Symi's Golden Light

It is a hot summer’s day on the small Greek island of Symi in the southern corner of the Dodecanese archipelago. Far from the hurly burly of mainland Greece, Symi basks in its own golden light. The picket lines of the general strikes in Athens and Piraeus so beloved by the media are a long way from Symi and belong to a different world. The local ferry companies that serve Symi, http://www.anes.gr/ and http://www.12ne.gr/, are small businesses where the crews are virtually family members and connections between Symi and Rhodes are running smoothly. The only difficulties that visitors to Symi may experience this year is that due to the economic climate there are not as many boats serving the different routes on a daily basis as there were in previous years and the Aegli hydrofoil still has not been replaced. The local island shipping companies are not buying more boats at the moment but are doing the best they can with what they have. The next general strike has been called for Thursday 8 July but at this stage it is unclear which unions will be participating. So far the air traffic controllers have not been joining in and international flights have not been affected.

The Symi Festival opens on 11 July. More information will be available next week as the details are being finalized this weekend and the festival brochures are being printed on Monday. On 12 July David O’Meara, the One Mile Runner http://www.onemilerunner.com/ will be running on Symi in support of the Symi Festival. Another important date to note if you are on Symi this summer is 28 July which will be dedicated to Lemonia Tsirimona from Syllogos Restaurant who died suddenly on 18 June 2010. She played such an active part in the life of the community it is very strange for the island to be without her. So many everyday questions were answered with ‘I’ll just ask Lemonia’. Hers will be difficult shoes to fill.

Although Symi is now edging into high season there is still quite a lot of last minute availability on the island outside of the peak dates of 14 and 15 August so it is not too late for a quick Symi summer break and enjoy Symi’s golden light for yourself.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana