Coming to a Close

Fragments of stencil work on a ruin in Chorio.

A water taxi being packed up for the winter.

Not many yachts in the anchorage in Pedi.

That red scar isn't fall out from the Hungarian disaster - it is the perimeter of Symi's football field.

It is a clear sparkling autumn day on Symi. There were a few drops of rain during the night and a few ragged streaks of cloud are hanging about but the torrential rain and thunderstorms that have affected other parts of Greece have given Symi a miss. The forecast remains unsettled for the rest of the week and as successive waves of autumnal weather sweep across the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Syria Symi may well experience some wet and weather this week. Although Symi has not received any proper rain many of the autumn plants are already in evidence. Silvery squills are waving their flowers on the rocky hillsides and the first daintily painted cyclamen leaves are poking through the stones in the shady places.

Down in the harbour preparations are under way for the great winter sleep. The water taxi skippers are packing up, wrapping chairs in black plastic to protect them from the elements and preparing to lift their boats out of the water at the end of the month. Umbrellas and sunshades are being packed away and winter plastic awnings fitted. Tavernas and cafes are packing away excess chairs and tables and shortening their menus to suit the diminished number of people and the changes in the weather. The season seems to be coming to a close earlier than usual this year, in part due to the poor ferry schedules for the second half of October. We hope that the shipping companies manage to come up with something because the lack of connections on certain days of the week during a period when there are still visitors coming to the island is not just detrimental to the island’s economy in the short term but is also not helpful to Symi’s overall image as a tourist destination. Symi is fast returning to being an adventure destination for back packers with flexible schedules who don’t mind an element of uncertainty in their travel arrangements. Fine for the footloose and fancy free but not much good for families looking for a half term break. As this is an election year and the mayor is on the committee of ANES this should be at the top of the agenda.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana