Spring Deliveries

The men from DEH are still hard at work so the daily power cuts continue. At least today’s one was shorter than expected but given that so many people are rushing to meet lines to prepare their shops and businesses for the tourist season, the lack of electricity for 3-4 hours or longer on a frequent basis is a source of great frustration. There is a lot of muttering going on amongst the island’s carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, plasterers, shop fitters and so on.

Apart from the Public Power Corporation’s activities mentioned above, another power line is in the process of being raised, this time by the town hall, to connect the still-under-construction desalination plant on the Pedi road with the yet-to-be-built wind farm on the top of the Vigla. A row of poles is slowly being hoisted into position and follows an alarmingly perpendicular route straight up the north face of the mountain, past Profiti Ilias. My Symiot neighbour, Panormitis, who keeps several flocks of pigeons is very worried as the line will pass directly over his dovecotes and he is afraid that the birds will be affected. Stand by for impressive photos of the wind farm when it finally comes to pass.

The weather continues warm and sunny with a haze of Saharan dust in the air. So far we have had very little in the way of mud rain this year and the chat on the streets is that it is probably all being saved up for once the Easter whitewashing is finished… It is that time of the year when the young people of Greece commence their annual explorations of the more remote parts of the country of their birth and the harbour was full of teenagers this morning, delivered by the Dodecanese Pride for a day trip to Symi.

Speaking of spring deliveries, the arrival of the icon of St Savvas on Wednesday brought some unexpectedly joyful peals of bells to the island. As weddings and baptisms are not permitted during Lent such exuberant carillons are rare at this time of the year. You will see pictures of the arrival of the icon on Symi-Photos.com. The Proteus has just come in, bringing a happy crop of foreign home owners and Symi business owners as well as a massive earth-moving machine, evidently for either the desalination plant or the wind farm.

Have an enjoyable weekend.

Regards,

Adriana