December Postcards from Symi

Christmas continues to creep into corners of Chorio.

Some of the lanes in Chorio are so narrow, they are only just wide enough to permit people to pass single file.

A Christmas star on the square in Chorio. If the yellow binding holding the flag staff looks vaguely familiar, it is - it is a dressmaker's tape measure!

An alternative use for old refrigerator shelves.

No individually cling-wrapped bananas in Greece. Fresh produce is sold from returnable crates.  Customers choose the items they want which are then weighed and put into either plastic or paper bags. The brown paper bags are on the increase, particularly up in Chorio. Every few weeks all the empty crates go on a truck back to Rhodes to the produce market.

Those parts of the Pedi valley that escaped storm damage are looking very pretty and green after the rain.

Some inflatable 'Yo Ho Ho' outside the dress shop in Chorio.

Down in the harbour the clean up continues.  Pachos is still closed.  Now that they have finished the cleaning and painting and fixing up of damaged equipment, the tedious job of washing mud off individual bottles and cans has begun.  Similar scenes are to be seen all round Yialos.  Dino, the chandler opposite our office entrance, has been meticulously washing mud off tools, shackles and other items of stock since the day after the deluge.  Other businesses, such as the  pharmacy by the bridge and some of the boutiques, were not so lucky in that their stock was irreparably damaged by the muddy water.

The mud is still with us, unfortunately. This is the scene outside the customs shed this morning.

The water is slowly clearing and these locals decided to have a go at raising one of the many sunken small boats. They have rigged a basic winch to the roof of the fish market.

The suspended particles have turned the water in Yialos an interesting teal colour.  About 10 minutes after I took this photograph that dark cloud came over the hill and rained briefly over the town before moving on.

Municipal workers putting up Christmas lights in Yialos.

Success!  Now to scoop out the rest of the water.

Replacing broken pipes in the square in Yialos.

Mud aside, the square looks strangely naked as so much of the vegetation was lost in the storm.

In this photograph from the Symi Visitor balcony you can see some of the damage to the motor road out of the town, as well as some of the wrecked cars that have been dumped up there until their final destination is decided.  Don't stand too close to the edge!