Symi is Officially Full

It is a hot and humid day on Symi. A low pressure system with thundershowers and rain is hanging over the Balkans and northern Greece, bringing wisps of mist as far south as Symi. Last night the top of the Vigla was wrapped in a tablecloth of cloud and all the antennae and aerials vanished from view. Visibility is down to only a few kilometres due to the heat haze and the Turkish coast looks far more distant than it really is. The full moon dominates the night sky, bright orange as it rises above Pedi bay. The new wind turbine is a dramatic sight, poking through the cloud cover. It will be an even more dramatic sight once the windmill becomes operational later this year. At the moment is affectionately referred to by some of the foreign residents as the ‘Angel of the North’ as it bears a remarkable resemblance, peeping over the crest of the Vigla, to that famous British landmark. The occasional changes in the angles of the blades have also earned it the epithet, the Symi Semaphore.


Art enthusiasts are in for a double treat this weekend. This evening sees the opening of the new gallery in the downstairs of the big Symi Visitor office near the bus stop. Tomorrow evening the ODAS exhibition, organized by Aruni Constantinidi, opens at the Symi Dream gallery at the top of the Kali Strata in Chorio.  Both exhibitions are on for the whole month so there is plenty of opportunity for visitors pop in and see what creative Symiots and foreign residents are inspired to produce while they are on Symi.

Meanwhile, down in Pedi the floating crane has finally departed and the work crews are busy pouring concrete to level off the rows of concrete blocks that make up the new quay and jetty. It will be a while yet before we see rows of yachts tied up on the outside of the quay as intended but the general idea of the project is now clear. Locals are taking advantage of the concrete blocks for fishing and swimming when the concrete mixers are off duty.



This is one of the busiest weekends of the tourist season and houses, hotels, ferries and flights are all full. Yannis Fotaras is opening the Grace Hotel from today especially for the peak season rush and it is already fully booked for the forthcoming week. Those who were hoping for last minute accommodation may well find themselves sleeping on ferry to the next island as Symi is officially full.



Have a good weekend.



Regards,

Adriana