Raisins in the Sun

Symi is swaddled in a stifling blanket of humidity and tempers are frayed with lack of sleep. The air conditioner in the Symi Visitor Accommodation office is producing a good four buckets of water a day and those visitors who climb the stairs are loathe to leave the relative coolness of our sofa. As I sit at my desk, looking down the stairs and out through the open door, I am aware of the greengrocers next door in the lane, trolleying past endless crates of peaches, nectarines, grapes and melons in one direction and shoppers laden with baskets and bags of the same fruit heading the other way to revive themselves at Pachos before contemplating the hot hike home.

In the Pedi valley the leaves are falling fast, crunching to dust under foot, and the grapes are shrivelling into raisins in the sun. Tipsy wasps and hornets gorge themselves on the fermenting fruit and stagger off to drown in the cats’ water bowls. Every tap has thirsty bees hovering in hope of a drop of moisture. The poor power station is rattling away at maximum capacity, struggling to cope with the load of all those air conditioners and refrigerators.

The Demitroulla has broken down, delaying the departure of many mainlanders and Italians who need the ‘big boat’ to get their vehicles off the island. http://news.ert.gr/en/c/8/34940 It is not uncommon for Italians to ‘drive’ to Symi, making use of the efficient fast ferry system connecting the two countries via Ancona and Brindisi.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana