Daisies blanket the terraces

The weather held for most of the holiday weekend and the carnival parade was a great success (see Out and About). The wind started to pipe up yesterday, just as everyone was heading up the mountain for the traditional picnics and flying of kites. Town was pretty deserted and walking down the Kali Strata at midday the only living creatures I saw were sheep. (see picture)

By this morning the brisk breeze had turned to a gale and all ships were confined to port. The Proteus has just receive permission to head north and has pulled out to go to Kos. It will pass through Symi at 11.30 tonight en route to Rhodes. The Dodecanese Day Parade continued as planned, despite the wind, (see Out and About photos) and the rain is holding off for the moment. It will only start as the wind drops. Judging by the pink tinge to the clouds it will be the mud rain that is typical with a south westerly wind in this part of the world.

The weather is expected to remain unsettled for the rest of the week with strong winds, thunderstorms and rain forecast. This is not unusual for the time of year, but it is a nuisance as this is the month when everyone is trying to get their houses painted and ready for the season. Conditions are less than ideal for perching on a ladder with a whitewashing brush - unless the people next door want to be the same colour scheme...

The combination of steadily lengthening days and rainy spells is sending the weeds skywards. It is not surprising that the sheep have been turned loose in Chorio as every ruin is a mass of nettles and the wild angelica is flourishing on the Kali Strata and outside our office. Daisies blanket the terraces and the first scarlet poppies are nodding in the fields.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com