Spring Fever

Many Symiots fly the Greek flag for holidays such as Independence Day on 25 March. 

Greece, along with the rest of the EU, changed to daylight saving summer time yesterday and spring has officially begun. With the first tourists arriving on Symi for Easter in a few weeks there is a lot to be done and the island is humming with activity. A shipload of building materials came into Pedi at the weekend – we could see it unloading from the roof terrace of our farm house. Apart from preparing tourist accommodation, restaurants, cafes and shops, many locals are also busy getting their boats ready for the season. Many places on Symi that are beaches in the summer are home to small boats and caiques chocked up on barrels for the winter and these all have to be painted, launched and moved to summer moorings so that the beach franchise holders can get on with preparing their sunbeds and umbrellas for the season. Other boats have spent the winter on trailers in car parks, orchards and olive groves and have to be similarly dug out of their winter hibernation. The car and bike hire companies are washing and polishing their fleets. There is a line up of gleaming copper Fiats over by the clock tower, clearly visible in the sunshine from my office window.

A bee making sure that we will have at least one apricot this year.

Wild sage flowering in a water course.

Everywhere one looks the island is smothered with flowers at the moment. Even the oaks and olives are doing their bit. Here are some spring fever photos for those visitors who have only ever seen Symi in her dry summer garb and find it hard to imagine that Symi is ever anything but burned brown in the sun.

A Valonia oak in spring finery

A scented carpet of wild cyclamens under the olives.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana