Adriana's Symi-a Greek island diary: September 2007

A Golden Morning

It is a beautiful golden morning on Symi. The full moon that has filled our nights with light has also brought a spring tide and the boats are riding high in the harbour, water sloshing up through the gratings and swirling up the customs’ house slipway. Silvery squills glisten as the rising sun gilds the hills.

The season may be drawing to a close but the island is still extremely full. Regular visitors at this time are surprised to find accommodation in short supply and we are still receiving booking enquiries for those desperate for a patch of half term sunshine. We hope that the weather holds this October and isn’t like last year when the heaviest downpour of the entire rainy season fell in the middle of the month, washing away chunks of the Panormitis road and flooding the harbour. Lots of people had to leave a day early to avoid missing flights as gale force winds disrupted shipping. Fortunately such extremes are not a normal October occurrence.

The long range forecast at the moment shows a big high pressure system hanging over Greece with fine weather for the next week or so. Although showers have occurred on the mainland and in the north we have had nothing more than the sprinkling of rain in the early hours of 1 September, and that is now a month ago.

Have a peaceful weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

Early Saturday morning in Yialos

Misty Morning 27 September 2007

>> Thursday, September 27, 2007 – Symi Turkey

The hills behind Bozburun on the Turkish coast are quite clear in this picture.

The View from the Symi Visitor 26 September 07

Lots of little charter yachts, all in a row.

Those who can, are going fishing.

Furniture Removal, Symi Style

Polar Star

Ice breaker megayacht, Polar Star, lying off Yialos on 22 September. Apparently she has been recently sold by her Canadian owner and now belongs to a Russian who has put her out to charter this summer. A mere 345 000 euros per week...

First Plantings

The golden days of autumn have arrived and the island is full of painters and photographers. Temperatures are in the mid twenties at midday and evenings are mild enough for dinners al fresco and cocktails in pavement cafes. Some windy weather is forecast for the weekend as it is the equinox but Symi is sheltered from the northerly gales that buffet the Cyclades and Sporades at this time of the year. Down in the harbour power definitely gives way to sail as flotilla yachts and privately owned small cruising vessels, many with red ensigns and Small Ships Register numbers on the transom, fill the quays each evening. The glitterati have fled to other playgrounds.

Up in Chorio, the bougainvilleas are putting on a final flush of colour and night-scented jessamine and lemon blossom fill the evening air. Although the first rains are still some weeks away trees and shrubs are starting to recover from the heat of summer, putting forth soft new shoots. Market gardeners are digging and manuring their vegetable plots, preparing for the first plantings of lettuce and spinach. The basil is now a mass of flowers and droning bees and tentative blue blossoms are appearing on the rosemary bushes. Wavering spires of squill blur the rocky slopes, animated by scrambling, jostling sheep as the flocks come down the hillsides at feeding time.

The tamarisk trees outside the Symi Visitor offices are in full bloom at the moment, masses of feathery pale pink flowers and drifts of pollen-laden bees. And choruses of sneezes from all of us whenever the windows are open on that side!

Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana

A Left Wing Country with a Right Wing Government?

Well, New Democracy may have been re-elected but this little corner of Greece remains firmly PASOK Green. For those who are interested, have a look at the map of the election results provided by the Athens News.

Watching the election results on television last night a curious thing struck us. Although once again the centre-right party has been voted in, albeit with a smaller majority than last time, if you add the percentages won by the other left wing parties to PASOK, Greece is actually still a left wing country with 51.29% of the electorate voting for the left. KKE, the Greek Communist party did better than usual, no doubt collecting some of the votes that PASOK lost, but LAOS, the far right, did not gain as many votes as was feared.

If the change in electoral law is passed that permits Diaspora votes through Greek embassies and consulates comes into effect in time for the 2011 election, the results for the next election could be very interesting indeed.

Greek General Election Sunday 16 September 07

PASOK has hired the Symi Visitor Exhibition Centre as its Symi headquarters. The islands have a strong tradition of voting PASOK and in what looks set to be a fairly close election every island vote is being courted. Many Symiots lay the blame for the lack of a proper ferry service at the door of the governing New Democracy party and readers of the Symi Visitor newspaper will be aware that there was talk of Symi actually boycotting the election altogether at one point.

The results should be known in the early hours of Monday morning.

7.30 a.m Kali Strata 12 September 2007

The light is changing, and so are the boats. Compare this photograph with ones I took from the same spot on the walk to work in July and August this summer.

White Sails

It is another clear bright sunny day on Symi. The Symi ferry is rumbling away outside the Symi Visitor office as the last stragglers trot up the ramp. There are Turkish gulets hanging about off the Nireus, waiting for the excursion boats to leave so that they can find a berth in Yialos. White sails cream off into the distance, riding the breeze that funnels down the Nimos channel. All the little hire boats are bobbing in a row by the clock tower – it has been a bit choppy lately for visitors to take to the sea in small boats. The excursion boats and water taxis, on the other hand, are very busy. Serious sailing boats and flotilla yachts are taking over as the megayachts float off to the next high profile destination.

Mike Poretta and Sarah Nock’s wedding out a Nimos was a huge success. For many of the guests it was an all night affair and for all of the guests it was a night to remember. I have emailed Mike Gadd some photographs for you to enjoy on the Out and About page.

The election is only a few days away but there is not much on the island to indicate that anything momentous is on the horizon. The posters, placards, fliers and spray-can graffiti that are usually part of an election campaign in this part of the world are conspicuous by their absence this time around. There are certain advantages in snap elections – less litter!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Dawn 8 September 2007

There was light drizzle over the island in the early hours of Saturday morning but the clouds soon blew away and most people were completely unaware that it had happened.

Deep Inky Blue

It is a bright clear autumn day on Symi. Temperatures are in the mid twenties with a gentle westerly breeze blowing across the harbour. The light is sharp and the recent rains over western Greece have settled the smoke and dust of summer, revealing a crisp horizon dotted with white sails. Occasional small snowy clouds puff past and the sea is a deep inky blue.

Symi is abuzz with people as there are two big weddings this weekend, one tomorrow and one on Monday afternoon. Guests have been arriving by the ferryload since Wednesday and there is a great deal of activity in the Symi Visitor office.

The Greek Orthodox Church has organized a collection for victims of the recent fires in the Peloponnese. The Symi collection point is Syllogos Square in Chorio on Saturday between 17.00 and 21.30 and again on Sunday from 10.00 to 19.00. Foodstuffs in the form of canned foods, vinegar, oil, sugar, coffee, salt, dried foods, bottled water and other non perishable items are requested as well as cleaning materials and scholastic items. Remember, many people lost everything except what they were wearing that day and are having to start completely from scratch. For further information please phone Panormitis Moschou on +30 6946 143 209 or Manoli Kyprioti on +30 6946 421 419.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

The view from the Symi Visitor office 6 September

The hydrofoil of Life and Hope is making its weekly visit to Symi.

There are a few clouds skirting round the fringes this morning although it is clear overhead.

Shards of Straw

The worst of the heat is over and Symi is muffled in low cloud. We have all the doors and windows open in the Symi Visitor office and the breeze is pleasant after weeks of air conditioning. The Vigla was wrapped in a foggy blanket this morning and the Pedi valley suddenly looks quite autumnal. The increased humidity of the last two days has already encouraged those plants which actually made it through the summer to start putting out a few tentative shoots. The stems of the perennial grasses have green patches and the thistles are tufting purple from the top down. The geraniums are a jumble of papery deadness and tiny velvety leaflets. Thirsty ants drown en masse in the cats’ water bowl every night and clear ribbon-like paths through the shards of straw as they drag seed heads into their nests for the winter.

Down in the harbour the last of the French and Italian house parties are winding up, the Greeks are wishing each other a happy winter and the island is settling into its relaxed September mood. Hiking boots, shorts and walking maps are taking over from sequined sandals, sarongs and beach toys and the roar of hire bikes has dwindled to the odd passing putt-putt.

With the national election less than a fortnight away the island is littered with hastily printed political pamphlets and the televisions in the supermarkets and cafes are receiving rather more attention than usual.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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About this Blog

I sailed into Panormitis Bay, Symi, by chance one windy July day in 1993 and have been here ever since. The locals tell me that this is one of the miracles of St Michael of Panormitis. A BA graduate with majors in English, Philosophy and Classical Civilisation, the idea of living in what is to all intents and purposes an archaeological site appeals to me. Not as small as Kastellorizo, not as touristy as Rhodes, Symi is just the right size. I live on a small holding which my husband and I have reclaimed from a ruin of over-grazing and neglect and turned into a small oasis over the course of the past 22 years. I also work part-time for Symi Visitor Accommodation, helping independent travellers discover and enjoy Symi's simple pleasures for themselves.

This page is kindly sponsored by Wendy Wilcox, Symi Visitor Accommodation.