March Postcards from Symi

Buttercups glistening in an old stone terrace in Lieni.

Nature's delicate handiwork brings the wall of a ruin to life.

The freesias have been quite spectacular this year - they don't seem to mind 5 days of rain out of every 7.

When the sun comes out a cat just has to squirm and squirm and squirm in the warm earth.

Those grafts have taken.

A dolls' picnic party in the Pedi valley.

The landmark oak in Lieni is unfurling fast.

Chorio rooftops.  I wonder what is under that long red roof. That used to be the terrace of Syllogos restaurant, now sadly closed.

Meanwhile, down in Yialos, the clean up from November's devastating flood continues. Cars are still being fished out of the harbour by the bridge.

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Springtime on Symi

The Taxiarchis hotel in Chorio, surrounded by a sea of daisies.

A eucalyptus tree grows out of  dry stone wall on the Pedi road.

New leaves.

Drifts of wild cyclamens catch the light in the Pedi valley.

Spring magic in the Pedi valley.

Many of the old houses have planters in the top of the courtyard wall.  This house has been empty for ages, ever since I have been on Symi, but the freesias come up every year.

A Second World War souvenir in Pedi.  It may be peaceful now but Symi saw some fierce fighting during the war and the island changed hands several times.

This little chapel on the southern shore of Pedi bay sits atop a fresh water spring which bubbles into the sea at that point.  In the old days the housewives of Symi used to come down to do their laundry on the flat stones.  Now most people have washing machines but even 25 years ago, when I first came to Symi, most laundry was done by hand or in a very basic stainless steel drum which one filled with a bucket and plugged in to activate an agitator in the bottom.

St Nicholas beach on a sunny day in March.  Everything is closed up still for the winter and we took our own picnic.  The beaches on Symi don't start to open up until late May or even early June, depending on how many people are around.

Wild lilies growing among the rocks above St Nicholas.

The steps down to the beach.

After a week of heavy rain, we have had some lovely bright days and Symi is drying out again.  As you can see from the photographs, the wild flowers are quite spectacular this year.  I don't think I have ever seen such an abundant display of wild cyclamens in the valley.

I am having some camera problems at the moment.  The focus on my own camera has become erratic after about 4 years of constant use.  A friend loaned me her camera which is what I used to take the pictures above.  It is a lovely camera but unfortunately there are two tiny scratches, right in the middle of the lense, which show up as two elliptical dark shadows in the middle of any landscape shots, making my views of Symi appear to feature UFOs. Not appropriate for blog purposes!  I had a look in Rhodes yesterday but as so many people depend on their smartphones for photographs these days, the shops don't carry much in the way of cameras anymore. As my needs are fairly specific, I prefer to see something and handle it before buying to make sure that I can see the screen easily and that the controls aren't too twiddly so ordering sight unseen on line is not for me. This could take a while!


Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Making Plans for the Summer

Where's mummy?  The lambing season is well under way.  The ewes are tethered wherever grazing is plentiful and the lambs romp around, dashing back to mum whenever they want a drink at the milk bar.

Wild clematis flowering on my fences.

My neighbour's doves.  They live in dovecots in his smallholding and he comes every day to train them.  They fly up in ever higher spirals and then come swooping down when he signals to them.

Another grey Monday but this time it seems all the rain fell over Rhodes and Turkey.  So far there hasn't been any here.

The first wild cyclamens are flowering in the Pedi valley. This picture is slightly fuzzy as it was a zoom from a long way off.  It is starting to look as though I may be needing to think about a new camera.

The magical miniature wiinter gardens of  stone crops, moss and tiny ferns are also flourishing.

An impressive lemon crop in Lieni, Chorio.

Looking across the harbour at Mavrovouni and the Drakounta valley from the top of the Kali Strata.  Nowhere is very far from anywhere else when you are on Symi, 

Harani and the Mouragio area of the harbour are deserted at this time of the year.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office seems to have a recurring fishy theme at the moment.

After a clear cold bright weekend we woke up to grey skies this morning.  It is raining everywhere around us except actually on Symi.  The weather is expected to clear tonight and remain dry for the rest of the week with moderate temperatures between 10 at night and 14 at midday.

The days are slowly lengthening and nature is waking up.  The first wild cyclamens are flowering in the valley, the wild clematis is covered in creamy bells and the citrus trees are weighed down with lemons. There is the feeling that things are starting to happen again.

The Blue Star put on a special trip on Sunday, returning this afternoon, to compensate for not being able to stop at Symi due to the heavy weather on Friday.

While Symi may still be hunkered down in winter mode, people are making plans for the summer and we are receiving lots of inquiries for July, August and September.  In a place like Symi where there are no big tourist developments and most tourist accommodation is in restored traditional houses, the early bird usually gets the pick of the bunch.  If you are thinking of coming to Symi this summer, don't put off booking for too long, particularly if you have very specific requirements. Email us for advice, rates and availability.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Views from the Balcony and Other Symi Delights

Watching the soldiers marching past on VE Day, I wondered who stood on this balcony during the Second World War and watched Allied and Axis troops march past as the island passed through the hands of various occupying forces.

Just before the main deluge on Tuesday morning.  That is the water ship lying alongside the clock tower.

A small fishing boat in Yialoswww.symivisitor.com in the lashing rain.

A radiant orange fisherman.

The Panagia Skiadeni and the water boat in the rain on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning sunshine with the Blue Star Diagoras and a couple of departing yachts.

A gypsy hawking strings of garlic this morning.

The Diagoras excursion boat and one of the water taxis berthed in Yialos this morning.  They haven't started operating yet for the season but more of the commercial boats are being launched. They should receive their licenses and insurance soon for the season.

Alas, Mr Drake is on his own these days.  I haven't seen his partner for at least a week and he wanders disconsolately up and down the harbour, calling for her.

Fishing nets on the quay near the customs house.

Pedi bay on Wednesday afternoon.  My camera isn't quite good enough for you to be able to see the white sails of yachts over towards the Turkish shore.  By this time the water ship was tied up in Pedi.

The flowers are opening on the rigani bushes.  Oregano, Sage and Thyme grow wild on the hills of Symi, perfuming the summer air and making hikers hungry.

Wild hollyhocks growing from an ancient stone wall in Chorio.

Honeysuckle in the garden of a restored mansion on the Kali Strata.

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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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