happens if you don't like your neighbours? It's not quite like a cruise ship where you only have to put up with each other for the duration of the voyage and that's that. At what stage does this turn into a floating prison with no escape until the next port of call? Maybe this could be the setting for a retro - 70s style disaster movie/thriller like 'Airport'or 'Towering Inferno'. Hmm.

And maybe I should stop staring out of the window and get back to work!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.SymiVisitor.com
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The spiders are growing fat in my olive groves

The season is now well underway and the harbour is a jumble of yachts and excursion boats. A big blue building materials ship is trying to find a spot to tie up and is hanging about off the clock tower. The gypsies selling pots (both the cooking and the garden varieties) are camping in the square and there is one hopeful soul still trying to sell off a truckload of panther-patterned blankets and gaudy quilts.

There is a brisk breeze blowing across from Nimos and the waves are smacking against the quay below our balcony. It is about 22 degrees today with light high cloud. Other parts of Greece may have some thundershowers but there is nothing more serious than a Force 5 expected around here. The warm dry weather has woken up the insect life with a vengeance and the spiders are growing fat in my olive groves. Unfortunately the black fly found the broadbeans before the bees did this year so we'll plough them in this weekend as green manure. The daisies are dying back rapidly now and most of the hay has been cut. The next time we are likely to have rain is October.

Tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock there will be a service at St John's to remember the British war dead on the island. On Sunday there will be a big VE Day parade in Yialos. Various dignitaries are coming over specially, including, according to the town hall, the Australian ambassador to Greece.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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A Whirl of Social Activity

The combination of a late Easter and balmy weather made this one of the busiest - and noisiest - Greek Easters for a long time. One and a half million (!) Athenians took the opportunity to get out of the city and a few of them wound up here. We were treated to the sight of smartly turned out city dwellers in high heels and designer suits picking their way through the roadworks and dodging the ducks. Some of them brought with them their shiny nippy little city cars and discovered the delights of island driving. Some of them may well be leaving with a few scrapes they didn't have when they arrived...

From the Good Friday funeral processions to the final 'Koukoumas' dances in Chorio last night, the island was a whirl of social activity and there were enough bangs to satisfy any tourist craving noise and excitement. The usual Greek May Day celebrations have been deferred from 1 May to 11 May so there is still that to look forward to. In the meantime, all those whose name days fell during Lent are celebrating this week.

It is a little cooler this week as the wind is blowing from the north. There is no rain forecast this far south although at one stage the weather men were talking about possible mud showers and thunder on Friday/Saturday. It would seem that the summer drought has started as serious rain is unlikely this late apart from a possible mud shower.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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