Brooms and Blue Skies

Oak leaves and acorns in Lieni - the big Valonia oak that overhangs the road has responded to the drop in temperatures and darker days.

The grass, on the other hand, is well up in most places now.  It is amazing how fast things change with a bit of rain.  More rain is forecast for tomorrow, followed by sunshine on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and then the possibility of showers creeping in for the second half of next week, after the Panormitis Festival.

The valley is fast greening over and on a clear day with a north wind one can see for miles.

Every little crevice that traps soil and moisture is turning into a garden and even the humble dandelion is a welcome sight after the dust of summer.

Many businesses are now packed away for the winter and it is really only those places that cater to the needs of the locals that stay open through the winter months.

The Symi flower shop is one that stays open all year.  Now is a great time for gardening and they sell vegetable seedlings as well as onion sets and herbs.  While northern European gardeners are heading indoors to browse seed catalogues for spring planting, here in the south it is the beginning of the gardening year.  Temperatures are still around the 20 degree mark so relatively mild and optimal for germination.

When the Blue Star came through this morning, it brought a cavalcade of cars, vans and trucks, laden with fairground items for Panormitis.  Most of them have gone over the mountain to stake their claim in the monastery grounds. This broom seller, however, deposited his load on the pavement opposite our office. The idea seems to be to buy a new broom and use it to sweep away the sins and sorrows of the past year.  These brooms are like besoms without the broom sticks and are made of straw.  A stooped posture of supplication is inevitable when using such a thing. As you can see, the harbour in the background is empty.  Apart from the Blue Star, any other boats are going direct to Panormitis as that is where the action is.

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The Sunshine is Guaranteed

The autumn leaves are starting to fall.  It is many months now since we last had rain and the almond trees are desperate.  Six weeks to go before the anticipated start to the rainy season!

The Blessed Virgin of the Castle, sporting sunshades as well as flags for the Assumption this year.

If you book your holiday accommodation through Symi Visitor Accommodation you will always be met from the ferry and won't find yourself with a pile of suitcases, asking directions from the locals.  It is all part of our service.

Off to the beach!

When I used to sail it was considered bad form to leave port trailing fenders but times have changed.

The houses that line Symi's famous natural amphitheatre harbour cling to the cliffs in a jigsaw of steps, lanes, ramps and contour paths. There was no overall master plan at the time but the overall effect is infinitely charming to the eye.

A typical August morning view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office.

If you are travelling light you can always top up your  holiday wardrobe when you get here.

The pomegranates are swelling in the old gardens of Chorio.

Orange!

Central Chorio, overlooking the Pedi Valley.

A quiet moment in Yialos early this morning.

As August draws to a close autumn is just around the corner.  The shadows are lengthening and the edge has gone from the heat.  The breeze has changed to the north, freshening the air and taking away some of the humidity.  The plants know that the end is in sight.  Wherever there is water, seeds are starting to germinate and on close inspection even the most frazzled geraniums seem to have a few tiny new green shoots.

The official Mediterranean holiday season is coming to an end and everyone who traditionally takes August off is heading back to work or school.  The Blue Star car ferry to Pireus is very busy as many Greeks, Italians and French 'drive' here for their holidays, making use of the car ferries connecting Greece and the islands with Italy and continental Europe. Clean and efficient, this is often a pleasanter way to travel than the indignities of modern air travel and you don't have to worry about liquids and whether your hand luggage meets the varying criteria of different airlines.

The Greek schools reopen soon and the island's young people will be heading off to college or university in the next week or so.  Others will be in the army as Greece still has military conscription. The demographic shifts in September as Symi's regular visitors from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia start to arrive.  If you aren't tied to the school holidays, September is one of the best months to visit Symi. The sea is as warm as it is going to get, day time temperatures are between 28 and 32 degrees so not too hot and the evenings are mild enough to sit outside without needing sweaters and shawls.  If you haven't already booked, drop us a line as we still have some availability left and one thing about Symi in September - the sunshine is guaranteed!

Have a good bank holiday long weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Life on Symi in August

Life imitating art?

No, this isn't the result of a sudden downpour.  At this time of the year the municipality hoses down the lanes first thing in the morning to get rid of the dust.  

There is a new ice factory on Symi, just down our lane.  Yachtsmen, you can drop off your washing at the Sunflower, pick up your cakes at the patisserie, get your shopping delivered from the supermarket and collect ice on the way back.  And that is not forgetting the chandler immediately opposite our office door.  Everything you need, all within a few metres of each other.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation balcony this week.

Fresh fish, locally caught.

It was very humid on Wednesday, hence this very hazy view of the Blue Star Paros.

If you are looking for the Chorio museum having got off the bus at the Lavinia/Lieni stop, you will approach the museum from the side.  It is the white building on the right of the lane in this photograph and the entrance is around the corner, diagonally opposite the rather splendid red house you can glimpse in the distance.

The dividing line between town and country is very blurred io Symi and it is not unusual to see goats, sheep and chickens wandering around the lanes, looking for a snack. Remember to keep your courtyard door closed to avoid unwanted visitors nibbling the geraniums!

Weathered wood in Chorio.

I wonder how long that tin bath has been there.

Roof repairs to the Agios Eleftherias church at Kampos in Chorio. This church is unusual in that it has twin bell towers integral to the building.

Chorio colours

Morning glory flourishes in the present high humidity.

Cat nap.

The clock tower and police station in Yialos. The Schengen clearing zone is at the base of the clock tower and all yachts coming in from outside the EU have to stop there first to complete immigration formalities and customs procedures.

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July Postcards from Symi

The Cypriot  Salamis Filoxenia is the largest cruise ship that can actually dock in Yialos.  The rest, if they come our way, anchor off in Nimborio bay and bring their guests ashore in lighters.  

After a searing heatwave of over a week with temperatures in the mid to high forties, Symi's plant life is a bit frazzled.  The bougainvilleas and many trees and shrubs are shedding flowers, bracts and leaves with every puff of wind.  Temperatures have now dropped back into the thirties and feel quite reasonable after what we have been through recently.

Discreet advertising on the Kali Strata.  Symi is popular with artists of all kinds, inspired by the architecture, the landscape, the sparkling Aegean light...  If you are looking for somewhere to spark your muse, come to Symi!

The view from the Symi Visitor balcony is much busier than it was a week or so ago.  Ferries, cruise ships, water taxis, excursion boats, gulets, private yachts - there's always something coming or going every time I look out.

The Blue Star Paros has taken over from the Patmos for the summer.  Smaller and nippier, you can't miss her arrivals and departures as she plays little ice cream van jingles as the ramp goes down and up.

Once upon a time the sponge merchants of Symi sat out on these balconies, looking out for the fleet returning from the sponge grounds off Bengazi in Libya. That black car in the background is actually on the top of the hill on the other side of the harbour!  Symi's dimensions are Toy Town.

Keeping to the shady side of the street.

Looking up the Kali Strata from near the bottom, near the Old Markets hotel.

Summer colours

A new cantina has opened above me, at Agia Marina cemetery  (not to be confused with Agia Marina beach which is a different place altogether!).  A low budget enterprise, most of the furniture has been made from old pallets.  They will be grilling souvlaki on hot summer nights and we have already discovered that we are teased with tantalising aromas when the wind blows from that direction.

The view from the new cantina.  That is the Pedi Valley and Pedi Bay on the right.  On the left you can see over the ridge towards Nimborio bay and Nimos island.

Book your accommodation with us at Symi Visitor Accommodation and you will receive a totally personalised service.  All your questions are answered and your needs are taken into account when we make your booking.  

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Same Day to Sizzling Symi?

The wild oregano has faded to dusty beige and the St John's Wort is one of the few wild flowers left to add interest to an increasingly arid landscape.

Pedi bay was very busy during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

The new stone house at the end of my road is taking shape.  It is a very labour intensive method of construction as the local stone has to be 'dressed' before it can be used.  Many man hours go into chipping rock into symmetrical shapes and useful sizes.  All new buildings in Greece, no matter whether brick or stone, also have to meet strict building standards for earthquakes and have to have a reinforced concrete earthquake proof framework.

Watch the birdie!

Looking down the Kali Strata from about a quarter of the way down.

At first glance there may only seem to be 2 boats in this picture but if you look carefully, there are also two big power yachts on this side of the harbour with only their bows visible.

One of the two butcher's shops in the harbour.  There is also now a proper fresh fish monger which opened this week.  I 'll have a photograph of that for you on Monday.

The view from the Symi Visitor this morning.  The fuel station sends a mini -tanker round to bunker the water taxis.  This service is also available for yachts if they don't want to go over to the bunkering jetty.

When the sea looks like this at 8 in the morning, the rest of the day is sure to be very hot.

Yachts lying off Harani on Monday.

It has been very hot this week with little wind to speak of apart from local catabatic winds coming off the mountain in the early evening. Everything seems to be shimmering in the heat.

Monday morning in Yialos.  There were similar scenes of tangled anchors for several hours on Monday as boats that had come over for Bayram tried to leave in a different order to that in which they had arrived.  It is much more sensible to anchor in Pedi than Yialos during peak periods.

There was also an Israeli flotilla in town.

There is no formal ferry service to Datca in Turkey as there just isn't enough demand.  It is possible, however, to arrange to go over on one of these boats for the Saturday market.  The contact details are advertised on the boats.

What was I saying about tangled anchors?

And so June draws to a sizzling close in what is being regarded as one of the hottest heatwaves to roll out of Africa in decades. The heat is only expected to break later next week but on Symi that doesn't make a huge amount of difference as once the rock as heated up, it stays hot until September.   Temperatures are in the forties during the day and the thirties at night.

Anyone who does not have to work is at the beach, enjoying cooling swims and frosted glasses that tinkle with ice cubes.  The rest of us find excuses to linger in the bank, the supermarket and anywhere else where the air conditioning is reasonably efficient.

The Symi Sea Dream is now back in service although the rumoured evening program from Rhodes to Symi has so far failed to materialise.  A new development on the ferry front is that the Blue Star Patmos has been replaced by the smaller Paros and has managed to fit in another Symi route.  She passes through Symi at about 2 a.m. on Sunday mornings en route to Rhodes (yes, I know!) and then leaves Rhodes again at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, getting to Symi about an hour and a half later, en route to Pireaus.  For more information, please see our travel blog as well as the Blue Star website.

Our travel blog also shows some flight possibilities that connect up with ferries to Symi so that you don't have to overnight in Rhodes.  You could yet get to Symi this summer!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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