Wind and Wood Smoke

A cold and choppy sea.

It was so rough this morning that the Blue Star Patmos did not stop, leaving lots of frustrated travelers fuming on the dock.

Pigeons may have small brains but they are certainly sensible.  This cornice on the National Bank is a nice warm sunny spot, out of the wind!

It may be a bit bumpy in the  harbour today but in the winter, when there are few boats and all the tourist trappings are packed away, the view of Symi's distinctive neo-classical architecture is unobstructed. That long stone building with the light green woodwork in the middle of this photograph is the highly-acclaimed Old Markets hotel.

The bus stop in Yialos.  The blue bus is the one that serves Panormitis monastery. Conspicuous by its absence is the yellow bus which serves the Yialos-Chorio-Pedi route as it is still away for maintenance.  Those cubes on the quay to the right are pallets of stone flags, similar to the ones already laid around the centre of the harbour, so we can expect a continuation of the paving project in the near future.  The ramp at the far left leads to the high school, the upper section of the Kali Strata and Chorio. 

It is not just the architectural detail that  is revealed when the sunhats and beach towels are packed away.  Walking back from the ATM at the Alpha bank this morning I noticed that this tourist shop is using an Easter themed plastic table cloth (plastic table cloths are sold by the metre in Greece) as a partition.  The other side is rather more sophisticated wood paneling as it is a posh boutique.

Breakfast for some of the street cats of Yialos. Symi Animal Welfare and various dedicated locals look after the various cat colonies in Yialos, Chorio and Pedi during the winter when taverna pickings are lean.  The shiny bag on the left seems to have shoes in it and has probably blown off the table so this is not a Symi interpretation of  the fairy story, 'Puss in Boots'!

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning.  It is not particularly obvious but the boats are all rolling in the swell.

Work has started on the new road from the new commercial harbour.  Apparently it will curve around the hill and join the existing road just beyond the bend at the top, where you can see that blue tanker parked. When the harbour is completed, the big boats will dock there instead of by the clock tower and heavy vehicles will go up the new road and over the hill to the Pedi road where all the warehouses are, significantly cutting down on heavy traffic passing along the waterfront in Yialos.  

It is a cold, clear and windy day on Symi.  Temperatures are not expect to rise above 6 degrees centigrade today and with the wind chill it is actually only just above freezing.  Water froze in exposed places overnight and there was ice on the mountain.  Tonight is expected to be even colder. When I venture out of the office I can smell wood smoke from all directions as there are cast iron wood burners in several of the surrounding businesses and homes.

The Blue Star was unable to dock in Symi this morning.  Regular readers of this blog will remember that this was often the case in the days of the Diagoras (now ploughing the waves between Morocco and the Canary Islands) but it is unusual for the more modern Patmos with its sophisticated bow thrusters and more efficient underwater profile to chicken out. We hope she can dock on the way back from Rhodes tonight as this is the island's supply line for post, food, fresh produce etcetera and the next vehicle connection with Rhodes is next Wednesday! The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran should come through tomorrow en route to Kos but this only has limited vehicle and freight capacity and doesn't have the height to take trucks and vans.

Have a warm weekend wherever you are.  It is now less than two months to the spring equinox!

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi Sunshine in October

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office balcony this morning.

Hellenic blues by the bridge in Yialos

A pigeon heading for the ATM at the National Bank of Greece. The ATM is just inside the doors.  About 10 years ago there was a flock of geese living in the harbour as a local business man thought they were cute when they were goslings and bought them from a gypsy hawker.  Geese, as anyone who has ever kept them will know, are notoriously bad tempered and noisy and actually make excellent 'guard dogs'. Well, to cut a long story short, when the winter came the geese took up residence in the entrance to the bank in bad weather, preventing anyone from getting to the ATM and attacking bank customers and staff.  Eventually they were rounded up and rehomed in a more rural setting where their mean dispositions did not trouble the good citizens of Symi.

Looking back towards the National Bank building from the bridge.  Symi's war memorial and cenotaph is at the bottom of the long white flight of steps towards the right of the photograph.

The waterfront in Yialos is lined with colourful cafes, gyros bars,  tavernas and tourist shops.

Tamarisk stumps as firewood for the bakery by the bridge in Yialos. There are still two wood fired bakeries in Symi - the one by the bridge and then the one up in Chorio, just up from the Syllogos square.

The chain saws were busy this weekend, cutting the tops off the eucalyptus trees that line many of the roads on Symi. This is done every couple of years to prevent damage to the power lines by falling branches in winter storms.  So many trees have died from drought this year, there were plenty of chain saws in operation this weekend, cutting them down.  Usually at this time of the year we are listening to rotovators in the valley, not saws, but as we still haven't had any soaking rain, the ground is rock hard and impossible to plough.

A promenading cockerel speculating as to whether either of these two boats will ever see the water again.  They have been parked on  our road ever since I can remember which is a good 20 years!

The weather on Symi remains mild and dry with temperatures around 25 degrees at midday and 18 degrees at midnight.  There is a cool northerly breeze blowing and it is quite chilly in the shade.

The beach tavernas have now packed up for the winter and the water taxis have stopped for the year.  Although the weather is still fine and the sea warm, most of Symi's beaches face east and are surrounded by steep cliffs so at this time of the year they are in shadow very quickly so not suitable as late season swimming venues even if there are still some tourists around.  Popular places for swimming at this time of the year are NOS, Nimborio and Pedi bay, all of which can be reached without taxi boats.

We are now working winter hours so I am only in the office two mornings a week, mainly to file my blog.  We are, however, able to answer emails from home so if you want to contact us about booking your holidays for next year, please email us on symi-vis@otenet.gr and either Wendy or myself will get back to you.

Friday this week is Ochi Day and a bank holiday in Greece.  If you are on Symi this week, don't miss the parade in Yialos on Friday morning.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Vanilla and Orange Flower Water

A floral welcome in Yialos.

The tin smith in Yialos with his handmade wares on display outside.

Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale in the lanes of Yialos and Chorio.

As usual, we are seeing all sorts of boats, from beautiful old wooden ones like the one heading out in front of the yellow speed boat to the chunky battle-ship inspired grey power yacht in the middle. This was the 8 a.m. rush hour departing!

No where on Symi is very far from anywhere else.  That is part of Chorio on the left and Pedi bay on the right.  It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the point where I was standing to take this photograph, around the head of the valley and down the motor road on the opposite side of the valley, which is marked by the edge of the trees, to the sea in Pedi.  There more direct old footpaths running through the valley but as they are fairly rough in places it can actually take longer going that way.

Afternoon storm clouds building up over Turkey. As the weather heats up we have had some splendid stormy skies, although the rain always seems to fall over Turkey rather than Symi.

This is the clinic in Yialos, adjoining St John's church. The buildings on the left are basic pensions.

Faces are a popular motif on the neo-classical buildings. This enigmatic face contemplates the view from a restored merchant house on the Kali Strata steps.

Perhaps she is wondering what to say to the gentleman on the facade next door.

It is a bright sunny day on Symi. The thermometer is hovering around 36 degrees centigrade.  The Symi, Panagia Skiadeni and Nikolaos X are tied up in the harbour and there are tourists browsing around, looking in shops and eating ice creams.  The patisserie round the corner is scenting the air with vanilla and orange flower water - the delicate aromas of traditional boutgatsa and baklava.

I was in the National Bank (Ethniki) this morning early as I needed to do some personal banking. There were two other customers apart from myself, one of whom was just leaving. There was no problem with my making a modest international bank transfer so no sign of capital controls kicking in just yet. There was someone else outside, using the ATM.  The weekly money supply has just arrived in an armoured delivery off the Panagia Skiadeni from Rhodes so the bank has been topped up with fresh cash supplies.  Business as usual, despite what the overseas press may be saying.

The island is getting busier, particularly with yachtsmen and gulets in the evenings and early mornings.  The restaurants and tavernas are seeing more traffic and it is becoming important to book a table at the more popular venues, particularly as there are lots of regular visitors to Symi on the island at the moment and they have their favourite locations.  There is a quiet hum of activity that is absent in the winter.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Functioning Fine

Who needs cute kittens on the internet when Symi can provide a cute foal?

A group from the Symi Sea Dreams excursion boat, listening to a potted history of Symi from their guide.

The water taxis are back on their berths but aren't fully in operation yet as there aren't enough people around and the beach tavernas have yet to open.  Instead they have been taking locals out to waterside chapels for name days as much of Symi's shoreline is so precipitous that there is no other means of getting to many places except by sea.

Looking across at Harani and Nimos from the bend at the top of the Kali Strata.  That is a group of gulets lying at anchor off Harani.  They are large wooden motor-sailers, built in Turkey and sleeping up to 30 passengers.  Gulets often include Symi as part of their cruising itinerary although the island derives little benefit from them as they usually arrive fully equipped and the guests eat on board rather than in Symi's many waterfront tavernas and restaurants.

Wild oregano is irresistible to butterflies.

Pedi bay at 7 a.m. looking down from Lieni.

Looking up the Kali Strata from about half way down, still bearing the scars of a very wet winter.  At some point someone from the municipality will come along with bags of whitewash and do the backbreaking annual task of painting about 370 steps, working down from the top.

The carpenter's cats at the bottom of the Kali Strata.

Another view of Lemonitissa church, this time from one of the lanes at the back of the harbour. That is a caper bush growing out of the top of the building on the left.

The noddy train has a new coat of paint.

Looking across the head of the harbour from outside the National Bank.  That is Lemonitissa church with the red dome on the hill on the right.  The ruins of the kastro are on the peak above the church.  The Lemonitissa apartment and studio are in the trees to the right of the church.

It is a warm and hazy day on Symi. It is about 26 degrees centigrade and quite humid. The excursion boats are coming in and a truck has just driven past my office window, festooned with ropes of garlic for sale.  The Blue Star was only an hour late this morning, coming through from Tilos. This is the only direct connection between Tilos and Symi.  On the other days of the week one has to go via Rhodes and stay over night to make the connection with Dodecanese Seaways.

We have been hearing from regular visitors that there have been stories in the British tabloid press recently that there is no money in the Greek banks and that there is no food in the shops. Well, we can assure you that the banks on Symi are functioning fine and there is an abundance of food in the shops now that we have daily connections between Rhodes and Symi.  One can even buy such obscure items as agave syrup and a full range of sushi ingredients as well as the usual succulent sun-ripened tomatoes, crispy sweet cucumbers and voluptuous aubergines so please do not believe what you read in the tabloids!  While there are indeed many poor, unemployed and homeless people in Greece, particularly on the mainland, that does not mean that there is no food in the shops or the tavernas in the islands.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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