Late Season Glamour



The tourist season may be drawing to a close on Symi but this quiet Greek island in the Dodecanese is still on the mega yacht cruising itinerary. Skat, the quasi-naval superyacht built by Lurssen for one time Microsoft Software Engineer and twice space tourist, Charles Simonyi, pulled into Yialos last night, giving the locals a touch of late season glamour. Painted battle ship grey, bristling with radar and communications gear and sporting a dinky helicopter, it looks sufficiently intimidating to be able to round the Horn of Africa without fear of attack from Somali pirates.





Megayachts and software millionaires aside, there are not many people around on Symi apart from residents, Symiot and otherwise. Pick up trucks stacked high with café tables and chairs inch round the waterfront and all the trappings of summer are being packed away into sheds and storerooms. The cafes that stay open are rigging winter awnings and dusting off their patio heaters. With fewer tourists staying on Symi or visiting from Rhodes, many businesses are working shorter hours and employing fewer staff. Others, like Symi Dream, are closing for a few weeks break and will then reopen in their winter format.

Temperatures are still mild for the time of the year but the weather is expected to break this weekend as the low pressure system that is working its way across Italy and mainland Greece reaches us, bringing several days of thunderstorms and, we hope, some much needed rain. http://www.ekathimerini.com/ has published the following:

Weather warning

The General Secretariat for Civil Protection yesterday issued a warning to local authorities that heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are likely to affect much of the country today and tomorrow. The Ionian Sea is expected to be the worst affected with southerly winds forecast to reach 8 or even 9 on the Beaufort scale. Winds are likely to intensify in the central and southern Aegean on Sunday and could affect scheduled passenger ferry itineraries

So it sounds as though winter is on its way!

This will be my last news update from Symi for a while as I am going on leave. I will be back on line on Symi on 10 November.

Regards,

Adriana

Michael  – (Sunday, October 25, 2009)  

Yes, the islanders' favourite time of year. The weather is still good but we "have our island back".

We also like to take advantage of October weather to travel. But this year we are spending the winter in Prague, so we are enjoying Paros until late November. As we will have three months of wet and cold in Prague we no longer take our dry sun for granted.

Cheers,

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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.


Adriana Shum

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