Clear for New Year

Today’s photograph shows some of the new lambs and their mothers, in a field near the new sports’ stadium excavations in Chorio.

It has been a numb-fingered week. The new plants round the harbour front have suffered somewhat under a battering of freezing winds and liberal dollops of salt water. The whole of Greece has been bowed beneath the onslaught of wintry gales, sleet and snow and heavy frost. Greek television news bulletins show farmers lamenting the state of frozen citrus orchards and children making snowmen. Here on Symi it is calm today and quite clear, though the thermometer is still hovering around freezing. The Aegli hydrofoil ran this morning and should have no difficulties in making the return journey this afternoon.

Symi’s glorious high ceilings and tall windows do not lend themselves to effective heating and few houses have central heating systems or radiators due to the difficulties involved in obtaining heating oil, not to mention the expense involved in installing something that will only be used for a few weeks in the year. Air conditioners can be used for heating but few Symiots enjoy that luxury in their homes. Electricity is expensive here and many people are on seasonal incomes. Most Symiots resort to halogen heaters and, in old houses with functioning fireplaces, log fires. Keeping the shutters closed helps to keep the heat in and serves the same purpose as double-glazing. On a cold day in Chorio with everything battened down against the wind, the only indication that people live there is the whiff of wood smoke from chimneys and the aromas of cooking seeping through the chinks.

Light rain is forecast for tomorrow although it should be clear for New Year. From Monday night the weather is expected to take a turn for the worse once again, but this time with strong winds and rain from the south. After the downpours of October Symi has been quite dry and the rain is needed. The wild cyclamens that clad the hillsides at this time of the year are wilting instead of flowering.

Happy New Year!

Regards,
Adriana