Pedi in December

Watch the birdy!  Spotted at the fuel station on the Pedi road.

The big caique at the Haskas boatyard in Pedi is nearing completion.  This is the only wooden boatyard left on the island of what was once a thriving industry spanning many centuries.  Although they now have the benefits of power tools, the wood still arrives as undressed logs which are then cleaned up by hand with an adze before being planed into planks.

All packed up for the winter.

The beach is covered with boats and the plants have been dragged into a sheltered spot, out of the prevailing winds.

Good bye, sunbeds and sunshades, hello boats on chocks.

Pedi is as quiet as Yialos at this time of the year.  This is a Turkish excursion boat that was used by people traffickers and came all the way from Gocek near Fethiye on the Turkish coast.

Maria, the water boat from Rhodes. As Symi has no natural water supply, the community's water comes either from the small desalination plant on the Pedi road or by ship from Rhodes.   This is why you won't find villas with pools on Symi.  Mind you, with a sea that looks like this, who needs a pool?

Pedi Bay.

The back half of this old wooden boat  has been turned into outdoor seating.

High on a rocky outcrop on the road to the boat yard  in Pedi, this small clump of crocus has managed to find enough soil to survive.

Do you ever wonder what your favourite beach looks like when you aren't there?  Pedi bay is a small fishing village and seaside 'resort' in the most uncommercial sense of the word.  There are two tavernas, two small shops and a fuel station, one modest hotel and a few seasonal holiday lets.  In December, when the tourists have gone and the tavernas and hotel are closed, Pedi becomes very quiet indeed, as you can see from these photographs. Some of the families that live down there in the summer move up the hill to Chorio for the winter as it is so quiet and isolated.  The last bus from Pedi is at 7.30 in the evening at the moment - not that there is much open in either Chorio and Yialos to tempt evening outings anyway.

Temperatures are around 19 degrees at  midday and 11 degrees at night this week and the air smells vaguely of wood smoke as people are lighting fires in the evening to keep the chill at bay. The weather is expected to break at the end of the week with the possibility of some showers. At the moment there are no strong winds forecast and it is exceptionally mild and settled for the time of year.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Ochi Day Parade

As you are aware, Adriana is on holiday, so she has requested that I try and continue (nowhere near as informatively as she) to keep all her readers aware of Symi activities. As this is my first winter on Symi, I am interested in the daily aspects of Symi life and it was suggested that I should attend my first Ochi Day Parade. For those of you (and me) who don’t know what Ochi Day is, please accept my very brief description.

In 1940, the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas was given an ultimatum, which basically stated free passage for Italian troops to occupy Greek territory. Obviously Metaxa's answer was 'Ochi' (No) hence the Ochi Day Parade.

The parade day started badly: due to a heavy downpour of rain, the smaller children had to take shelter in Chorio village school. Once the sun eventually appeared, the children were assembled outside and with their national flags and banners unfurled proceeded to march down the Kali Strata to join the rest of the parade participants in Yialos.

The mayor of Symi and other dignitaries witnessed the march past of the young people in the parade who looked resplendent in their uniforms of white and navy blue, totally in contrast to the soldiers in their olive green uniforms.

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Mid-Week Update

Well, the deed is done, the papers are signed, the photos are on the Symi Visitor website http://www.symivisitor.com/ and the delegates are on their way back so what happens next?
Read the Symi Visitor newspaper http://www.symivisitor.com/newspaper.htm for the full story and more details about the benefits to Symi of the Sister City project between Symi, Greece and Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Meanwhile, back on Symi, we had a brief shower at daybreak and some welcome rain is forecast for the next 24 hours. The power is off today on the north side of the harbour as the Public Power Corporation is still hard at work on the upgrades to the island’s electricity network so the Alpha Bank, the post office and the Armara supermarket are only able to provide limited services.

Off to plant broad beans in the rain!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Pedi, Symi, 7.45 a.m 30 July 2008

Early morning calm in Pedi Bay.

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