Equinoctial Showers

We’ve been cleaning out our cisterns and repairing gutters in anticipation of the first rains. The weather is changing with the approach of the equinox and for the first time in months rain icons are drifting into our corner of the weather map. Whether anything will come of them is another matter but showers are not unheard of at this time of the year and are often the first reminder that something really needs to be done about that cracked roof tile that last caused problems in the spring… In a climate where a large chunk of the year is relentlessly dry and rain-free it is easy to ignore roof leaks and absent storm water drains and move them down the list of priorities, which is probably why so much of this part of the world is flooded each winter. Anyone who has ever been on Symi in a downpour will have noticed that the Kali Strata and other steps and lanes rapidly become raging torrents. It is not for nothing that the old route linking Chorio with Yialos is called the Kateraktis!

Possible equinoctial showers aside, it is a calm and hazy day on Symi. Suspended dust has turned the sky, and its reflection upon the water, pink. The Symi has just come in and a lorry stacked high with crates of onions and apples is being unloaded into smaller vans for distribution. Today is the first time in weeks that most of the little hire boats by the clock tower are still lined up at two o’clock in the afternoon. Now that the season is winding down there is far less vehicle traffic and it is generally quieter, the September visitors being inclined to enjoy more decorous pleasures and leave the excitement of driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road to those who enjoy living dangerously.

Have a good week!

Regards,
Adriana