A Silvery Sea

This disused windmill in Chorio is enjoying a new lease of life as a small restaurant. 

 Note the oleanders growing out of the paving.

Three tiny kittens enjoying a nap at the bottom of the Kali Strata.

Pedi Bay at 7 a.m

The first official heatwave of the summer season is scorching Greece.  Forest fires are blazing in Evia, Zakynthos and other tinder dry parts of the country. The strong winds that have been fanning the flames are absent here in Symi where the sun beats down on a silvery sea from dawn to dusk with a not a ripple of breeze to relieve the heat.

The price of fuel does not seem to have had an impact on the size of the power yachts that pass through Yialos and Harani.  Those little boats by the clock tower are for hire.

The last rains fell on Symi at the end of May and it is only the hardiest and most heroic of the summer plants that are still flowering. Oleanders splash bright pink and crimson blossom in an environment so arid that it is

inhospitable to just about anything else. July is such a dry month that even with intensive watering plants shrivel and buds turn to dust without ever opening. Roses and jasmine fade on their stems and the bees have vanished. The incessant chirrup of cicadas drowns out the desperate roar of Symi’s power station on hot summer afternoons.

An oleander amongst the dry grasses.

Early morning shadows on the Kali Strata.

The ferry schedules have now changed to their summer format. This means that the Proteus does a double Symi-Rhodes-Symi- Rhodes trip on Sunday evenings to make up for the complete absence of anything from Symi to Rhodes on Monday mornings. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays the Dodecanese Seaways morning connection from Symi to Rhodes now leaves at 09.30 instead of 8 a.m which means that it only reaches
Rhodes at 10.30 – quite tight scheduling for some check in times so if you are travelling on those days of the week please check your flight details now and if necessary inform whoever you have booked your accommodation with to avoid possible problems later. The reason for these changes is not to make life difficult for visitors to Symi but to try to provide a service to other islands as well during the high season weeks. Dodecanese Seaways is endeavouring to keep everyone happy but at the end of the day still only has two vessels. In these days of austerity no one is running about, commissioning new boats.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana