Preparations for Easter

While those following the Catholic calendar are celebrating Easter this weekend, here in Greece we have a whole week to go and, as I mentioned in Monday’s blog, it is the most solemn week of fasting in the church calendar.  Not even olive oil is permitted.  There are lots of quips about how the Big Week diet of boiled pulses and vegetables is what everyone will be living on in Austerity Greece but given the ingenuity of Greek cooks, even the plainest dish of fakes (boiled lentils) is a tasty one.  The Easter Sunday lamb on 15 April will be all the tastier for the frugal food that precedes it.

The island is already busier as the Panagia Skiadeni and Dodecanese Pride have brought some day trippers over from Rhodes and there have also been a few gulets over from Turkey.  There has been a steady stream of arrivals all week as foreign property owners and regular visitors start to arrive for the Easter or Spring break and looking out across the harbour, there are far more shutters open.  Shops are also opening up after the long winter and it is not unusual to be served by someone who is holding a paintbrush in one hand as preparations for Easter and the season are underway.

The sphinx on the roof next door has had a new coat of paint.

Temperatures are still around 20 degrees centigrade with a cool breeze coming off the water.  Yesterday afternoon we had a few sprinkles of red rain, legacy of sandstorms in Libya and Tunisia, but the sky is clear today.  Some thundershowers are expected early next week as the low pressure system that is currently bringing rain to Italy and snow to the mountains heads our way.  The current long range forecast for the Easter long weekend looks good.

As you can see from the photograph below, there is still a large empty space in the water where the water taxis and excursion boats usually berth. They are round the corner, on the shore at Harani boatyard, having their bottoms painted and their engines serviced. The Proteus is being prepared for her trip to Pireaus for her inspection and ANES has put up the schedule for the Agias Nektarious – not much help to us on Symi but it does mean there is life in the company yet.  The schedule for the Panagia Skiadeni is still only available up to 17 April but more information should be available after Easter. The Friday trips from Rhodes to Marmaris have been confirmed until the end of the month but the bits in between have not been announced yet.

Happy Easter to our western readers.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana