Views from the Top

Sunset from the Vigla, looking towards Datca on the Turkish coast.  That is Nimborio bay, Symi, and the island of Nimos on the right.

Looking from the telephone station on the Vigla towards Orhaniya and Bozburun on the Turkish coast.  The hill in the foreground is the headland that separates Yialos and Pedi.  On the left you can see part of the motor road that connects Yialos and Chorio and ultimately Panormitis monastery on the south-west side of the island.

Looking down at Yialos from the telephone station.  This was my first glimpse of Symi town when we first arrived here in 1993 as we were anchored in Panormitis bay and walked across the island to send a fax home to let our families know where we were.  No mobile phones and emails then!  There was also no surfaced motor road either - it was just a dirt track.

Symi's telephone station on the Vigla. This was built in 1993/94 and replaced the very unreliable undersea cable to Rhodes.  It was not uncommon in those days for the island to be cut off from Rhodes telephonically, particularly in the winter months, if the cable failed.  Now, of course, we have another undersea cable, this time a fibreoptic one to bring high speed broadband to the island.  So far we know people have their names down on the list but we don't know of anyone who is actually connected yet.

Rhodes, as seen from the top of Symi.

Meanwhile, down in Chorio...  a local donkey drover stops for a chat with a friend in a passing car.  Cars are all very well but donkeys can get through the narrow lanes and up and down the ancient steps of the old town.

Cistus or rock roses, growing near the road in Lieni. There are quite unusual in that area. The best displays are along the coastal road to Nimborio.

With Symi's precipitous coastline of rocks and sheer cliffs, there are few places for locals to keep their boats out of the water, hence this line up, about 350 metres above sea level!

Temperatures remain relatively low for the time of year and we had a few muddy showers on Saturday night - just enough to cover everything in dust but without sufficient moisture to actually wet anything.  It is about 22 degrees out of doors in the sun at the moment and much cooler indoors.  It is that odd time of the year where the day trippers are optimistically clad in shorts and T-shirts and the locals are still dressed for winter, particularly if they travel to work by bike or have to work indoors.

Friday is the 1 May bank holiday here in Greece. There is also a ferry strike scheduled for that day in solidarity with employees of one of the larger shipping fleets who have not been paid for several months. This should not affect the operations of Dodecanese Seaways but may affect the Blue Star which operates out of Piraeus and is therefore more vulnerable to strike action, particularly if the dockworkers join in.  Union action aside, the first of May is usually celebrated in Greece as a traditional holiday.  People pick wild flowers and decorate the doors of their houses and businesses with posies and wreaths - the finishing touch to the spring clean and annual repaint.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi Spring Flowers

Wild chamomile on a bit of wasteland in Chorio.

A tiny garden growing in the crevices of a ruin.

The Pedi valley wearing different shades of spring green.

Wild cyclamens carpet the shady places.

Even the barren hills between Pedi bay and Agia Marina have a green sheen this year.

Spring is now in full bloom on Symi.  If you always visit the island in the summer when it is dry and bare rock wherever you look,  you may find it difficult to imagine what Symi looks like in April. Thanks to digital photography and the internet I can share some of that floral abundance with you before it all disappears into dust of summer.

It is quite a windy day today and there are some shipping disruptions.  The Dodecanese Express which was scheduled to leave Rhodes at 11 this morning to come over to Symi only left at 12 and still hasn't arrived yet.  The last time I checked on Marine Traffic she was still on the Rhodian side of the Crocodile - the rocky peninsular on the coast of Asia Minor that marks the approach to Symi. Squalls and showers of red rain are expected later today and tomorrow and the rest of the week is fairly unsettled.  It should, however, be dry and sunny for the Greek Easter long weekend.

There are many more young people on the island this week as the students have come home from universities and colleges around the country to spend Easter with their families.  Big Week, the run up to Greek Easter, is a mixture of serious fasting, lots of church services, a frenzy of cleaning and whitewashing and lots of baking for the celebrations on Sunday.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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