Wind and Wood Smoke
>> Friday, January 27, 2017 –
Blue Star Ferries,
Dodecanese Seaways,
Greek banks,
life on Symi in January,
new commercial jetty,
Symi architecture,
the Old Markets hotel,
winter ferries,
winter weather
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A cold and choppy sea. |
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It was so rough this morning that the Blue Star Patmos did not stop, leaving lots of frustrated travelers fuming on the dock. |
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Pigeons may have small brains but they are certainly sensible. This cornice on the National Bank is a nice warm sunny spot, out of the wind! |
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It may be a bit bumpy in the harbour today but in the winter, when there are few boats and all the tourist trappings are packed away, the view of Symi's distinctive neo-classical architecture is unobstructed. That long stone building with the light green woodwork in the middle of this photograph is the highly-acclaimed Old Markets hotel. |
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It is not just the architectural detail that is revealed when the sunhats and beach towels are packed away. Walking back from the ATM at the Alpha bank this morning I noticed that this tourist shop is using an Easter themed plastic table cloth (plastic table cloths are sold by the metre in Greece) as a partition. The other side is rather more sophisticated wood paneling as it is a posh boutique. |
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The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning. It is not particularly obvious but the boats are all rolling in the swell. |
office I can smell wood smoke from all directions as there are cast iron wood burners in several of the surrounding businesses and homes.
The Blue Star was unable to dock in Symi this morning. Regular readers of this blog will remember that this was often the case in the days of the Diagoras (now ploughing the waves between Morocco and the Canary Islands) but it is unusual for the more modern Patmos with its sophisticated bow thrusters and more efficient underwater profile to chicken out. We hope she can dock on the way back from Rhodes tonight as this is the island's supply line for post, food, fresh produce etcetera and the next vehicle connection with Rhodes is next Wednesday! The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran should come through tomorrow en route to Kos but this only has limited vehicle and freight capacity and doesn't have the height to take trucks and vans.
Have a warm weekend wherever you are. It is now less than two months to the spring equinox!
Regards,
Adriana