Rediscover the Spirit of Easter

Snoozing in the sun.  

In the summer when I stop to look through this gap in the buildings on the Kali Strata I see yachts and Turkish gulets. Now it is empty water.  As you can see, work is continuing on the Katerinettes building, the place where the VE Day Peace Treaty was signed in the Dodecanese.  Fingers crossed that the pillar box red is a temporary aberration... 

Sunlight catching an almond orchard in Lieni.

New leaves unfurling on a young valonia oak in Lieni.

There are at least 4 cats and a sheep in this photograph.

Almond petals on the stone flags at my house.

When we talk about free range poultry on Symi, we really mean it.  This fellow has taken up residence at the end of our road and hangs out with the cats and sheep.

The Kastro at 8 a.m. today.  

The Milos part of Chorio showing the old ruined windmills on the crest .  The ochre and terracotta building on the right foreground is the Taxiarchis Hotel. The bit of roof with work men in evidence, sticking out from behind the white house with blue shutters in the left foreground is the new undercover sports'stadium.  Apparently they are hoping to have the stadium open in 6 weeks, hence the feverish pace of work.

The colour palette of the houses on Symi reflects the colours of the landscape and the Mediterranean sky.

February continues unseasonably mild.  Carnival is not far away now and the dress shop in Chorio has a few fancy dress outfits for children on display.  Posters advertising various children's Carnival parties are also appearing on the electricity poles and at the bus stops.  This being a very small Greek island, there is not a single Easter item in the shops on Symi and even St Valentine is maintaining a low profile.  When the time comes for the Easter baking to start, then the shops will get in the sachets of red dye for Easter eggs and all the ingredients for the traditional baked delicacies.  A few chocolate eggs with toys or candles attached may appear in one or two of the supermarkets but generally Greek Easter eggs come from hens and are dyed and decorated at home.  In Greece the joy of Easter has more to do with families getting together to celebrate the Resurrection than an orgy of consumer spending.  If you would like a break from spend-spend-spend and want to rediscover the spirit of Easter, please email us.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana