Sunny and Mild

Low clouds swirling around the top of the Vigla on Tuesday morning.

Dramatic early morning skies over Turkey.  Pedi bay is a lot quieter now with few yachts lying in the anchorage.

Bright hibiscus in Lieni, with the 17th century windmills on the ridge above the harbour in the background. At this time of the year it makes a huge difference to the hours of daylight, depending on whether one is in a south or north-facing area. The neighbourhood in the photograph is sunny and bustling whereas the other side of the same hill, overlooking the harbour, is chilly and dark with few people around.

Composition in grey and terracotta.

Elaborate detail on a balcony in Chorio.

Spotted near the high school.  It seems teenagers really are the same the world over!

Pebblework is not just the preserve of churches.   When this mansion was restored on the Kali Strata, the owner took care to have the original pebblework restored too.

Often the only indicator we have that there is a cruise ship visiting is an armada of small orange lighters, shuttling guests from ship to shore. The big cruise ships themselves lie in deep water in Nimborio bay as they are too large to come into Yialos.

There were still enough visitors on the island earlier this week for a water taxi run to the beach.

Waiting for the Blue Star Diagoras on Wednesday morning.

It is not too late to see some interesting - or slightly weird, depending on your perspective - yachts in the harbour.

The stern view.

Personally I prefer the decorous gentleman's yacht with the yellow funnel.

A slightly different view from the balcony of Symi Visitor Accommodation.

We are halfway through October and the weather continues sunny and mild with temperatures in the mid to high twenties.  The long range forecast once again promises rainy days but it is too soon to tell if the weather late next week will pass to the south or to the north of us or if we will receive the full brunt.  It is not unusual on Symi to see rain falling all around us and not have a drop reach the island.

The ferry schedules are available on line up to the end of December now so we can all make plans for trips to Rhodes and further afield.  Basically, once the Panormitis festival is over on 9 November, it boils down to one Dodecanese Seaways catamaran stopping of to and from Kos at weekends and on Mondays and then the Blue Star on Wednesdays and Fridays, weather permitting. There are no boats at all on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the winter.

More people are leaving than arriving these days and houses are being closed up for the winter, gutters checked and cracked tiles replaced before the deluge.  Those who live on the island all year round are looking at what needs doing to their houses before the weather takes a turn for the worse.  Sheets of builders' plastic can be very useful, particularly when combined with a few well-placed stones, a commodity of which Symi has an inexhaustible supply.

There have been some refugee arrivals on Symi in recent days, including a number of children, but once again the authorities have been able to process their paperwork promptly and help them on their way. When the ferry service diminishes further, however, as mentioned above, it will be inevitable that in some cases refugees will have to stay one or two nights on the island.  We have received many sleeping bags through one of the larger relief organisations but cash donations to provide food and other essentials are still welcome, particularly if we need to provide shelter for vulnerable people in bad weather.  The link for donating on line is http://www.everyclick.com/solidaritysymi/info and remember to tick the Gift Aid box if you are a British tax payer. Thank you.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana