Lush and Green

Easter is over, the first cruise ship of the season, Salamis Glory, has been in and the excursion boats bring a regular throng of eager day trippers from all corners of the globe. The summer tourist season has started on Symi. Yesterday the thermometer reached a sizzling 28 degrees at midday and, although April showers are threatening, the days of the Symi layered look are numbered. The weather is expected to remain mild but unsettled for the next few days with the possibility of sand storms and mud rain as a slow moving low pressure system spirals its way languidly across from Italy, picking up sand from North Africa as it comes. It is certainly very hazy today and there has been a sprinkling of dirty rain up in Chorio. The Pedi Valley is still lush and green as the new shoots on the oak and tamarisk trees have unfurled into bright spring leaves. Heavy old-fashioned damask roses are flowering in some of the gardens and the bougainvilleas are finally recovering their leaves after the baldness of a wet winter.

Down in Yialos the waterfront tourist shops are opening up for business, racks of colourful sarongs and white kaftans fluttering in the breeze. There are not many visitors staying on Symi at the moment but there are plenty of day trippers coming over from Rhodes to justify opening in the day time.

It will be some weeks yet before the water taxis and beach tavernas start to trade. The shore in Pedi is still lined with hauled out fishing boats and the debris of winter storms and it will be a while before the rows of sunbeds and parasols are put out. April is a month for walkers and photographers rather than sun-worshippers and beach goers. Sea temperatures are still on the chilly side. With work schedules delayed by the constant wet weather every painter on the island is up a ladder, brush in hand, and the artisans and tradesmen of Symi are working round the clock to catch up with their deadlines for the season’s new visitors.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana