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| Pachos kafeneion near our office is closed for a few days for its annual spring-clean and repaint. It is quite common here to see business owners doing their own painting and decorating. |
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| The two boutiques on the other side of us are now open. |
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| You must admit, Symi harbour is exceptionally photogenic. |
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| The herb and spice shop by the bridge has opened for the summer. |
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| The mulberry trees that were planted in the town square a few years ago have suddenly turned into proper trees and should provide good shade. |
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| One of Symi's several sponge shops. That is the National Bank of Greece next door. They have an ATM just inside the doorway. There is another ATM further down, in the vestibule of the Alpha Bank and then there is a third on the opposite side, next to the pharmacy. |
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| Pretty spring pastels are always in fashion on Symi. |
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| There is an amazing array of fresh produce available at the moment as there is an overlap between the cool weather vegetables like leeks and cauliflowers, the strictly spring time artichokes and then the first of the summer cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines. No, the pineapples on the right are not local - they, like the bananas, come from South America. Greek produces a wide range of fresh produce through the year but tropical fruits are not on the list. |
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| A quiet lane in Yialos. |
It is still fairly cool with a light north-westerly breeze and we had several hours of steady drizzle on Saturday night. Temperatures are forecast to rise steadily through the week, peaking at 26 degrees on Saturday, just in time for the May Day long weekend. There is no further rain on the horizon and unless we have a shower in May, the summer drought has begun. Symi has one of the longest dry seasons in Greece and can go without any rain at all from April through to early November.
Work has resumed across the bay, on the new commercial harbour and jetty, and I can hear a steady distant 'tok-tok-tok' as they chip away at the rocky shoreline. They are still creating a large flat area at the base of the hill and widening the frontage as far as Petalo. Once this becomes operational there will be far less heavy vehicle traffic through Yialos as the
car ferries will dock and unload there instead of at the clock tower. Symi may also then provide shelter to occasional cruise ships late in the season when strong winds and heavy swells close Rhodes harbour.
Sorry but that's it for poppy pictures for another year!
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
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