Torrents
The Agia Marina River at the head of the Pedi Valley
Symi has been buffeted by heavy rain and thunderstorms all week with 150 mm of rain recorded between Wednesday midday and Friday morning. The water in the harbour is a muddy brown as the Kataraktis and many of the island’s other seasonal water courses have been coming down in torrents, tumbling stones, plants and debris as they go. Rhodes and other parts of Southern Greece have also experienced heavy rain and flooding. The rest of Greece is in the grip of severe wintery weather with widespread snow warnings, particularly in central and northern parts of the country and in the mountain areas. Spring has definitely taken a backward step as the long range forecast suggests that this unsettled and wet weather will continue until well into March. Not much fun for those who are trying to get houses and businesses ready for Easter arrivals – and even less fun for the local youngsters as it is Carnival week in Greece. The traditional Symi Smokey Thursday BBQ yesterday was postponed due to the wet weather – I remember one year when the big Symi ferry was here for the winter and the vehicle hold was used as an impromptu venue. I think that was the winter of 2007. The combination of oily paint, wet shoes and spray foam proved to be treacherous as was borne out by the number of slings and bandages in evidence around Symi the following day.
Pedi Bay in the Rain Yesterday
The Vigla is completely hidden in cloud.
Yialos, Friday Morning - not the usual blue view from my office window.
The deteriorating situation in the Middle East and North Africa has not passed unnoticed. Indeed the Greek government was very quick to respond with the need to evacuate Greek citizens from Libya this week.
On the local ferry front, the Proteus is now having its annual maintenance check and according to the on line ferry schedule (if one looks beyond the coming week) it reappears in service on 14 March, following the same schedule that applied in February, until 2 April. The April schedules have not been released yet so we shall have to be patient and wait and see what happens after that. In the meantime I know of at least one person who is having to leave the island on Monday to catch a plane that leaves Rhodes on Thursday. It is just as well that in the tourist season the boats are more frequent than they are in the winter.
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
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