Ruggedly Beautiful

After last week’s heat wave Symi has settled into more normal temperatures for the time of year with midday highs around 20 degrees and night time lows around 14 degrees centigrade.  Of course there are plenty of sun traps, particularly in areas facing south, where the temperature can actually climb up to 30 at midday but this is unusual and it is still quite cold in the shade.  We are having heavy dewfalls at night and quite a lot of mist which only burns off quite late in the morning.  No significant rain is expected for the next few days.

Preparations for the season are well under way in the harbour and in Chorio, with much cleaning and painting going on.  The first visitors are expected next week and the day trip boats are also expected to start early in April as there are already quite a lot of tourists in Rhodes with time to kill, it being a little chilly still for swimming.

Ruggedly beautiful with amazingly clear water.

This mysterious cave is only accessible from the water, and the interior is a massive cavern full of seawater.

Symi’s beaches are still deserted and it will be some weeks yet before the beach franchise operators and water taxis set up their operations for the season.  Regular visitors to Symi will be aware that most beaches on the island can only be accessed by boat, or by some fairly serious hiking.  This is sometimes a little puzzling to first timers who are unaware that Symi is, to all intents and purposes, a mountain peak poking out of the sea. This is why there are so few waterfront properties and why being able to see the sea from your accommodation does not necessarily mean that it is possible to swim from the terrace.  These photographs give an idea of what St George and Nanou, two popular and spectacular beaches, are like out of season, when there is no one around except the occasional tortoise.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

If the cliffs of St George look vaguely familiar to old movie buffs, it is because they were used in 'The Guns of Navarone'.  More recently this was the venue for a BASE jumping event last August.

Nanou - no umbrellas or sun beds for a while yet, but plenty of natural shade under the trees.

The lone inhabitant of Nanou in March.