February Postcards from Symi

The Greek and EU flags,, fluttering brightly on the bridge in Yialos.

Ducks ...

... crossing the street...

... and heading for Eva's cafe.

The customs slipway, looking as it usually does in the summer.

Small birds in search of fallen crumbs outside the bakery.

Galloping white horses across the bay on Wednesday mornning.  The captain of the Diagoras chickened out of docking and will forever more be referred to as Captain Kotopolou (chicken in Greek)!

The cold north wind brings clear skies and an inky blue sea - not to mention plummeting temperatures.  It has been below freezing the last couple of nights.

Stormy seas off Pedi.

Happy Chinese New Year!  It is the year of the sheep...

The air smells of wood smoke as nearly everyone has a wood burning fire these days and in these temperatures they are in use.

It is another cold and windy day on Symi. The Blue Star should, we hope, be docking in Symi tonight en route to Piraeus.  Not only did she not stop in Symi on the way through to Rhodes on Wednesday but she was unable to dock in Rhodes either and spent the night lying off Pefkos/Lardos, half way down the south side of Rhodes, only making her way into Akandia late on Thursday afternoon, 48 hours after leaving Piraeus.  This winter really seems to have been worse than usual in terms of weather-rerlated ferry problems with not a single week going according to schedule.  We are all hoping that March will be better.

This weekend is a holiday long weekend.  It is Carnival on Sunday and Monday is Clean Monday, the start of Orthodox Lent.  I will be back on Tuesday!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Rediscover the Spirit of Easter

Snoozing in the sun.  

In the summer when I stop to look through this gap in the buildings on the Kali Strata I see yachts and Turkish gulets. Now it is empty water.  As you can see, work is continuing on the Katerinettes building, the place where the VE Day Peace Treaty was signed in the Dodecanese.  Fingers crossed that the pillar box red is a temporary aberration... 

Sunlight catching an almond orchard in Lieni.

New leaves unfurling on a young valonia oak in Lieni.

There are at least 4 cats and a sheep in this photograph.

Almond petals on the stone flags at my house.

When we talk about free range poultry on Symi, we really mean it.  This fellow has taken up residence at the end of our road and hangs out with the cats and sheep.

The Kastro at 8 a.m. today.  

The Milos part of Chorio showing the old ruined windmills on the crest .  The ochre and terracotta building on the right foreground is the Taxiarchis Hotel. The bit of roof with work men in evidence, sticking out from behind the white house with blue shutters in the left foreground is the new undercover sports'stadium.  Apparently they are hoping to have the stadium open in 6 weeks, hence the feverish pace of work.

The colour palette of the houses on Symi reflects the colours of the landscape and the Mediterranean sky.

February continues unseasonably mild.  Carnival is not far away now and the dress shop in Chorio has a few fancy dress outfits for children on display.  Posters advertising various children's Carnival parties are also appearing on the electricity poles and at the bus stops.  This being a very small Greek island, there is not a single Easter item in the shops on Symi and even St Valentine is maintaining a low profile.  When the time comes for the Easter baking to start, then the shops will get in the sachets of red dye for Easter eggs and all the ingredients for the traditional baked delicacies.  A few chocolate eggs with toys or candles attached may appear in one or two of the supermarkets but generally Greek Easter eggs come from hens and are dyed and decorated at home.  In Greece the joy of Easter has more to do with families getting together to celebrate the Resurrection than an orgy of consumer spending.  If you would like a break from spend-spend-spend and want to rediscover the spirit of Easter, please email us.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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