Panormitis 2017

We went over to Panormitis late on Tuesday afternoon.  Although this was 'off peak', there were still plenty of people there and we had to park quite a long way up the road and walk down. The first thing that struck me, walking down the road, was that the iconic bell tower is currently wrapped in scaffolding.  It isn't only Big Ben in London that is undergoing a much-needed face lift.

The second thing that caught my eye was the carpet sellers.  No, I have absolutely no idea what chap on the right is doing!

Every year a fair is set up just inside the gates, on the open ground between the war memorial and the start of the main monastery buildings.  Most of the stalls come from Rhodes. The first zone, once one has run the gauntlet of the carpet sellers at the entrance, is given over to Greek fast food of all kinds. Roast corn on the cob and chestnuts, anybody?

There were plenty of grill 'houses' selling souvlaki, including one set up by the high school of Symi.  There were also vendors selling candy floss, elaborate ice cream cones in bilious colours, sticky cakes, loukomadia (Greek doughnuts) and all sorts of other sugar bombs.

As our nearest Marks and Spencer is in Rhodes, many Symiots stock up on socks at the annual Panormitis festival.  Toys are something else not readily available on Symi so another hit among local shoppers.

Lurid underwear and yet more socks!

Kitchen utensils, cheap screwdrivers, mobile phone covers, alarm clocks, dodgy electronics...  you can find all sorts of jolly junk for a euro at the Panormitis festival.

From the secular to the sacred, on Wednesday 8 November the proper ceremonies dedicated to St Michael the Archangel took place, attended by the Mayor of Symi, Lefteris Papakalodoukas and his councillors.  Photograph by Dawn Sproson.

Photograph by Dawn Sproson

Photograph by Dawn Sproson

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Sunny and Mild

Family wheels

Symi isn't really biking country, being very steep and with few roads, but in recent years we have noticed that the children living in the harbour are increasingly using bicycles to get around and to play with their friends.  Perhaps this enthusiasm will extend into adolescence and adulthood and we will see fewer motorcycles and scooters on the island.

Keeping out the storm surge.  It is not uncommon for the harbour to flood in the winter, particularly if a barometric low coincides with a spring tide.  This shopkeeper is taking no chances.

Chatanooga choo - choo! We seem to be back to the original Noddy train, complete with Tschu Tschu printed on the front as it came from Germany.  The one emblazoned with Rodos Casino advertising has, presumably, gone back to Rhodes where the advertising hoardings are more appropriate.

Homing in on the cheese man.  

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation window this morning. As you can see the harbour is pretty much deserted now.  The main activity is over at the other end of the island, at Panormitis monastery, as preparations hot up for the big festival on Wednesday.

Good bye, sun beds!  On a clear sunny day, however, it is warm enough to swim in the sheltered beaches of Pedi.

Pedi bay.

It doesn't really get clearer than that, does it?

The tamarisk trees in Pedi have all had their winter hair cut.  Pollarding the trees lets more light into the houses and also reduces wind damage.

After a Saturday of solid rain the sun came out on Sunday and it has been beautiful weather ever since.  It looks as though it will remain sunny and mild for the rest of the week, with the next expected band of rain to only reach us on Sunday.  When we checked our rainwater gauge on Sunday morning, we had logged 60 millimetres of rain since the rainy season began.  Not a bad start!  Temperatures are in the low twenties now, falling to around 16 degrees at night.  Some people have started using their wood burners and other forms of heating, depending on which side of the harbour they live.  Location really is important on Symi in the winter as some areas are in shadow most of the day now and may also receive the full blast of the north wind.  Others bask smugly in the sunshine, their reward for bearing the full brunt of the summer heatwaves. The sea is still warm enough for swimming if you chose your beach carefully.

All the Dodecanese Seaways boats are operating in and out of Panormitis bay this week, giving Yialos a miss. Fortunately there are now plenty of buses connecting the two and we are now seeing the unusual sight of Panormitis pilgrims coming across to Yialos by bus for the day to see the harbour and do some shopping.

The tourist shops are effectively closed.  Many of the cafes and tavernas have packed up their chairs and tables for the winter and secured their premises against the anticipated storms.  Those who are not involved with the Panormitis festival are fishing or rotovating their fields in the Pedi valley. The island is slipping into winter mode.  I saw big sacks of fava, the yellow split peas that are a popular winter meal in Greece, for sale in the supermarket this morning.  When money is in short supply, the Greeks turn to lentils, fava, black eyed beans and other simple ingredients that have fed the people of the region for millenia.  A dish of pulses, a drizzle of olive oil and a chunk of bread and you are set up for the day.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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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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Changing Seasons on Symi

Mimosa at Agios Elefterios church in Chorio.

Halloween decorations at one of the English language schools in Chorio.  Halloween isn't really a big commercial holiday in Greece the way it is in the USA and the UK.  

The once-crowded lanes of Chorio where houses stood tightly packed before the explosions of World War 2, feature narrow winding lanes and occasional arches where houses once straddled the lanes to save space.  In a region where level land for building was non-existent and houses were built of stone, this was a way of creating more room for the dowry houses of marriageable daughters.  Chorio must have been a real warren before it all came tumbling down.

Look carefully and in every crevice there are specks of green as seeds start to germinate.  We have had over 20 mm of rain since the drought broke last Tuesday and the rainy season is off to a good start.

How did the chicken cross the road?  On a broomstick, of course.

I have known this oak since it was a sprouting acorn with a handful of leaves. Note how the wayside moss is starting to turn green.

The wild clematis is also busy transforming from dead twiggy stuff to glossy greenery.

Down in the harbour, the boat trips are over for another year.

The gypsies and hawkers are starting to arrive for the Panormitis Festival on 8 November.

False alarm!  The Noddy train is still with us - it fitted in a few more rides on Friday as there were a lot of people over from Rhodes in anticipation of the Ochi Day celebrations on Saturday. Dodecanese Seaways is offering big discounts on the last day trips from Rhodes and as many Greeks in seasonal employment are now off for the winter, Symi is a popular day out.

Bunting for the Ochi Day parade on 28 October.  The rain actually held off for the duration of the parade and resumed around half past one.

Looking across the harbour from the top of Mavrovouni.

The Pedi valley lies between the rows ofhouses in the foreground and the ridge of hills in the background.  That is  the monastery Zoigos Pigi, the life-giving spring, among the trees on the ridge.  It is one of the few natural sources of water on the island and flows for a few months each winter when the water table is fairly high.

Symi is becoming cooler, damper and greener.  Temperatures are now around 22 degrees at midday, falling to around 14 at night.  Some areas are colder than this if they are north facing and receiving little direct sunlight. 

The hawkers are starting to arrive for the Panormitis Festival next week.  The Feast of St Michael has turned into something of a fair over the years with many stalls set up in the monastery grounds.  In some ways it is very medieval with gypsies, hawkers and pilgrims all converging on the Panormitis monastery.  Before the road was surfaced everyone came in small boats and caiques. Now they are more likely to arrive by ferry and Panormitis bay is not the jostling throng of brightly painted wooden fishing boats with pilgrims sleeping on the decks that it was when I first came in 1993.  It is, no doubt, a lot safer and more comfortable these days but the fairground atmosphere lingers on.

Have a good week!

Regards,
Adriana

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A November Interlude

The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation today.  There  isn't much happening in Yialos this November morning. The only yachts passing through now are ones waiting to take up their winter berths in the many marinas on the Turkish coast.

All packed up for the winter.

The greengrocer in the lane is busy all year round.  I like buying from him as much of his stock is locally grown in Rhodes and he always marks the place of origin on the price cards so I know whose economy I am supporting.

A bird's eye view of the Kali Strata, or should that be birds' eyes?

There were quite a few clouds around early this morning. As you can see, the Panagia of the Kastro is still wreathed in scaffolding.  

A breakfast meeting at a popular hangout.

It is not much but it is a start - the first wild flower seeds are starting to germinate as a result of last Monday's rain and a light shower early on Saturday morning.  It is not very clear in this photograph but those are daisy seedlings you are looking at. They have tiny serrations along the cotyledons.

Shadow play over Pedi.  The footpath to Agia Marina beach goes past that old farm and through the hills.  If you look carefully you can just make it out.

The Turkish hills look very close at this time of the year.

A big poinsettia in Chorio. The bracts turn red as the days grow shorter and by the time I get back from England in a few weeks it will be quite spectacular.

There are a lot of people on Symi at the moment for the Panormitis Festival but as they are over at Panormitis, Yialos is pretty quiet.  Greeks come from far and wide on a pilgrimage to the monastery at this time. The lucky ones have rooms or beds in the communal dormitory. The less fortunate and the late comers bed down on the verandahs and hope that the weather stays dry. A lot of the locals went over yesterday in search of bargains as the stalls are all set up now. Today is a school day but tomorrow, the day of the festival itself, is a local holiday.

This will be my last blog for a while as I am leaving for England on Wednesday on the diabolically early Blue Star Patmos - even as a 'morning person' 5 a.m. is an uncivilised departure time!  I hope it is not affected by the stormy weather that is expected to reach this part of Greece by Wednesday.  Luckily my flight is early on Thursday morning so it doesn't matter if the boat is late, but it does matter if there is a shipping ban and it doesn't run at all!  Living on a small island with no airport has its drawbacks when one wants to travel in the winter.

While many of you may be fed up with Christmas already having been jingled and jollied since September, here the only concession to the season is that Yanni's poinsettia in Chorio is starting to change colour.  Now that is one of the advantages of living on a small Greek island.   There is a time and a place for everything and right now the focus is the Festival of St Michael the Archangel at Panormitis, Roukoniotis and Kokkimides.  Christmas starts with whatever comes in on the Blue Star at some point in mid-December.

Have a good month and I'll post from Symi again around the 25th of the month, depending on the ferries of course!

Regards,
Adriana

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