Spring, Glorious Symi Spring

The Vigla is the highest point on Symi so all the antennae and beacons are located up there.  If, however, you are in the shadow of the Vigla you may find that your phone picks up a stronger signal from Turkey than from Symi.  In direct line of sight, however, one can actually pick up quite strong 4G signals these days.

I can assure you that this poppy is absolutely real!  I spotted it on a verge next to the football field behind the power station in Pedi.

Best friends.

Lemon blossom

Rogue nasturtiums

The grape vines are waking up.  

You can see why wild clematis is sometimes called Old Man's Beard

Oak leaves unfurling in Lieni

The Pedi valley.

A lonely cloud between Symi and Turkey.

I spotted this atop a chimney that I pass every day and have never noticed before.  There is always something new to see on Symi.

We have been exceptionally lucky with the weather this March.  After that week of solid rain at the beginning of the month it has been sunny and mild and, as you can see, nature is reveling in the ideal growing conditions.  March can be a very stormy month so it is really exceptional to have such a long run of fine weather.

Tomorrow, 25 March, is a double holiday in Greece as it is the anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence from the Ottomans and it is also the Feast of the Annunciation.  The flags are up in the harbour and the children are running about, pursued by harassed teachers trying to coral them into groups for marching practice.

It looks as though there may be a break in the weather in the middle of next week with a possibility of rain showers. These, unfortunately, are likely to be of the 'red rain' persuasion, a phenomenon that combines fine dust from North Africa with moisture and turns everything ochre. We shall see!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi Sunshine in October

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office balcony this morning.

Hellenic blues by the bridge in Yialos

A pigeon heading for the ATM at the National Bank of Greece. The ATM is just inside the doors.  About 10 years ago there was a flock of geese living in the harbour as a local business man thought they were cute when they were goslings and bought them from a gypsy hawker.  Geese, as anyone who has ever kept them will know, are notoriously bad tempered and noisy and actually make excellent 'guard dogs'. Well, to cut a long story short, when the winter came the geese took up residence in the entrance to the bank in bad weather, preventing anyone from getting to the ATM and attacking bank customers and staff.  Eventually they were rounded up and rehomed in a more rural setting where their mean dispositions did not trouble the good citizens of Symi.

Looking back towards the National Bank building from the bridge.  Symi's war memorial and cenotaph is at the bottom of the long white flight of steps towards the right of the photograph.

The waterfront in Yialos is lined with colourful cafes, gyros bars,  tavernas and tourist shops.

Tamarisk stumps as firewood for the bakery by the bridge in Yialos. There are still two wood fired bakeries in Symi - the one by the bridge and then the one up in Chorio, just up from the Syllogos square.

The chain saws were busy this weekend, cutting the tops off the eucalyptus trees that line many of the roads on Symi. This is done every couple of years to prevent damage to the power lines by falling branches in winter storms.  So many trees have died from drought this year, there were plenty of chain saws in operation this weekend, cutting them down.  Usually at this time of the year we are listening to rotovators in the valley, not saws, but as we still haven't had any soaking rain, the ground is rock hard and impossible to plough.

A promenading cockerel speculating as to whether either of these two boats will ever see the water again.  They have been parked on  our road ever since I can remember which is a good 20 years!

The weather on Symi remains mild and dry with temperatures around 25 degrees at midday and 18 degrees at midnight.  There is a cool northerly breeze blowing and it is quite chilly in the shade.

The beach tavernas have now packed up for the winter and the water taxis have stopped for the year.  Although the weather is still fine and the sea warm, most of Symi's beaches face east and are surrounded by steep cliffs so at this time of the year they are in shadow very quickly so not suitable as late season swimming venues even if there are still some tourists around.  Popular places for swimming at this time of the year are NOS, Nimborio and Pedi bay, all of which can be reached without taxi boats.

We are now working winter hours so I am only in the office two mornings a week, mainly to file my blog.  We are, however, able to answer emails from home so if you want to contact us about booking your holidays for next year, please email us on symi-vis@otenet.gr and either Wendy or myself will get back to you.

Friday this week is Ochi Day and a bank holiday in Greece.  If you are on Symi this week, don't miss the parade in Yialos on Friday morning.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Suddenly It's Summer

The view from above - looking from the bend in the Kali Strata, across to the clock tower in Yialos and Harani.  Note the large sailing yacht moored stern-to on the quay.  There are lots more yachts coming in every day.

The best dolmades are made with tender young vine leaves, picked before they wilt in the heat of the day.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office at 9 this morning.  There was a lot more yachting activity in the harbour than we have seen in a long time.

A few hours later these appeared - hence the increase in the number of bikes parked on the pavement on our side of the road. We observe this little ritual every year as the municipality tries to implement parking restrictions. As we don't actually have traffic wardens it is something of a futile gesture. Last year the chap had barely finished when someone parked a truck on top of them.  I wonder how long they will survive this year...

Today is the first day of Big Week, the run up to Greek Easter, a week of solemn fasting, family get togethers and the beginning of the tourist season.  As Greek Easter is so late this year and the 1 May holiday coincides with Easter Sunday, both Monday and Tuesday next week are bank holidays in Greece. This means that the banks and many other offices will be closed from Friday 28 April, reopening on Wednesday 4 May. The schools are closed for 2 weeks, the weather is fine and sunny and there is a definite holiday buzz in the air.

More places are opening up every day.  Hatzipetros supermarket opposite Symi Flower and the Cultural Centre in Yialos has reopened in its beautiful newly renovated premises, complete with polished stone floors and gleaming new fridges and fittings.  The staff were busy, unpacking boxes when I went past this morning.  Most shops on Symi are small family businesses, not part of big chains, so each shop is unique and the staff are usually family members, making for a friendly shopping experience, all part of the reason why so many people come back to Symi for their holidays year after year.

If  you are on Symi over the next couple of weeks, don't miss the Soy Cuba exhibition at the Symi Cultural Centre from 25 April until 9 May.

As part of the exhibition there is also a free film show, Chico and Rita, on at the same venue tomorrow evening, 26 April.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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A Sudden Gale

This pretty Swedish double-ender spent about a week in Yialos recently.

Despite gale force winds on Wednesday, the Blue Star Paros was only 15 minutes late.

A typical Yialos line up in June.

Louis Cruises also managed to dock as usual, despite the stormy weather midweek.

The fuel ship docking in Yialos this morning.

The insect life at this time of the year is quite something.  In a few weeks time it will be too hot for bugs and beetles but at the moment everyone is hatching, munching, pollinating and reproducing.  The birds are appreciative of this plentiful food supply.

Globe artichoke.

Is this my best side?

The rain brought with it large amounts of sand from North Africa.

Twigs plucked from the old oak in Lieni during the gale on Wednesday.

We have had quite an exciting week, weather wise.  With a sudden gale forecast for Wednesday, all tourists scheduled to depart on Wednesday were taken off the island on Tuesday afternoon in case no boats were able to dock on Wednesday. This included not just our own visitors but also Olympic Holidays and Kalodoukas Holidays. It is best to err on the side of caution and although as it happened the Panagia Skiadeni and the Blue Star did manage to run to schedule, the Dodecanese Pride and Express were kept in port so the early morning departure from Symi to Rhodes did not happen.  We heard stories subsequently of flights having difficulty landing in Rhodes.  The 50 km/ph winds were followed by torrential rain in the early hours of Thursday morning - an unusual event for the first week of June.  It is a bright sparkling day now with excellent visibility but more windy and unsettled weather is expected in the early part of the week.

It is the Pentecost long weekend here so Monday is a bank holiday.  ITV1 has a film crew here as they are shooting a documentary about foreign women who fell in love with Greeks.  A sort of Shirley Valentine recap.  Well known mystery writer, Anne Zouroudi, is one of the people involved.  If you are on Symi this weekend, please come and join in the Greek live music evening at Mandeio Bar in Chorio on Sunday evening, after 9 p.m. You may even get the opportunity to see our celebrated dancing mayor, Lefteris Papakalodoukas strutting his stuff.

Have a good weekend,
Regards,
Adriana

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Off to a Big Start

Olive blossom - source of my current hayfever

The tiny olive blossoms rain like confetti all over every surface.

You never know where a white horse will appear - this one has been munching his way through the daisies of Chorio.

Symi’s summer season got off to a big start with the arrival of the MS Europa for an authentic Greek evening on Sunday.  The staff had emailed Wendy Wilcox, proprietor of  Symi Visitor Accommodation two weeks ago, asking for assistance as they were coming up the Red Sea from Oman and their usual itinerary to stop off in Egypt had had to be changed for security reasons.  After many discussions and emails via satellite and various changes of times a plan for on shore entertainment was made which turned out to be hugely successful. The ship anchored off Nimborio at 4 p.m and those guests and crew members who had chosen to dine ashore came into Yialos in tenders and browsed the harbour front, choosing from the range of tavernas and restaurants around the harbour front . The others had a Greek menu served on board the boat and then came ashore at 9 p.m. The Symi Women’s Association danced in the square and everyone then dispersed to visit the various bars and late night venues that Symi has to offer.  The party continued with impromptu dancing in the street and much merriment into the early hours of the morning when the last tender took the weary stragglers home to the boat.  Many people said afterwards that it was like having August on Symi in April!

It is Big Week this week, the last days of Lent and the run up to Greek Easter. The baking marathon continues, as does the outdoor painting and decorating in anticipation of the Easter celebrations.  The schools are closed for a fortnight.  The May Day Holiday has been shifted to 7 May to give the shopkeepers of Greece a boost in this holiday week but there will be some traditional May Day protest marches in Athens on 1 May.  Tuesday 7 May will be a full bank holiday so as Easter Monday is a holiday in Greece anyway and Symi celebrates VE Day on 8 May we have a very long weekend ahead of us here on Symi.

One piece of exceptionally good news from our point of view is that our number finally came up at OTE and our landline is finally working again after a hiatus of about 4 weeks!  The first call we received was from the technician to check the line and tell us that we were back on the air.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Adding a touch of glamour to Nimborio bay - MS Europa

MS Europa

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