March Postcards from Symi

Fishing boats at the head of the harbour.  The water taxi boats leave from this area during the season.  Our Symi Visitor Accommodation office is in the small ochre double storey with the terracotta pediment, partially hidden by the tall palm in the middle of the photograph. There are also several popular cafes along this stretch, ranging from the traditional to the trendy, to suit all tastes and budgets.

It is traditional in Greece to exchange elaborately decorated candles as gifts for Easter.  A spin off of the church processional candles, these are far to fancy - and flammable - to light.  They are decorated with small toys, flowers, dolls, emblems and motifs.  Some shops even sell them in novelty shapes including candles moulded to look like rolled up gyros, the popular Greek street food!

Dino, the chandler opposite the entrance to the Symi Visitor Accommodation office, busy painting his cupboards.

More painting and cleaning going on around the corner.  The retro purple and orange is a herb shop.  Most places aim to be open by Greek Easter, which is next weekend.  Many that are specifically dependent on foreign tourists don't open up until June or July these days as Symi doesn't have as many visitors in April and May as it did 10-15 years ago.

Hooray!  The ice cream fridges have arrived!

We don't see many early season yachts these days either.

Last minute preparations at the war memorial before the 25 March Independence Day parade on Sunday. The next parade day on Symi is 8 May for VE Day.

A brave poppy perched on the rubble left by 13 November 2017's devastating floods.  This is in the Pedi valley.

Outside the clinic in Chorio.

The dust cloud is still with us.  Apparently up in the north, in Romania, Bulgaria and Russia's Black Sea coast, they have been experiencing pink snow as the Saharan cloud mingles with the snow.  Down here we just see dust and red rain and very poor visibility.  There have been some flight disruptions this past week, particularly in Crete which was very badly affected by the dust and gale force winds. There are lots of amazing orange photos out there in social media.

Organic verge trimming on the Kali Strata.

A designer cat, waiting for the Krysallis boutique to reopen.

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Happy Easter to Our Western Friends

Wednesday's southerly gales left us choking in a cloud of Saharan sand when the wind stopped. This was Pedi bay on Thursday morning.

Nimos lost in the haze.  The Navy came in to shelter from Wednesday's storm and were still tied up alongside on Thursday morning.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office balcony on Thursday  morning. A municipal employee was riding slowly around the harbour, hoisting bunting from a cherry picker for Friday's parade.

Friday morning and Nimos is back!

A relic of Clean Monday a fortnight ago - the mangled remains of a kite, wrapped around a power line in Chorio.  All the power and telephone cables on Symi are above ground which is why they are very vulnerable in stormy weather and lightning damage is common in the winter.

The poultry man has arrived, selling chicks and ducklings.  He was feeding his chirruping family when I walked past this morning.  People don't keep poultry as pets here - they are an economic necessity, keeping families in eggs and meat through the year, and in these days of austerity many more Symiots are returning to their agrarian past, keeping livestock and growing produce in gardens and family plots in the Pedi valley and other sheltered areas on the island.

There aren't quite as many family donkeys as there used to be but these two still see regular service.  Cheaper to maintain than an SUV and they give you manure for the vegetable garden. 

I never did manage to work out what this cat was watching so intently on the Kali Strata.  It was perched on a very precarious flat stone at the top of the wall, staring up at the building behiind, and evidently deaf as is so often the case with white cats as it did not move at all when I went passed.

The poppies are back.

Spring greenery in the Pedi Valley.

It has been a wild week with a south-easterly Force 9 gale on Wednesday that is still disrupting shipping 3 days later as the Blue Star still hasn't caught up with itself after only being able to leave Rhodes at 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, without stopping at Symi and about 6 hours later than scheduled so the Thursday/Friday schedule was also knocked out, resulting in the Friday night 7 p.m. from Rhodes only actually passing through Symi in the early hours of this morning.

At one stage on Wednesday Rhodes airport was actually closed as conditions were so bad that planes could not land safely and flights diverted to Dalaman (which was also having problems) and Antalya or returning to Athens - an exciting start for the first charter flights coming into Rhodes for 2016.  The wind brought with it a great dust cloud from North Africa, a common occurrence at this time of the year, hence the photographs at the top of this blog.  Luckily the anticipated rain passed to the north of us as when it rains in these conditions it is the dreaded Red Rain (Blood Rain if you are Sicilian) that covers everything in a crust of fine red dust which is very difficult to remove. The wind has now switched to the north, bringing clear skies and a fall in temperatures once again, a reminder that it is still winter in Russia and the Ukraine.

If you follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed you will have seen photographs of the braziers around the harbour and up to Evangelismos church on Thursday night, heralding the eve of the Annunciation. Fridays parade went off without a hitch and, despite the forecasts, was neither too windy nor wet.  That's it for our month of long weekends and it is time to knuckle down to some serious fasting as Greek Easter does not arrive 1 May so there are no more distractions and frivolities.  April will be a month of preparations for the forthcoming summer tourist season.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi Rumours and Gossip

The view from my desk at Symi Visitor Accommodation at 9 this morning.  It was mild enough to have the balcony doors open. The boat was quite late - she is scheduled to come through at 7.30 a.m. but this seldom happens, as the Friday route from Pireus includes stops at many small islands, including Nissyros and Tilos, where it can be difficult for vehicles to disembark and embark.  It only takes a few minutes delay at each port of call to build up a significant delay by the time the boat gets to Symi.  The Friday Blue Star route is particularly arduous as after Symi and Rhodes the boat carries on down to Kastellorizon, the most remote and isolated of the Greek islands and then retraces her steps back to Rhodes, Symi and beyond.

Now that it is the spring equinox and the days are longer and brighter it is time to plant the summer vegetables - basil, aubergines, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuces, tomatoes and various other herbs jockey for space with the hydrangeas and petunias outside the flower shop.

The big boat brings with it hawkers from other islands and there were three trucks parked at the back of the square this morning, all selling the same combination of oranges, potatoes and green cabbages.

The water level is quite low in the harbour at the moment, hence the green fringe of weed visible at the top of the customs house slipway.

Cold but dry and sunny - perfect conditions for drying washing in the back streets of Yialos.  Very few Symiots have either the space or electricity to spare for a tumbler drier and why pay for something that nature will do for free?  

Daisies, daisies everywhere.

As you can see, they don't have much ground to grow in.

Wild flowers pushing up the the concrete of the Lieni carpark.

It is a bright sunny day. The wind is from the north-east and it has been quite chilly lately.  Midday temperatures are around 15 degrees at the moment.  Once again rain is forecast for the early hours of Saturday morning and we may have thundershowers during the day on Saturday.  The different weather forecasting sites disagree on how much we will get and when and we may well have nothing at all as the front may pass to the south of us or,  perhaps, track to the north.  Weather forecasting is not an exact science at this time of the year.

Regular visitors to the island will  notice some changes to supermarkets up in the village and down in the harbour as both Kampos supermarket at the bus stop in Chorio and Hatzipetros down  in the harbour, opposite Symi Flower, are having extensive revamps.  It is heartening to see that some locals have faith in the Greek economy and are optimistic enough to be spending some money on improvements. There is always a frisson of excitement at this time of the year as everyone looks to see what everyone else is doing and what new shops and businesses might be opening up. Rumour has it that the place next to the Sunflower laundry, below our office, which was ChouChi Gold for many years before being a fish pedicure place and then a very short-lived café, is about to become a very posh boutique, an outlet for an Athenian boutique.  They have certainly spent months on the renovations so it will be interesting to see what happens next.  The small boutique downstairs in the Albatross hotel has reopened as an icon shop and is already open for business. There seems to be some mysterious activity going on involving the Symi excursion boat which has suddenly posted a timetable on the old ANES hut at the bus stop.  The schedule is on ANES' letterhead but does not appear on their website and so far only shows some random routes from now to early April. Although the Symi is an old car ferry, it has not been allowed to transport vehicles for many years which is why it has been doing day trips out of Rhodes in recent years but if it starts doing some evening routes to fill in the gaps left by Dodecanese Seaways and Blue Star Ferries it could be very useful indeed.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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A Month of Holidays and Celebrations

Symi's war memorial is just to the left of the tall white flight of steps.  You can see the flags are up, ready for Monday's Dodecanese Day commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony.

Cheerful bunting on a grey day.  It will stay up until after the Independence Day celebrations on 25 March.

Oranges  in a garden on the Kali Strata.

The oak tree in Lieni, Chorio, is unfurling for a new year.

Breakfast on the hoof in a car park in Chorio.

Clean Monday falls on 14 March this year.  This marks the beginning of Lent in Greece and is celebrated with the flying of kites.  I have never found a satisfactory explanation for why kites are flown on this particular day. As it is pretty much a one-off thing, the kites are simple light-weight constructions made of thin plastic, not unlike supermarket shopping bag plastic and seldom survive longer than a day's use, depending on wind strength.  Football club colours are popular.  Kampos supermarket in Chorio is ahead of the game - I spotted these outside their shop in Chorio on Thursday this week.

This season's 'must have' plastic tablecloth design has pomegranates on it.  I think I might treat myself to a couple of metres to cheer up my kitchen.

An extremely narrow lane in Chorio.  Regulars to the island may be able to identify where it is.  

Bright blue among the ruins. The contraption on the left foreground is an electric winch, presumably used to hoist building materials when the upper floor of the house just off the picture was being finished as the family was already in residence below.

Random colours in Chorio.  

Co-ordinated catwalk.

We have had a few brief thundershowers over the past 48 hours, including a short sharp hailstorm this morning that only lasted about 5 minutes, if that.   There still hasn't been enough rain to make a difference to the island's water supply, unfortunately, and the long range forecast doesn't hold much promise that this will improve.  Looking on the bright side, it seems unlikely that it is going to rain on anybody's parade this month.

Monday, as I have mentioned previously, is Dodecanese Day, a holiday celebrated only in the Dodecanese. The bunting is up around the harbour and now that the rain  has cleared there are dozens of happy, squealing children, practicing their marching skills for the parade on Monday.  Yesterday was Tsiknopempti - Smokey Thursday. This marks the start of the carnival season with lots of grilled meat.  The evening showers held off until the BBQs were over so no one had soggy souvlaki.  Usually the carnival festivities fall in February but Greek Easter is quite late this year, falling at the beginning of May, so March is full of holidays and celebrations. The supermarkets are starting to get in more stock, much of it traditional seasonal fare for the forthcoming holidays such as that staple fasting food - sesame halvah in a wide range of flavours, including a version that is coated with dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has always been called health chocolate here. What with that and the pomegranates, the Greeks have always been ahead of the game when it comes to superfoods!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Easter Countdown

It is a very wet and windy Friday on Symi and it has been raining steadily for hours. This is the view from the office balcony today. I shall have to venture forth into this shortly to catch the bus back up to Chorio.  At least it isn't particularly cold - it is about 17 degrees centigrade.

Luckily there was a break in the rain when it was time for me to walk down to Yialos this morning.  The Blue Star was cancelled due to Force 9 gales in the Aegean.  Instead this big freighter is sheltering in the harbour - a safer option to lying at anchor somewhere in the lee of Rhodes.

Shop doorways, electricity poles and community boards are all ways in which island activities are advertised on Symi.  This weekend there is a children's show on about an unlikely romance between a chicken and a fox. Symiots are good at creating their own amusements - taking the children to a matinee at the cinema is just not an option when the nearest cinema is Rhodes!

The distressed look is easily achieved here - as long as you have the patience to let nature take its course.  I have watched this shutter in Chorio turn from dark blue gloss paint to the interesting effects above over a period of about 15 years.

Those who planted their bulbs in October are now enjoying the sweet scent of freesias.

A Chorio cat complaining about the late appearance of breakfast.

An informal rock garden in Chorio - wild ferns, moss and daisies.  In a few weeks someone will come along and remove the weeds and then whitewash the step fronts so that they look fresh for the summer.

Syringa berries.

Spring in the valonia oaks.

Everywhere one looks, something new is waking up from the winter.

Pedi bay on a clear day earlier this week.  This morning I could not see as far as the entrance of the bay for the rain and low clouds.

A spring storm is rolling across Greece and Turkey at the moment, bringing gale force winds, driving rain, occasional thunderstorms and very occasional patches of brief blinding sunshine.  This kind of turbulent weather can continue until May and only really calms down once continental Europe has warmed up.  The warm air coming from Africa and the cooler air from Europe meet over the Mediterranean, hence the unsettled weather at this time of the year.  Today may be the last significant rain we have until October or, on the other hand, we may have several more downpours before the long summer drought begins.  What we do know is that it is very rare to have rain after 10 May which is why the tourist boats and beach tavernas and many other tourist businesses that depend on good weather for their operation usually regard mid-May as the kicking off point for the season.

Greek Easter is a fortnight away and the shops are starting to get in more Easter items - elaborately decorated candles for the procession to celebrate the Resurrection, packets of colourful Easter egg dye, special offer sacks of flour for the baking marathon ahead and some large beribboned chocolate eggs from ION, a Greek chocolate company.  Greek Easter is more about family celebrations than about commerce and much of what is shared and enjoyed at this time is made by the people themselves, not bought.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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