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| Spotted outside the butcher in Chorio this week - a shepherd's crook. Perhaps Easter lamb negotiations are taking place inside. |
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| Kiosks are not always kiosks. Sometimes they are small shops. The entrance to the square in Chorio. |
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| An extraordinarily detailed restoration on the square in Chorio. This house must have belonged to someone quite rich and prosperous as it is a lot bigger than it looks as it is deeper than it is wide and actually has an internal staircase of quite grand proportions. Most traditional Symi houses have external stairs to connect the floors and then open tread ladders or open spirals inside to save space. |
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| The top of the Kali Strata, the 19th century staircase that connects the upper village, Chorio, with the harbour, Yialos. |
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| The site has been cleared and the spa bath has arrived. What more do you want? |
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| Valentine's Day, Symi style. |
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| Modest but putting a brave face on it, the first daisies open in the chilly winter sunshine. |
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| The first asphodels are also opening up. |
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| A wild cyclamen in Chorio. |
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| The buds are swelling on the valonia oaks. |
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| The bougainvilleas may be bald but the birds are back. |
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| A little patch of sun. |
Cold, clear and dry, Symi is starting to dry out. Yesterday was 'Smokey Thursday', the start of carnival which is celebrated with lots of grilled meat. In these times of austerity that is mostly pork souvlaki but meat never the less. In the big cities carnival is for all ages but here in the islands it is mainly the children who have fancy dress parties and enjoy showing off their costumes. It looks as though the dry weather will continue until Clean Monday on 27 February so no one risks turning from Sleeping Beauty to Drowned Rat and mothers don't have to worry about crepe paper leaking dye everywhere.
One sad piece of news to report is the passing this week of Captain Gabriel from the Diagoras excursion boat. He contributed greatly to the sum of human happiness over the decades as he introduced many of Symi's visitors to the island's picturesque beaches and rugged coastline. This summer will be very odd without him.
Have a good weekend.
Regards,
Adriana
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