Big Week on Symi

Summer-time visitors to Symi may have problems associating Symi with daisy lawns so here is the proof!

The Pedi valley is still green.  As most of the trees are now leafed over, very little of the earth beneath is visible and the cyclamens are disappearing fast.

Kali mera!

I think I might just make this my desktop wallpaper for the summer.  Green relief for tired eyes!

People are arriving for Easter and shutters are opening all over the island.

Cafes, bars and restaurants are opening for Easter visitors.

Once again the municipality has optimistically placed anti-parking devices along the waterfront at the head of the harbour.  You can see how effective they are from this photograph.

Spring flowers feed happy sheep and goats who produce lots of milk which turns into beautiful artisanal cheeses that in turn become tasty little cheese pies to share with friends on Easter Sunday.  That's the kind of food chain we all aspire to and which is readily traceable in Greek.

Preparing for sunny days.

It is just about warm enough for ice cream.

The Symi Visitor Accommodation balcony rail provides an over-pass for lazy cats making their way across the rooftops.  They don't often linger long enough to be photographed.

Today\s poppy picture

Today marks the start of Big Week, the solemn run-up to Greek Easter.  It is a very busy week in Greek households as the spring-cleaning, whitewashing and preparations for the Easter weekend and its celebratory Sunday feast all have to be completed in addition to attending many church services.  All of this is done on a strict fasting diet of pulses and halvah.  Oil and other fats are not allowed and wine is also not permitted. By Easter Sunday everyone will really deserve their lamb feast!

Good Friday and Easter Monday are both religious holidays here. Good Friday is particularly serious and there are strict taboos on manual labour on both Good Friday and Easter Saturday. Easter Monday is more of an extension of the Easter Sunday celebrations as well as providing time for people to travel home.  By the way, just as this is Big Week (Big as in solemn or momentous), next week is Bright Week and in theory anyway is a week of feasting to celebrate the Resurrection plus any name days that might have been missed due to Lent.

The weather remains mild with little difference between daytime and night-time temperatures.  It is around 20 degrees at midday and around 14 at night.  Once again some rain showers are expected midweek. Lovely in the sun, it is still chilly indoors and in the shade so take an extra layer when venturing forth. There is a distinct cold bite to the north wind.

It will be about a month before the excursion and taxi boats go back in the water and the beach tavernas start packing out sunbeds.  April is the time for walks in the countryside, enjoying the flowers and sparkling clean air.  In the old days, when people used to take several holidays a year, April used to be the month for walking groups, photographers, painting groups and so on.  In recent years the season has shrunk and we no longer see many foreign visitors in April.  Instead the main activity is Greek internal tourism - a combination of family members returning home for the celebrations and people exploring their own country in all its scenic glory. Springtime in Greece is spectacular and is reverting back to being a well-kept secret.  It is just as well there are bloggers like myself and James Collins to share it with you!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Perfect Poppies

Perfect poppies

Last year's Christmas tree finds a summer home on the Kali Strata.

Bee hives in the shade of an oak in the Pedi Valley.  That is Profiti Ilias in the background.

Waiting for a new roof in the harbour.

The view from my office balcony this morning after the rain.

They don't make padlocks like this anymore.

A new ceramics shop opening in our lane.

All set for the season.

Spring flowers outside one of Symi's boutique wine shops.

Symi awoke to the rumble of thunder this morning and a short sharp storm rolled over the island at dawn, dumping some hail and a fair amount of rain on the island as it headed east to Turkey.  The sun is out now and everything looks fresh and perky.  After a windy weekend and today's showers it looks as though the weather will be more settled for the rest of the week.  Next week is 'Big Week', the big run up to Easter so everyone is flat out busy with painting, cleaning and baking in anticipation of the holidays.  The tavernas and gyros bars that are open usually switch to a strict fasting menu for Big Week so expect seafood specialities and pulses rather than meat dishes on the menu.

There are quite a few new shops and enterprises opening up on the island this year and browsers will find more interesting and artisanal gifts to take home as souvenirs.  I'll be taking photographs as I go about my errands in the course of the week to share with you on Friday.

There is a big nationwide strike scheduled for tomorrow, mainly affecting the major ports, railways and public services.  At this stage there is no mention of air traffic controllers being involved.  Please keep an eye on our travel blog http://symivisitor-accommodation.com/blog/ and also http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/ for updates and information if you are visiting Greece at this time.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Treat Yourself for Easter 2014!

This year Catholic and Greek Orthodox Easters coincide on 20 April.  To celebrate we are offering 25% off selected accommodation booked for April 2014.  Easter in Greece is famously spiritual and joyous - and a far cry from the commercial event it has become in the West.  April is also a beautiful time of the year scenically as the wild flowers are still in full bloom, making it popular with walkers, photographers and botanists. Temperatures are generally mild with cool evenings and midday reaching mid to high twenties. While we cannot guarantee that you won't have the occasional rainy or windy day, we can guarantee that you will have a memorable Easter holiday.  For more information please email us on symi-vis@otenet.gr or symivisitoraccommodation@live.com.

A fine display of winter vegetables brought in by ferry.  With virtually no arable land Symi is dependent on supplies brought in by sea from other places.  At this time of the year much of what is available comes from Greek market gardens, sometimes as close as Rhodes and Tilos, as well as Crete but in the summer tourist season many of the more exotic items such as iceberg lettuce and celery are imported from cooler places such as Holland.

Now is the time for planting pots and gardens. There is enough rain to settle the plants in and the slowly lengthening days and rising temperatures make for ideal growing conditions.

I spotted this laden orange tree in a back garden at the base of the Kataraktis, the ancient foot path connecting the harbour, Yialos, with Chorio.  

After months of wet weather the houses are looking a little damp and rain-streaked, but still picturesque.  This is a small close at the back of the harbour.

Yialos at 9 o'clock this morning was very empty indeed.  We had heavy dew last night and as the sun still had not reached the south side of the harbour the paving was slick.  The dog being petted on the right of the picture belongs to one of the few cafes open at this time of the year.

The rock face that makes Symi's famous natural amphitheatre harbour is surprisingly verdant at this time of the year.  The dusty shrubs of summer glow green with secret life in the winter months, unseen by any tourist or day tripper.

Lemonitissa church on the Kastro in Chorio looms benignly over Yialos.  Much of Symi's landscape is perpendicular, the houses clinging to the cliffs and connected by a maze of steps and paths.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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