Pick Up Some Colour

The heat wave has broken at last and a fresh breeze is rippling across Symi harbour. Temperatures are in the mid thirties with humidity at a comfortable 50%. It is too windy for the water taxis and excursion boats to operate today but those beaches which can be reached on foot or by bike and car at Harani, Nimborio, Pedi and Toli Bay enjoyed business as usual. The rest of Greece is still experiencing the summer thunderstorms and showers that have brought floods to parts of the Balkans but the skies are clear blue over Symi and new arrivals to the island are conspicuous by their pallor amongst the sun-tanned locals. They won’t stay pale for long though as the long range weather forecast shows sunshine all the way and it is impossible not to pick up some colour in this climate.

The Symi Festival program has finally been released and the official grand opening concert on 25 July will feature Greek pop divas Despina Vandi and Elli Kokkinou so we can expect a very full island that weekend. As the concert falls on a Sunday evening and this year there are no ferries scheduled from Symi to Rhodes early on Monday mornings we hope that this event will provide an incentive to Dodecanese Seaways to do something about this lack. Plenty of people will be wanting to come over from Rhodes for the concert but may think twice about it if they cannot get back the next morning. The theme of this year’s festival is ecology and the fresh green posters will be going up around the town in the next few days.

A mobile mammogram unit is visiting the island this weekend to provide free mammograms for the women of Symi. Any woman over the age of 40 living on Symi is entitled to this x-ray and there has been a very good response to this initiative. When one lives on an island with limited facilities a basic check up usually entails a day or so in Rhodes and these things, though important, are often put off due to lack of time and money. Bravo to the organizers of this program.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana