Civil Unrest? No, Haggling over Fish.
Civil unrest? No, haggling over fish. |
Today is one of those early spring days where everyone one meets exclaims, ‘What a glorious day!’ and yearns to be out of doors. Indeed, looking through my office window, this is the most people I have seen out on the streets since I returned from South Africa 3 weeks ago. No they are not having a protest meeting or staging a demonstration, despite the sensationalist obsessions of the foreign media and the alarmist propaganda of the British Foreign Office. They are standing around in the sun, buying fish for Clean Monday and discussing the merits of the different kinds of seafood that have just been brought in on the fishing boats. It is the final weekend of Carnival and Clean Monday, a day traditionally spent in the countryside, flying kites and eating seafood picnics, marks the beginning of Lent for Orthodox Greeks. Speaking of the media, there is a Greek film crew on the island today, filming Symi in the sunshine. Something that the international press often forget to mention is that Greece is actually a very safe country and has an enviably low crime rate. This is particularly apparent in the areas mainly visited by tourists. One of the reasons why a place like Symi is so popular with single women as a holiday destination is that one can walk home alone at any time of the night without fear or threat and there are not many places in the world where one can truly say that.
A Welcome Sight |
Have a good
weekend.
Regards,
Adriana