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| Most of the wild anemones in my garden were buried under rubble in the big storm on 13 November 2017 but this one survived and is putting on a brave show. |
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| The big valonia oak at Lieni is very confused by the mild winter temperatures and is still hanging on to a lot of last year's leaves. |
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| I was pleased to see that some long-overdue work is finally being done on the roof of the old pharmacy building in Chorio. |
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| After weeks of rain and damp weather, washing lines are blossoming all over Chorio. |
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| The wonderful miniature gardens of dainty ferns and moss that sprout in the dry stone walls and ruins of Chorio during the rainy months of winter are a seasonal delight. |
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| The blue shutters are part of the museum in Chorio. |
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| What could be more Mediterranean than ripening oranges against a clear blue sky? |
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| Looking at massive sheets of impermeable rock like this, it is hardly surprising that flash floods and torrential rainwater run off are a problem in the rainy season. There is literally nothing to hold the water. |
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| A cold blue sea. |
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| The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning. Calm seas and cloudless skies make a pleasant change after weeks of rain followed by last week's gales. |
Well, I didn't get to Rhodes on Friday. The Force 9 winds in the Aegean threw out the
Blue Star's schedule by about 18 hours so I shall be trying again on Wednesday. There are only two possibilities for a day trip to Rhodes from Symi - Wednesday and Friday. As both are with the Blue Star, the bigger weather picture has an impact on this.
The weather is expected to change again on Thursday with rain forecast for Friday. At the moment midday temperatures are around 14 degrees, falling to around 10 degrees at night. Places that are in the shade most of the day are significantly colder. Places that face south and are getting 8 hours of sunshine are much warmer. Location, location!
Symi is very quiet with few people about. Netflix must be doing well at weekends as on a Sunday Chorio is deserted. The bus is still in Rhodes which also limits activities. What goes down must go back up again and those Kali Strata steps give pause for thought when carrying shopping bags. Those who live in Chorio, shop in Chorio.
Speaking of shopping bags, Greece is implementing the requirement to charge for single use plastic bags. Signs in Greek and English are popping up, even in the shops on Symi, although I have not known anyone yet be charged the 4 cents per bag. Another change regulars might notice this year is that Symi, like many other remote Greek islands, has lost its tax concession due to the bail-out requirements so VAT is now 24%.
Unlike many other countries, Greeks have to pay VAT on all foods so this is going to be quite inflationary for the locals. At the moment it is not quite clear which things will be at 24% and which at 13%, 17%, 9% or any other random number you would care to think of but presumably this will all be sorted out in the coming weeks. Symiot shopkeepers seem to be trying to absorb as much of the increase as possible themselves but it is quite a hike so they won't be able to keep this up for long, particularly as the cost of getting stuff onto the island has also gone up. We are certainly seeing far more cheap Bulgarian imports in the shops than we used to and far fewer items from more distant parts of Western Europe.
Have a good week.
Regards,
Adriana
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