Thunder is growling
The whole of Greece is battened down as the bitter cold front that has frozen much of Europe sweeps down upon us. There are 30 snowploughs out on the streets of Athens today and much of the country is under heavy snow. Shipping has been disrupted since Sunday and Athens airport has been closed intermittently since Sunday evening due to ice on the runways. In many prefectures schools have been closed and people are advised to stay at home and avoid unnecessary journeys. Kefallonia and several other islands are currently without electricity which with temperatures as low as minus 8 cannot be much fun.
Here on Symi the situation is fairly calm at the moment. The sky grows blacker by the minute, thunder is growling and the temperature and the barometer are falling steadily. Will we have a repeat of the snowman on the Vigla for February 2006's front page? We shall see...
Meanwhile the bird flu crisis continues and announcements are being made at regular intervals over the town public address system, warning that those who do not get their poultry under cover will be punished with fines. Although the Greek authorities have stopped short of forbidding traffic between Greece and Turkey, they are advising against travel between the two countries unless it is absolutely essential and all ferries, vehicles and people are being disinfected when they come back into Greece. The freezing temperatures are driving migratory flocks of birds south into Greece from Russia and the Balkans so the alert has been stepped up, hence the clamp down on keeping poultry out of doors.
Photo: a double rainbow over Yialos as the Proteus steams north.
For further developments, watch this space!
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com
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