When The Rain Passes

The little church on the corner  of my road has sprouted a name board in my absence.

And sheep may safely graze - in the shelter of the chapel walls.

 Every morning we seem to wake up to downpours and grumbling thunder and the sunny intervals are often too brief to dash dry shod down the Kali Strata or pop out to the supermarket.  The island’s taxis are doing brisk business.  In the absence of storm water drains Symi’s steep lanes and myriad flights of steps rapidly become fast flowing streams and the stones are well scrubbed.  The dust and cigarette butts of summer are long gone.  Grass and moss grow in every crevice and the stone walls are sprouting gardens of ferns and cyclamens.  Many sheep are roaming free range at the moment, grabbing any grazing they can.

When the rain passes the shiny new snowfalls on the distant peaks of Anatolia sparkle in the sun. So far we  have not had snow any closer to Symi this winter but last year we had the coldest weather of the year at the end of February so we cannot assume the worst is over yet.  The island is very quiet.  It is too wet and cold for outdoor work, even for those who are employed, and everyone battens down early by the fireside.  Whiffs of woodsmoke curl from chimneys around Chorio from mid afternoon.

Greek Easter is very late this year – Greek Easter Sunday falls on 5 May 2013 – so Carnival which normal enlivens the gloom of February falls mainly in March this year.  Nothing daunted many of the expats and their friends on Symi settled into an evening of pancake tossing  to celebrate Shrove Tuesday – living in such isolation the community is adept at finding its own amusements and celebrations.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Free range chickens wandering through the Pedi valley.

That is a little glimmer of snow just to the right of the largest peak on the horizon.