Still a Lively Place

It is a hot and hazy day on Symi. Occasional thunder clouds drift by and the temperature is once again hitting 30. Rain and showers are forecast for the whole of Greece but all we have had so far on Symi has been mud sprinkles and fleeting rainbows. Day trippers, fooled by the low clouds into thinking it will be a chilly day, are peeling off unwanted coats and fleeces and sunning themselves on the benches around Yialos. There’s not much movement among the water taxis and the beaches are packing away their sun beds and umbrellas for another year. In a few short weeks local boats will be hauled out on the same beaches in Pedi where visitors soaked up the summer sun in July and August.

At night there are fewer lights to be seen in the harbour as more houses are closed up for the winter and there are fewer people around. Evenings in the tavernas are cosier with more locals and fewer visitors. As you can see from the Out and About photos taken at Giorgio’s on Friday night, Chorio is still a lively place to be late in the season.

There have been significant changes to the ferry schedules as the shipping companies move towards their winter services and there are fewer boats around. For instance there is no longer an evening connection on Wednesdays, unless one waits for the big boat from Pireaus, the Ierapetra, which is currently scheduled to leave Rhodes at 10.30 p.m and passes through Symi at midnight. Extra trips to Panormitis are also being squeezed in to allow for the forthcoming festival on 8 November. Over the coming weeks more and more hawkers and stall keepers will arrive as the Panormitis Festival is as much a travelling market as a major religious event on the Dodecanese calendar.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana