It is numbingly cold

It is numbingly cold and once again the snow ploughs are out in much of Greece. The only drifts of white stuff we are experiencing here on Symi however are almond petals. It looks as though we will have a good crop this year - if our furry friends don't get there first!

The number of poles stacked on the road out of town does not seem to be diminishing and the men from DEH are still hard at work. OTE, the telephone company, has a work crew beavering away too and the cables are being replaced around Chorio. And there is a municipal team busy digging ditches and laying pipes around the harbour. We don't save ALL the work for the tourist season...!

The group of Afghan refugees that has been in quarantine in the old school house in Pedi for a week (see out and about picture) was transferred to the police station today. All refugees now have to be quarantined for 7 days, the incubation period for bird flu, as they have all come through Turkey. Regular readers of the Symi Visitor will be aware that Symi, being a border island, is a regular dropping off point for people-traffickers and many refugees land on our shores. The fortunate ones arrive alive but as the traffickers take advantage of winter storms when there is no shipping, and really have no interest in whether these people survive or not as long as the required sum has changed hands, Symi is no stranger to tragedy on her shores either. A bleak and miserable business, particularly as almost all of them will be deported eventually and will have made the journey in vain.

On a more cheerful note, it's St Valentine's Day and although he isn't an Orthodox saint he is gaining something of a following in Greece these days. To celebrate we sent Klianthi from the Symi Visitor office out with the camera to take some new out and about photographs for you. (Which will appear on the site tomorrow! Mike)

Have a good week!

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com