Chamomile Underfoot

The lush green of the rainy season has faded away. The spring corona daisies have turned to dust and tangles of pink bindweed light up the dry hillsides. Wobbly wild hollyhocks are a magnet for bees now that the poppies are virtually all gone. The oregano bushes have started to flower on the terraces and the sandy verges of Pedi bay are scented with chamomile underfoot. Summer has arrived on Symi and the thermometer is at 30 degrees making Symi one of the warmest places in Greece at the moment. Humidity has dropped to below 40% and washing dries in minutes. Symi’s elaborately carved doors and shutters are all creaking and clicking as they contract in the dry air after a wetter than usual winter. A cool breeze is blowing across the harbour today, bringing some relief from what has been a very hot few days.

Municipal employees are out with pots of white wash, painting benches, barriers and bollards. The concrete kerbs and crash barriers along the motor road through Chorio have been painstakingly painted in white and pale Hellenic blue – a real labour of love. The oleanders are starting to flower in various shades of pink, salmon and crimson, forming ribbons of cheerful colour. Hawkers selling cheap Chinese power tools, Russian generators and gaudy plastic garden furniture are staking out their territory in the Chorio car park.

Down in the harbour charter gulets with fanciful rigs are chugging in from Datca while over in Pedi cruising boats on tight budgets continue to swing to anchor. There seem to be more privately owned cruising yachts than ever around this year and judging by those to whom we have spoken, saving on marina fees by starting the cruising season early has been a major factor.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana