A beautiful view of Adriana's recent blog posts!

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The Annual Ice on the Puddles Photographs

These were taken on the dirt road to Drakos

 on the morning of Tuesday 26 January 2010

after a strong overnight northerly wind.

See... it does get cold on Symi in the winter :-)

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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

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Hail Stones

It is a wild and stormy winter’s day on Symi and the Proteus car ferry is tied up alongside the clock tower in Symi harbour, waiting for the wind to abate and the shipping ban to be lifted. Although it is mid morning it is so dark that the street lights have come on along the road connecting the harbour with Chorio. There is very little human activity to be seen apart from disgruntled figures huddled under awnings waiting for either the storm to abate or the shipping ban to be lifted or both. Thunder is growling round the Vigla and water is flowing through the lanes of Yialos and squirting from every downpipe. Most of the island’s cisterns filled up weeks ago.

The whole of Greece is experiencing harsh winter weather at the moment. With force 9 gales in the Aegean and heavy snow and ice on the roads of the mainland most of Greece is battened down to ride out the storm. Although the rain is expected to ease overnight as it pushes eastwards into Turkey, gale force winds are expected to continue over Greece well into next week and we can expect further shipping disruptions. January has been exceptionally wet on Symi this year and the so called Halcyon Days, a period of settled weather in the first half of January, failed to materialize this year. Instead there have been more wet days than dry ones and the locals are feeling the pinch.

Yesterday, Thursday, was the only clear day this week and that was so cold that the hail stones from the storm the night before were still in evidence in the verges at midday. A team of workmen took the opportunity to brick up the pediments on the new sports stadium. Once the roof is completed there will be plenty of undercover work to be done and then the rain and wind won’t matter so much.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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Moss on the Rooftops

It is a damp and chilly Monday morning on Symi and the island’s cafeneions are noisy as Symi’s work force discusses yet another day written off to the rain. Voices and the combined aromas of coffee and tobacco rise from Pachos below and the huddle of motorbikes on the pavement grows larger. The whole of Greece is firmly under a cloud bank at the moment with thunderstorms, snow and rainy conditions countrywide. Up in the north temperatures range from 0-8 degrees centigrade but down here in the southern Dodecanese a cosy 9-16 degrees centigrade prevails. We can expect a brief cold spell mid week and then more of the wet stuff as we move into the next weekend. Fortunately at this stage no strong winds are forecast so shipping should continue as scheduled.

With moss on the rooftops and grass growing on the Kali Strata Symi is acquiring a greenish hue that would be quite surprising to summer visitors. Clumps of cyclamens are flowering in the cliff behind the bus stop in Yialos and even the rocky slopes above Pedi Bay are green as the thyme bushes are covered in tiny leaves. Mist blankets the mountain tops and the radio masts and wind turbine on the top of the Vigla are hidden by low cloud.

It is definitely time for indoor pursuits and those who are not seeking the convivial atmosphere of the cafeneions are tucked up in their houses or visiting friends. It is the time of year for reading books and watching DVDs, for making marmalade and catching up with correspondence. While winter on Symi may be too quiet for many, for those who are able to amuse themselves it is an enjoyable time indeed. This Wednesday at 10 a.m there will be another ‘learn to love your laptop’ session at the Olive Tree. If you are a laptop novice on Symi and want to learn more about how to Skype and use various other applications, this could be just the thing.

Have a warm dry week.

Regards,

Adriana

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Patience and Good Humour

Symi is drying off after several days of heavy downpours and thunderstorms. More rain is forecast from tonight so a wet weekend is on the cards. Temperatures are around 13 degrees centigrade but it feels colder as everything is damp. Visibility between showers is clear and the sea is calm. There are not many boats in the water at this time of the year but those that are are taking advantage of good fishing conditions between pumping rainwater out of the bilges. The wet conditions are also good for the gathering of snails and chorta (wild greens) and many meals at this time of the year have their origins in traditional self-sufficiency rather than anything that the supermarket might offer. A few days ago I heard voices in the water course that flows through my farm and on investigation found a local father with his little girls, showing them which greens are good to eat and which are best left to the goats.

Pedi is very quiet indeed. Just the occasional chicken scratching for insects and damp cats snoozing among the boats at Apostolis. The fuel station opposite the power station has closed down so there is less traffic down the Pedi road than is usual for this time of the year. The Nimborio road is a chain of puddles and mud and most of the houses are shuttered against the winter weather. At some point someone put one of the old scarlet benches from the top deck of the old Symi I on the first little beach at Nimborio. This is now so buried under the sand bank that the winter storms have formed that only the top rail is visible. Speaking of sand, the sand has all washed away at NOS Paradise beach – Dimitri will have a lot of work to do in the spring.

The Symi II is now out of commission for maintenance so the ferry service is limited to the Proteus and the once a week visit from the Spanos on Sundays. A big boat from Pireaus is scheduled to call twice a week but as this is affected by weather conditions in the central Aegean which can be quite wild at this time of the year it is not very reliable. If you are planning to travel to Symi in the coming weeks please make sure not only that your travel insurance covers all contingencies but also that you remember to pack both patience and good humour in your hand luggage as you may well need both!

Have a warm dry weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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Raising the Roof on Symi

The new covered sports facility in Chorio is making great progress.

Rainy weather did not prevent the roof from going up as you can see from these photographs. 

This is quite an engineering feat for a small place like Symi.

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Settling Back into Symi Life

It is a grey drizzly day on Symi with occasional patches of bright sunshine catching the fishing boats tied up in the harbour. So far Symi has had an exceptionally mild winter and I was amazed on my return from South Africa on Friday to find that the aubergines, chillis and peppers in my vegetable garden, usually long gone by now, are still covered in leaves, flowers and ripening fruit. The almond trees are also behind schedule, wearing last year’s leaves instead of bedecked with this year’s blossom so there is unlikely to be a nut crop this year. The citrus trees, on the other hand, are absolutely bowed down with lemons and oranges and the snails are tucking into the salad greens with gusto.

While I am settling back into Symi life, Wendy is still snow-bound in Suffolk. She recently had one of those ‘what a small world’ experiences while shopping for a new dining table at Mark Elliot (for our non-British readers, he is a master craftsman and maker of bespoke wooden furniture). Having chosen the table of her heart’s desire, she asked to have it shipped to a small Greek island of which she was sure no one had heard – only to discover from Mr Elliot’s rapturous response that he knows Symi well and has been holidaying here happily for years. As a sailor he likes to keep an eye on sea and weather conditions in our part of the world and is a regular visitor to the Symi Visitor Accommodation webcam.

Speaking of webcams, with the demise of Olympic Airways long haul flights, I had to fly with Emirates via Dubai and they have webcams mounted on their planes so that passengers can see what is going on beneath and ahead of the plane. While at 30 000 feet this is, of course, mainly clouds, but during clear spells and take off and landing it is quite fun to see the landscape rolling along below. Flying long haul is so high tech these days, Emirates even offer facilities for making mobile phone calls and sending emails and SMSs from seats in standard economy class. No, they are not selling off bargain bits of Palm Island at Dubai airport but the Emirates terminal ranks high in the world of duty free shopping emporiums. As a hub for long haul visitors to Greece it is a more comfortable option than Cairo or Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, back on Symi there is that brief lull between the Christmas and Easter festivities. With Easter falling early, on 4 April, Lent starts in mid February this year so Carnival is only a few weeks away and the island’s mothers are already planning fancy dress costumes and hunting for tulle and sequins.

Many thanks to all of you who emailed and sent messages to me when I left for South Africa in December. Despite six weeks in hospital, four of them in Intensive Care, my father has pulled through and is preparing to fight the next round in his battle against cancer. Thanks also to the staff and doctors at St Augustine’s Hospital, Durban, without whose dedicated efforts Musa Nkuna and many other South African singers would now be looking for a new coach.

Have a good week and for those of you who are up to your ears in snow, keep warm and remember that the days are getting longer again so spring can't be far away.

Regards,

Adriana

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