Light the Fire

A wet weekend has turned into a rainy Monday and according to the satellite picture there is more unsettled weather heading our way for the rest of the week. So far we have been spared the destructive torrential rains that can be a feature of the rainy season in Symi and it has been steady soaking rain, the kind much beloved by farmers as it sets the seeds in the ground rather than washing them to the bottom of Pedi bay. One advantage of the heavy cloud cover and southerly winds is that it is still quite warm here on Symi with temperatures around 18 degrees and the anticipated drop has not hit us yet.

It is very quiet down in Yialos with not much movement apart from fishermen in oilskins bailing out boats. Symi Visitor webcam watchers will have noticed muffled figures squelching past at intervals, clutching pumps and buckets. A small fleet of Italian fishing boats sheltered in Symi on Saturday to ride out the south westerly gale that was pounding in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/31249607@N08/3050498258/ for a photograph of two of the boats – the third was alongside the clock tower.

The Symi municipality has switched on the ‘barber pole’ Christmas lights which look quite pretty in the evening drizzle. There is no sign of any of the other municipal decorations yet but the Public Power Corporation is still busy putting up poles so this may well be a last minute thing. A large pole is scheduled to replace the existing one outside the Village Hotel in Chorio. It is lying on crates in the Chorio shortcut at the moment, surrounded by hazard tape as the workers wait for the weather to improve before they haul it into position.

Speaking of Christmas, some of the shops down in Yialos have now received their holiday stock in the form of tinsel, glass baubles and felt Xmas stockings and one of the better known souvenir shops has reinvented itself as a toy shop. At the moment, however, local shopping trends are veering more towards Wellington boots, umbrellas and plastic sheeting by the metre rather than festive frivolities. The Symi Flower Shop is a cheerful sight as this is, of course, the time to be planting things and they have lots of young fruit trees and shrubs in stock as well as bright pot plants for the horticulturally challenged.

Have a good week. I am going home to light the fire and steam Christmas puddings as it is too wet to be picking olives.

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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