Symi's Shades of Grey

The Symi Gallery's current premises on the Kali Strata

 The days may be growing longer but February is often the greyest and most dismal month on Symi and this year is no exception.  Very little sunshine is filtering through as one cold front after another piles up across the Eastern Mediterranean, bringing rain and strong winds.  The Blue Star Diagoras arrived 24 hours late after a departure delayed by strikes in Piraeus and storms in the Aegean and  passed back through on her return journey from Rhodes at 1 this morning.  The Dodecanese Pride spent last night in Kalymnos as the sea was too rough for the return journey down to Rhodes.   The long range forecast shows more rain and stormy weather ahead, alternating with partly cloudy or overcast conditions.  February is a month for hunkering down by the fireside with a pile of books, sorting cupboards and catching up on overdue correspondence rather than basking in spring sunshine and pottering in the garden.  Many households up in Chorio are still waiting to have internet and telephone access restored after recent lightning strikes took out the network but down in the harbour the infrastructure is holding up quite well.

The almond trees are flowering in the gardens and on the terraced hillsides, delicate shades of white and palest pink, luminous against the wet grey rocks.  The lower temperatures are turning the oranges from green to gold and the lemon trees are heavy with fruit.  Greek Easter falls late this year, in early May, by which time the Pascal lambs will be plump indeed. 

Today’s photographs were taken on my walk to work this morning and from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office window yesterday and give an idea of what Symi is like in the winter.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana