Living on Ice Cream




It is another sizzling hot day in Greece. Symi is floating in a pool of heat. The rocks shimmy and are hot to the touch. The sky is gunmetal, tinged with the haze of the recent fires on Samos. The day trippers disperse as quickly as possible in search of shade, leaving the harbour deserted, with only the restless rumble of ferry engines droning away outside our windows to indicate that it is the tourist season.

Public sector offices have been closing early in a bid to reduce power consumption in Greece. Despite these efforts, each day the media report new power records broken as the country battens down in air conditioned comfort and the power grid struggles to cope. Even Symi power station has pulled out all the stops and can be heard roaring away in the early hours of the morning when all other sound has ceased. Heat related fatalities include a 103 year old woman in northern Greece and a 17 year old girl in Crete. Yesterday the thermometers hit 46 degrees in several parts of Greece and the outlook remains warm for the next few days. The amphitheatre shape of Yialos traps the heat and it is significantly cooler up in Chorio and over in the Pedi valley where the air can circulate more freely.

Washing is dry as toast almost as soon as it is put on the line and bread turns to rusks within minutes of slicing. Anything with a high water content, such as sliced cucumber, shrivels away on the plate. We all seem to be living on ice cream and cold water at the moment as enthusiasm for eating is about on a par with enthusiasm for cooking – zip!

Have a peaceful week.

Regards,
Adriana

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About this Blog

I sailed into Panormitis Bay, Symi, by chance one windy July day in 1993 and have been here ever since. The locals tell me that this is one of the miracles of St Michael of Panormitis. A BA graduate with majors in English, Philosophy and Classical Civilisation, the idea of living in what is to all intents and purposes an archaeological site appeals to me. Not as small as Kastellorizo, not as touristy as Rhodes, Symi is just the right size. I live on a small holding which my husband and I have reclaimed from a ruin of over-grazing and neglect and turned into a small oasis over the course of the past 22 years. I also work part-time for Symi Visitor Accommodation, helping independent travellers discover and enjoy Symi's simple pleasures for themselves.

This page is kindly sponsored by Wendy Wilcox, Symi Visitor Accommodation.


Adriana Shum

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