Wedding Bells and Misty Mornings

Neil Gosling, photographer in residence, photographing the happy couple outside the town hall this morning.

'You may now kiss the bride!' - Ken and Trine from Norway tie the knot at Symi's town hall.  They were married by Symi's mayor, Lefteris Papakalodoukas (right).

Neil does his stuff. The celebrations will continue with a ride on the noddy train round to the Tholos restaurant for lunch (too hot to walk!), followed by champagne cocktails at sunset on the Poseidon, a sunset blessing at Agia Marina and then dinner at Mythos roof terrace.  Very romantic and a wonderful experience for the happy couple and their guests, something that they will always remember.

Hawkers selling fresh fruit and vegetables at the back of the town square in Yialos this morning.

A fruit and veg delivery off the Panagia Skiadeni for the supermarkets in our lane.

No fuel shortages either - this is the mini tanker that comes round in the early morning to refuel the taxi boats and yachts.

Gyros are still ridiculously cheap and no one minds the absence of fast food franchises on the island.  Vegetarians can head for one of the bakeries nearby for a spinach or cheese pie.

Do you remember that little boat I photographed being sanded down and repainted a couple of months back? Well it has evidently found its purpose in life, advertising the various water taxi destinations on the quay.

A veritable armada of yachts pulling out of Yialos early this morning.

Early morning mist crowning Nimos in the distance.

A small cruise ship has been coming through twice a week, staying for several hours so that passengers have plenty of time to explore the island.

Sunshine and shadows on a washing line in Chorio.
Symi is sweltering in a heatwave with temperatures over 40 degrees this week.  Humidity is quite high too. July is usually the hottest month and as the days are still quite long, the island does not really cool down much at night. All that rock soaks up the heat during the day so that even at midnight temperatures can still be in the 30s.  In a climate like this it makes sense to have a siesta of some sort in the hottest part of the day and many people work from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. and then start all over again at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., working through until 9 or 10 at night.  A lot of tourist businesses actually stay open right through.  When northern Europeans consider siestas as some sort of indication of indolence and laziness on the part of the Mediterranean peoples, they tend to forget that often the summer working day is considerably longer than that of northern Europeans and the hours that people in seasonal employment have to put in in the summer, in exhausting temperatures, would cause protests and industrial action elsewhere.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana


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About this Blog

I sailed into Panormitis Bay, Symi, by chance one windy July day in 1993 and have been here ever since. The locals tell me that this is one of the miracles of St Michael of Panormitis. A BA graduate with majors in English, Philosophy and Classical Civilisation, the idea of living in what is to all intents and purposes an archaeological site appeals to me. Not as small as Kastellorizo, not as touristy as Rhodes, Symi is just the right size. I live on a small holding which my husband and I have reclaimed from a ruin of over-grazing and neglect and turned into a small oasis over the course of the past 22 years. I also work part-time for Symi Visitor Accommodation, helping independent travellers discover and enjoy Symi's simple pleasures for themselves.

This page is kindly sponsored by Wendy Wilcox, Symi Visitor Accommodation.


Adriana Shum

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