Warm Summer Nights

This old ruin in Chorio was originally plastered to make the stone walls look as though they were brick.  Only a fragment remains, on the corner opposite Kampos.

Looking down Pedi Valley to Pedi Bay at 7 in the morning.

The vines are turning from green to yellow.

One of the small day excursion boats that come over from Rhodes.

In the absence of the Symi and the Proteus, day trippers are coming across from Rhodes in vessels reminiscent of the Dunkirk 'Little Ships'.  They bring some relief for the waterfront tourist shops and tavernas but cannot bring anything like the 1000 plus visitors per day that are normal for September.

The small island of Symi is, like many other islands in Greece, suddenly a lot quieter than it ought to be for September.  What is usually one of the busiest months of the year has been struck by a dire lack of boats as at least 80 Greek vessels have been pulled from service due to problems with their paperwork.  While larger centres such as Rhodes are packed with holiday makers staying in resort hotels, Symi is only seeing a fraction of the number of day trippers who normally come over as many of the boats used for the purpose are among those affected.  For the background story and updates please see Andy’s travel blog.  Meanwhile the regular September visitors to Symi, many of whom have been coming here for twenty years or more, are reminded of what Symi was like in the 1970s and 80s, when the island’s tourist industry was in its infancy.  James Collins has been putting up some interesting old photographs harking back to this golden age on his blog which you can see here.

The weather continues warm and settled with fairly high humidity levels.  Midday temperatures are in the mid to high thirties, dropping to about 25 degrees centigrade at night.  Although the autumn equinox is round the corner there are no strong winds or thunderstorms showing up in the long term forecast and the island is enjoying a prolonged summer.  With clear skies the full moon is a glorious sight and dining out under the stars is one of the joys of warm Greek summer nights.

On a less romantic note, the taxi drivers’ union has called more strikes which are mainly affecting Athens and Thessalonica.  We heard this morning that some of the taxis in Rhodes are striking alternate days but there has been no mention of the taxis on Symi joining in.  This is the last month to make the rent money for the winter and like everyone else in seasonal employment on Symi, the taxi drivers really do have to make hay while the sun shines.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana