February Postcards from Symi

Yialos in February.  It is hard to imagine just how busy the harbour is in July and August when one sees it empty like this.

Peaceful and deserted.  A typical day on Symi in February. 

Two prettily restored neo-classical houses in Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour.  

Rosemary is starting to flower in the gardens.

Close inspection reveals all sorts of dainty surprises unfurling in the terraces and along the verges.

The new paving around the periphery of the town square is nearing completion, despite the many rainy days.

Fresh fish for sale. This is the parking spot for the Noddy train in the summer, hence the sign just visible beyond the cab.

The Dodecanese Seaways catamaran pulling in promptly at 9.20 this morning.  At the moment this boat comes in 4 days a week, en route to Kos. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The first tentative ferry schedules have appeared on the Dodecanese Seaways website which makes planning holidays much easier.  Please bear in mind that this is by no means final and they should be adding evening Rhodes-Symi and morning Symi-Rhodes connections for several days in the week.  Last year this route only came into operation from the middle of June as there wasn't enough traffic to justify the routes.  We hope that it will come into service earlier this year but we don't have any control over this.  Symi's Mayor is no doubt trying to push for this to be sorted out.  In the meantime you can also work around the Blue Star which comes through Symi on Wednesdays and Fridays and also does a return trip from Rhodes to Symi on those two days.

The weather is slowly improving in that the temperatures are inching upwards.  It is expected to get up to 17 today, dropping to 13 degrees tonight.  Of course the reason for the milder temperatures is because the wind is blowing from the south so we have rain, thunderstorms and strong winds to look forward to tomorrow and Wednesday.  Temperatures are expected to fall slightly towards the end of the week, dropping back into single figures at night over the weekend as the wind changes to the north.

There might not be very much perceptible human activity on the island at the moment but the lengthening days are having an impact on the plant life with more flowers appearing in the countryside and along every verge and scrap of wasteland.  Wild squills are punching up through the tarmac on the road out of the harbour and the first tentative almond blossoms are appearing on the sunny side of the Pedi valley.  It is also the lambing season and there is a feeling of change in the air.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana