A Wonderful Place

The golden days of August have arrived and the island is filling up fast. Every boat, ferry and hydrofoil is packed. Unfortunately we cannot say the same for Symi’s water supply – the island ran dry yesterday and the situation is not much better today with only limited water supply in some areas and none at all in others. While the island’s regular summer visitors remember the water shortages of years gone by and slip into survival mode, for first time visitors it comes as something of a shock not to be able to shower after a day on the beach. Needless to say, sales of bottled water are up!

Meanwhile in my corner of the Pedi valley we are glad that we filled our rainwater cisterns in the winter. While the water in some of the tanks may be a dubious soup of moribund mosquito larvae and drowned lizards, it has none the less enabled us to keep the vegetable garden alive through the summer drought. The cats enjoy snoozing on the damp sawdust mulch among the ripening melons and the kittens chase blue-tailed lizards through the dry leaves under the almond trees. The figs are slowly turning purple and the grapes are plumping on the vines. We still have a dish of fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden with our supper each evening, fragrant with a handful of Genovese basil. The Pedi valley must have been a wonderful place when it was all market gardens, vines and orchards.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana