As Far South as Symi

It is a cold clear day on Symi with white horses romping across the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean winter sea. The whole of Greece is in the grips of a cold spell at the moment with snow in the north and temperatures hovering perilously close to freezing even as far south as Symi. As Symiot architecture is designed for the summer sun the houses can be very chilly at this time of the year. Few have central heating and running air conditioning on ‘warm’ is a fast way to run up huge electricity bills. Instead we wrap up in countless layers of winter clothing and seek out the sunny patches out of the wind, like so many cats. Speaking of which, one can spot which cars in the town square are the most recently parked – look out for cats sitting on the bonnets soaking up engine warmth!

We can’t really complain – Symi has had an exceptionally mild winter thus far and although it is cold at the moment, we still haven’t had ice on the puddles. The long range forecast shows a slight increase in temperatures later in the week as the wind swings to the south, bringing, as it inevitably does, more rain. Friday’s gales blew down the brick pediments of the new sports stadium before the mortar had a chance to set and there was no sign of anyone working there over the weekend or this morning – just heaps of smashed bricks. There are limits to how much can be done in these conditions and evidently brickwork in a howling gale isn’t one of them.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana