Heavy Dewfalls and Misty Mornings

High pressure continues to dominate the weather over our corner of the Mediterranean, bringing calm seas, heavy dew falls and misty mornings.  It is very quiet now that all the tourist businesses have packed up for the winter and most cruising yachts have headed to their winter berths in nearby Turkey.

Our winter lifeline.  The Dodecanese Seaways high speed catamaran, either the Pride of the Express as they are taking turns through the winter, stops off in Symi on its north and south bound routes on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we  have no boats at all.  On Wednesdays and Fridays we have the Blue Star and those are the only two days where it is possible for Symiots to go to Rhodes on a day return. 

A novel way to block a mouse hole in the door of a ruined house on the Kali Strata.  Note the detail on the woodwork.

Looking down the Kali Strata.

The island's many oleanders are now in full bloom, adding splashes of colour to sun-bleached views such as this one. The upstairs of this traditional house has been restored as an apartment. The downstairs, which would once have been a shop, is the home of the Symi Gallery.  Many of the buildings on the uphill side of the Kali Strata would have had shops at street level as this was effectively Symi's high street.

There are very few large houses on the island so this one, looming above the Kali Strata, is something of a landmark.  Trees  in the ruin in front have just been cut down, making more of the house visible. Symi is famous for its beautiful - and well-protected - neo-classical architecture. The nature of the terrain means that the houses have very quirky layouts and are seldom as spacious inside as the exteriors may lead one to suppose.  For instance, this house has two fronts and no back and is actually slightly wedge shaped. The main entrance is from the lane running behind the house at the middle level, the bathroom is in the basement and the bedrooms are on the third floor.

Jasmine is popular here as it is very drought hardy and flowers twice a year, in April and May and again now until the weather turns too cold. The fragrance is not as strong now as it is in April and May as there isn't enough warmth to bring out the volatile oils but it is pleasant none the less.

Peaceful Pedi.  The sun doesn't reach most of the valley until about 10 a.m. at this time of the year and by 3 in the afternoon the shadow starts creeping across the valley again.  As the  winter sun only just clears the ridge on the right, the southern slopes remain pretty much in shadow all day from October to March.

A rose carved in marble on the underside of a balcony on the Kali Strata.  As marble and other forms of lime stone are abundant in Greece it is a popular and durable building material rather than a luxury item.