The View from my Office Window 29 May 2007
It is still quite hazy and humid after yesterday's freak rain. About 10 mm fell over Symi between 3 pm yesterday and the early hours of this morning. The island is covered in a fine film of sand. It is not surprising that ochre is the traditional colour for exterior paintwork here!
Pentecost Long Weekend
It is seriously humid on Symi at the moment and the top of the island is covered with mist every night. This morning the clouds were still wrapped around the Vigla when I was walking down to work. There is a bit of a breeze now, down in the harbour, but it is about as refreshing as a steamy bathroom.
The island has been quite busy with the Pentecost long weekend. Lots of Greek tourists and people home from Rhodes to visit their families. The days have been full of exuberant church bells and the evenings a-hum with music and conversation.
The island’s new bus has arrived. It came off the ferry yesterday and should soon be in operation. It is now parked at the bus stop and the door is open, which could be regarded as a good sign!
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana Read more...
Rigani - Joy of the Mountain
Last weekend’s sandstorm turned the oregano flowers from gleaming white to dusty beige but they still smell wonderful. The local herb sellers have bushels spread out on sacking to dry in the shade. Earlier this week I had to go out to Nimborio and the thyme bushes are starting to flower along the way. There are splodges of purple and pink thyme blossom dotting the slopes of Pedi, above the path to Saint Nicholas and the oleander bushes that line the roads are erupting into a ribbon of white, crimson, pink and salmon blossom. The pomegranate trees are also ablaze.
Although Attica was in the news with flash floods yesterday once again the rain has passed us by. Only mare’s tails overhead and heaps of cumulus billowing on the horizon indicate that there is weather out there. Symi is slipping into Camelot mode.
There are more people around, particularly in the evenings when visitors enjoy sitting outside the cafes and tavernas. With more houses occupied there are more lights at night and neighbourhoods that have been dark and deserted for months are now humming with activity. The harbour is filling up with flotillas of gulets but the main yachting activity still tends to be privately owned small sailing boats at this time of the year. Live-aboards who have been wintering across the way in Turkey and travel-worn circumnavigators with bicycles lashed to the railings and faded flags dangling from the spreaders.
We are busy putting together the tenth birthday edition of the Symi Visitor newpaper which is quite an interesting project. We hope you all enjoy it when you see it.
Please remember that it is a long weekend in Greece as well as elsewhere so banks and other businesses will be closed on Monday for the Pentecost holiday.
Have a peaceful weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
The View from my Desk!
This is what I see when I look up from my keyboard. And yes, it is difficult not to spend the day gazing at the yachts instead of writing articles for the Symi Visitor but I regard this as one of life's little challenges.
Have a good day!
Regards,
Adriana
Symi Clean Up Day 20 May 2007
One of the fourteen teams that tackled Symi's litter problem on Sunday afternoon.
The final bag count will be announced later - the municipality is still ferrying them away! My own team filled over 30 bags on the stretch of road between Agia Marina cemetery and Kampos supermarket. That's an awful lot of empty water bottles, cans and chocolate wrappings cluttering the verges and stuffed in the bushes.
Symi Sandstorm 19 May 2007
Another Saharan sandstorm swept over Greece at the weekend. This is what it looked like in Pedi on Saturday afternoon. We had 8 mm of mud rain on Saturday night. Sunday was clear with northerly winds but the sky is overcast again today and more showers are expected.
The Triton went over to Datca as usual on Saturday but the weather deteriorated and she was not able to make the return trip. Datca harbour is very exposed to the wind and in the course of docking the Triton broke her bowsprit in a collision with a Turkish boat. Konstantina, Makis' daughter, bruised her arm badly in the incident. The boat then lay to anchor in Datca bay and was only able to return to Symi on Sunday.
Read more...
The Ultimate Rain Dance
The whole of Greece is battening down for a period of intensive bad weather. Thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast country-wide for the whole weekend. Although there are likely to be occasional heavy downpours it is unlikely that this will make much of an impact on the country’s steadily diminishing water reserves. Symi will probably only receive a few light showers but in areas further north warnings have been issued to all the municipalities. Evidently organizing a Clean Up Symi Day counts as the ultimate rain dance! On the bright side, the weather system should have passed over us by Sunday afternoon when the teams set off from Chorio at 16.00.
In the Pedi valley the hay has been baled and the sheep have come down from the mountain for the summer. The gentle tinkle of sheep-bells as the neighbour’s flock browses on my bougainvillea and jasmine through the fence has become a regular feature of the early mornings until they are frightened off by the whistling of the kettle.
Have a peaceful weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
It's Clean Up Symi Day on 20th May!
-796113.jpg)
Sunday 20 May 2007
15.45 All meet in Village Square.
16.00 Teams clean up designated areas (see below)
20.00 Celebration party in the Village Square.
If you would like to join in contact the Symi Visitor office or phone Wendy on +30 6945 822 896.
Clean Up Teams:
Team 1 Windmill to Yialos
Team 2 Windmill to Pedi & Kampos
Team 3 Windmill crossroad to Ag. Marina Cemetery
Team 4 Milos Residential
Team 5 Kali Strata – Symi Visitor office
Team 6 Kali Strata to the Petrol Station
Team 7 Harani Area
Team 8 Mavrovouni down the slope to Antoniadis' yard
Team 9 Mavrovouni residential area
Team 10 Ag Nicholas – Stavros – St George
Team 11 Pedi residential
Team 12 Periotissa and down through residential area.
Team 13 Village Square and Koumaras area.
Team 14. Mavrovouni to Mouragio.
Snoozing Cats
A welcome cool breeze has come up in the last few hours and the flags are fluttering in the harbour. The Symi II is just pulling out of Yialos, heading round to Panormitis, and the afternoon’s new yacht arrivals speckle the horizon, masts wavering as they motor in. Distant white triangles indicate those who prefer Pedi for the evening.
Speaking of distant white triangles, the awnings are up at Tholos taverna on the point and the umbrellas outside the Nireus Hotel harmonize elegantly with the waving palm trees outside Symi police station . Every day more places are open for the season. Walking down the Kali Strata early this morning I disturbed several snoozing cats testing the directors’ chairs at the Kali Strata bar for comfort.
The present heatwave is countrywide and all of Greece has been basking in unseasonably high temperatures. The maximum is around 34 degrees centrigrade at midday, dropping to about 20 degrees at night.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
A Trail of Ice Cream Drips
The clouds and haze that have been hanging over the island all week drifted away during the night and the day dawned bright and clear. Perfect for Pat and Kat’s wedding today. The forecast from now on seems to be relentless sunshine. The nights are already warm and restless as the rocks release the heat they have soaked up during the day. It is that time of the year when the spiders build their enormous webs, festooned from tree to tree with neatly wrapped flies and mosquitoes. Duvets are packed away and mosquito nets unbundled.
Down in the harbour it is hot and quiet. The day trippers have arrived and scuttled off in search of shade. Those in organized groups straggle reluctantly along the quay behind the bright parasols of their guides, lingering at displays of sunhats in the tourist shops.
Summer is written in a trail of ice cream drips below our office balcony, relic of various porters and hoteliers hanging about in the only available shade, waiting for the ferry to dock.
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
Read more...
Down in the harbour it is hot and quiet. The day trippers have arrived and scuttled off in search of shade. Those in organized groups straggle reluctantly along the quay behind the bright parasols of their guides, lingering at displays of sunhats in the tourist shops.
Summer is written in a trail of ice cream drips below our office balcony, relic of various porters and hoteliers hanging about in the only available shade, waiting for the ferry to dock.
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
The View from my Office Window 10 May
The power yacht season has started early this year - caught this one on her way out early this morning. It is very hazy today and showers are forecast.
Clouds over Pedi 8 May 2007
Taken on the way down to the harbour on 8 May. Fortunately the rain held off until after the parade - and only turned into a 10 minute shower.
Read more...
VE Day 8 May 2007
A few photographs to tide you over until Mike has put up the Out and About ones.Adriana
Read more...
Waiting for the VE Parade
Enjoying a drink at Pachos before the proceedings start. The first officials came in on the Spanos at 9.15 this morning, including Mr Spanos himself. The parade itself will start at midday.
The View from my Office Window 7 May 07
Yes, it's the Symi II ! Last seen about two seasons ago...
Koukkoumas!
On the second of May is the festival of the removal of the relics of St Athanaisos and there is a festival at his church in Chorio. This day has from the distant past been devoted to Koukkoumas, a fortune telling ceremony for would be brides to discover the names of their future husbands. This old custom takes place in the courtyard of Agios Thanassis church. Today the Symi Women’s Institute organises the ceremony accompanied by traditional dancing and musical instruments.
‘All around the tray are the partridges in their plumage, happy and beautifully dressed,
On the second of May, the Koukkoumas, I will find out my fortune and welcome will be he whom I will love and marry
So wake up, wake up Koukkoumas, because sleep weighs down and destroys you,
The Koukkoumas has passed through our neighbourhood and taken our youth and young queens,
Agios Thanassis, my Lord, come down from your throne so that you can see the joyfulness which is taking place in your courtyard.Agios Thanassis, my Lord, of the marble foundations, we are creating love beside you.'
‘All around the tray are the partridges in their plumage, happy and beautifully dressed,
On the second of May, the Koukkoumas, I will find out my fortune and welcome will be he whom I will love and marry
So wake up, wake up Koukkoumas, because sleep weighs down and destroys you,
The Koukkoumas has passed through our neighbourhood and taken our youth and young queens,
Agios Thanassis, my Lord, come down from your throne so that you can see the joyfulness which is taking place in your courtyard.Agios Thanassis, my Lord, of the marble foundations, we are creating love beside you.'
From May Traditions and Customs by Irini Semerzaki (May edition of the Symi Visitor newspaper)
Read more...
Tragic Start to the Season
Three taxi boats were completely destroyed and one seriously damaged in the boatyard at Tolis, Pedi, last night. Residents on yachts in the bay spotted the blaze at approximately 3 am and sounded the alarm by blowing their hooters. Although local residents and volunteers rallied and formed a bucket chain the fire was already out of control and it was impossible to save the three boats. A number of other boats were still on the beach as May is traditionally the month for finishing boat painting and relaunching and it was fortunate that the fire was contained before it reached any of the wooden caiques and fishing boats.
A bad start indeed for those whose livelihood running the taxi boats in the summer. At least one person suffered burns while helping to put the fire out. At this stage it is unclear how the fire started.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
