Cats and the Kastro

Please sir, may we have some more? Foraging in bins is a way of life for the Symi cats and even those that have homes tend to go exploring to see if pickings are more interesting down at the skip.  Symi Animal Welfare also puts out dried food and containers of water at selected locations around the community.

Symi's golden citadel - or rather, what is left of it! The area around the Kastro is slowly being rebuilt, largely by foreigners who have bought ruins on Symi to fix up as holiday homes and summer houses.

The castle itself was already largely in ruins by the time the Germans decided to use it as a munitions store during the Second World War.  The churches within the fortifications have been rebuilt and sections of the walls survived the explosion.

Crocuses share space with a Virginia creeper in a planter in Chorio.

The canary is well out of reach, even if Ginger felt so inclined.  He does so well on deli counter scraps he seldom ventures further than the supermarket store room!

We don't have much by way of tides in this part of the world but the water level does reflect changes in barometric pressure. The abnormally warm mild weather we are experiencing on Symi at the moment is caused by a high pressure system over the Southern Aegean, hence the current low water level in the harbour.

Shoals of small fish sometimes gather at the head of the harbour, by the bridge. This harbour cat is keeping an eye open for an unsuspecting pawful.

Symi really seems to glow at this time of the year.  Autumnal sunshine on old stone and ochre-tinted lime wash are a delightful combination.

The summer tourist season is drawing to a close.  No Dodecanese Seaways boats today - only the Sea Dream and the Nikolaos X excursion boats.  Blue Star ferries have put up their schedules for November to January with a seriously early start on Wednesday mornings as the Paros has to fit in a day return to the distant island of Karpathos, between Rhodes and Crete, once a week.  5 a.m. in the dark chill of  a Greek winter's morning is not an attractive prospect, whichever way one looks at it!  As the Paros has far fewer cabins than the Patmos, anyone planning an overnight trip to Athens will have to book very far ahead to be sure of getting a bunk. The Wednesday schedule remains as is, leaving Symi at 7.45 a.m. and leaving Rhodes at 7 p.m. (give or take half an hour or so as the boat does a trip to Kastellorizon in between).

The weather is marvellous. Sunny and mild with little wind.  If the long range forecast is to be believed, this is all set to change on Tuesday next week when we can expect three days of rain, wind and thunderstorms.  About time really as the ground is too hard to plough at the moment and those first deep rains are crucial for softening the crust, as well as washing the dust off the rooftops.  As Symi does not have a natural water supply, harvesting winter rains off the roof into big cisterns is an important part of the island's infrastructure. The first rains clean the roof and then when the flow is clear, the pipes are diverted to the cisterns. 

Symi's lack of easily accessible water is one of the factors that has saved the island from mass tourism and the culture of 'villa holiday with pool' that puts pressure on the infrastructure of Rhodes and many other places in Greece. Symi's steep and mountainous terrain has also kept the developers at bay.  It would literally take a seismic event for Symi to ever have a golf course or airport!  People visit Symi for a totally authentic Greek island experience, staying in quirky old neo-classical houses accessed by dozens of steep steps and swimming in the warm waters of the Aegean.  It is a place where time literally seems to stand still.

I am off to Rhodes for the day tomorrow - the first time off the island since May so the list of errands and shopping is long!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

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February Postcards from Symi

Yialos in February.  It is hard to imagine just how busy the harbour is in July and August when one sees it empty like this.

Peaceful and deserted.  A typical day on Symi in February. 

Two prettily restored neo-classical houses in Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour.  

Rosemary is starting to flower in the gardens.

Close inspection reveals all sorts of dainty surprises unfurling in the terraces and along the verges.

The new paving around the periphery of the town square is nearing completion, despite the many rainy days.

Fresh fish for sale. This is the parking spot for the Noddy train in the summer, hence the sign just visible beyond the cab.

The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran pulling in promptly at 9.20 this morning.  At the moment this boat comes in 4 days a week, en route to Kos. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The first tentative ferry schedules have appeared on the Dodecanese Seaways website which makes planning holidays much easier.  Please bear in mind that this is by no means final and they should be adding evening Rhodes-Symi and morning Symi-Rhodes connections for several days in the week.  Last year this route only came into operation from the middle of June as there wasn't enough traffic to justify the routes.  We hope that it will come into service earlier this year but we don't have any control over this.  Symi's Mayor is no doubt trying to push for this to be sorted out.  In the meantime you can also work around the Blue Star which comes through Symi on Wednesdays and Fridays and also does a return trip from Rhodes to Symi on those two days.

The weather is slowly improving in that the temperatures are inching upwards.  It is expected to get up to 17 today, dropping to 13 degrees tonight.  Of course the reason for the milder temperatures is because the wind is blowing from the south so we have rain, thunderstorms and strong winds to look forward to tomorrow and Wednesday.  Temperatures are expected to fall slightly towards the end of the week, dropping back into single figures at night over the weekend as the wind changes to the north.

There might not be very much perceptible human activity on the island at the moment but the lengthening days are having an impact on the plant life with more flowers appearing in the countryside and along every verge and scrap of wasteland.  Wild squills are punching up through the tarmac on the road out of the harbour and the first tentative almond blossoms are appearing on the sunny side of the Pedi valley.  It is also the lambing season and there is a feeling of change in the air.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Wind and Wood Smoke

A cold and choppy sea.

It was so rough this morning that the Blue Star Patmos did not stop, leaving lots of frustrated travelers fuming on the dock.

Pigeons may have small brains but they are certainly sensible.  This cornice on the National Bank is a nice warm sunny spot, out of the wind!

It may be a bit bumpy in the  harbour today but in the winter, when there are few boats and all the tourist trappings are packed away, the view of Symi's distinctive neo-classical architecture is unobstructed. That long stone building with the light green woodwork in the middle of this photograph is the highly-acclaimed Old Markets hotel.

The bus stop in Yialos.  The blue bus is the one that serves Panormitis monastery. Conspicuous by its absence is the yellow bus which serves the Yialos-Chorio-Pedi route as it is still away for maintenance.  Those cubes on the quay to the right are pallets of stone flags, similar to the ones already laid around the centre of the harbour, so we can expect a continuation of the paving project in the near future.  The ramp at the far left leads to the high school, the upper section of the Kali Strata and Chorio. 

It is not just the architectural detail that  is revealed when the sunhats and beach towels are packed away.  Walking back from the ATM at the Alpha bank this morning I noticed that this tourist shop is using an Easter themed plastic table cloth (plastic table cloths are sold by the metre in Greece) as a partition.  The other side is rather more sophisticated wood paneling as it is a posh boutique.

Breakfast for some of the street cats of Yialos. Symi Animal Welfare and various dedicated locals look after the various cat colonies in Yialos, Chorio and Pedi during the winter when taverna pickings are lean.  The shiny bag on the left seems to have shoes in it and has probably blown off the table so this is not a Symi interpretation of  the fairy story, 'Puss in Boots'!

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning.  It is not particularly obvious but the boats are all rolling in the swell.

Work has started on the new road from the new commercial harbour.  Apparently it will curve around the hill and join the existing road just beyond the bend at the top, where you can see that blue tanker parked. When the harbour is completed, the big boats will dock there instead of by the clock tower and heavy vehicles will go up the new road and over the hill to the Pedi road where all the warehouses are, significantly cutting down on heavy traffic passing along the waterfront in Yialos.  

It is a cold, clear and windy day on Symi.  Temperatures are not expect to rise above 6 degrees centigrade today and with the wind chill it is actually only just above freezing.  Water froze in exposed places overnight and there was ice on the mountain.  Tonight is expected to be even colder. When I venture out of the office I can smell wood smoke from all directions as there are cast iron wood burners in several of the surrounding businesses and homes.

The Blue Star was unable to dock in Symi this morning.  Regular readers of this blog will remember that this was often the case in the days of the Diagoras (now ploughing the waves between Morocco and the Canary Islands) but it is unusual for the more modern Patmos with its sophisticated bow thrusters and more efficient underwater profile to chicken out. We hope she can dock on the way back from Rhodes tonight as this is the island's supply line for post, food, fresh produce etcetera and the next vehicle connection with Rhodes is next Wednesday! The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran should come through tomorrow en route to Kos but this only has limited vehicle and freight capacity and doesn't have the height to take trucks and vans.

Have a warm weekend wherever you are.  It is now less than two months to the spring equinox!

Regards,
Adriana

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November Postcards from Symi

Fresh shrimp for sale below the Symi  Visitor Accommodation office this morning.

Artisanal Cheeses from Tilos

Hand made baskets for sale.

And I really do mean hand made!

All wrapped up for the winter.

Cerberus? No, just an amiable hound looking out for customers.

Painting awnings.

Mavrovouni - the sunny side of the harbour.

First some early morning exercises in the November sunshine.

Then a leisurely pamper session.

Reflections

Symi steps

Carpets for sale in Chorio.

A late season schooner in Harani.

Friday Morning Rush-Hour

It is the weekend before the Panormitis Festival and the Blue Star Patmos dropped off a veritable cavalcade of hawkers and stall holders this morning.   There was quite a procession of heavily laden vans, trucks and battered old cars crawling up the mountain as I was walking down.  Those who arrived on Wednesday's boat set up briefly in the town square yesterday, selling cheeses, baskets and carpets.

Weatherwise, we had 24 millimetres of steady rain on Monday afternoon which has helped to break the drought but we need a lot more where that came from.  The rain lowered the temperatures quite considerably and we have had days around 19 degrees and evenings as low as 13 degrees this week. The weather will continue unsettled with some very windy days next week and possible showers.

There have been further cuts to the winter ferry schedule in that Sea Dreams which was originally supposed to be running until at least Christmas has now had a change of heart and the boat has been pulled from service.  The Panagia Skiadeni which was supposed to be running a ferry service this week and over the Panormitis festival period has lost her ferry license so cannot sell one way tickets or take vehicles. This means that the only vehicle ferry during what is a peak period is the Blue Star as there are very few vehicle slots on the catamaran and in any case it doesn't have the clearance to accommodate vans and trucks. There will be quite a rush on Wednesday morning as the boat leaves at 5 a.m. for Rhodes in the winter and the stall holders will need time to dismantle and drive across the island.  I should imagine quite a few of them will defer their departure until Friday and come over to the harbour to sell whatever didn't go during the festival on Monday and Tuesday.  What a way to earn a living but these people have little or no choice in the land  of 50% unemployment and the Panormitis festival is one of the biggest opportunities to make a little money for the winter, assuming it doesn't all go into ferry fares.

I will be one of the ones waiting to catch the Blue Star at 5 a.m.  on Wednesday morning as I will be  off to the UK for a fortnight, but there is time for one more blog on Monday!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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October Observations

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning.  I never know what I am going to see when I open the French doors but this has to be a first.  See the next photograph for a close up.

An unlikely sight in Yialos on a Tuesday morning in October - or any other morning for that matter.

Monday morning was rather more conventional.

The Swan Hellenic Lines 'Minerva'.

Sunny balconies near the post office in the back streets of Yialos.

It is very quiet in the harbour.  I took this photograph in the late morning on Monday and apart from occasional promenading couples from the 'Minerva' there were very few people around.

It is even quieter up in Chorio.  Feral fowl stomping through the dry grasses, looking for bits to eat. There are now a lot of escaped poultry living 'off piste' in parts of Symi. They seem to have a symbiotic relationship with the dustbin cats and they all hang out together.

Remember the new bus stop bench in Chorio? Well something hit it recently, possibly even the bus, so it is now slightly wonky.  The two luminous orange posts are evidently an attempt to prevent a recurrence.

There's a chilly little northerly breeze whipping across the harbour and thoughts are turning to digging out warmer clothes.  The light is sparkling on the water and it is quite warm in the sun if one can find a spot out of the wind. The cafes have started shuffling about their plastic drop cloths and awnings to create wind breaks and sun traps. Day time temperatures are around 24 degrees and evenings are cool at 18.  The locals are snuggling under quilts and duvets whereas the last visitors, predominately sturdy northern types from Germany and Scandinavia, assure us that they are fine with just a sheet, thank you.

The winter ferry schedules have been released, in the case of the Blue Star up to March and in the case of Dodecanese Seaways until the end of December so we can make our own travel plans.  You can find more details on Andy's travel blog in addition to the links above. Andy is also doing his usual sterling research into flight details for how to get to Symi in 2017 from various points around Europe so don't forget to check his regular travel news updates.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Strikes and Sunshine

The last day trips of the season were into Panormitis yesterday.

The taverna at Panormitis was so busy that by the time we got there just after 2 that they were already running low on supplies and we wound up sharing a plate of spaghetti and chips as I am allergic to calamari, the only other option still available. 

The smoke of a thousand souvlakis - the vendors were doing a roaring trade in grilled souvlaki, loukomades (Greek doughnuts)  and candy floss.  That's the lone carpet seller in the corner on the left.  Most of the others seemed to give it a miss this year, probably due to the 4 day ferry strike last week.

A huddle of cats outside the carpenter's shop at the bottom of the Kali Strata.  As the weather gets colder the cats are getting fluffier as are mostly feral and sleep out of doors.

There's a brisk north westerly wind blowing today and the sea is an amazing cold deep blue.

White caps and white sails against a backdrop of distant Turkish hills.

A few yachts came into the harbour this morning, checking the possibilities for a secure anchorage. They evidently didn't like what they saw as they soon turned round again and left. They have probably gone round to Pedi which is slightly less bumpy in this wind direction.

There was an excellent turn out for the Panormitis festival this weekend and apparently 16 000 people attended which is quite something for an island with a population of just under 3000 people. There were quite a lot of stalls although many of the regular ones such as the Cretan cheese van and the stalls selling power tools and agricultural implements were conspicuous by their absence. There was also only one carpet seller.  These were evidently affected by the lack of big boats from Piraeus and Crete due to the strike last week.

After today the winter ferry schedule kicks in in earnest.  We will see the Blue Star twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, weather and strikes permitting, and one Dodecanese Seaways catamaran on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays as it calls on its north and south bound routes, once again subject to weather.

There is a big general strike scheduled for Thursday which is likely to affect Friday's Blue Star as according to Kathimerini newspaper, maritime transport will be affected. If the Blue Star cannot leave Piraeus on Thursday afternoon as scheduled then it won't be coming through Symi at 7.30 a.m. on Friday so once again the whole program goes pear-shaped.  It's all part of the excitement of life on a small island in the winter.

The weather remains clear and sunny but is increasingly chilly with a stiff north-westerly breeze - the sort that finds its way through every crack and chink in doors and windows.  Those who travel on motorbikes and scooters have switched to Michelin-man mummy wrappings and it is only those who are walking or sitting in the sun who are still in short sleeves.  Midday temperatures are around 22 degrees, colder in the wind, dropping to around 15 degrees at night.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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