Changing Seasons on Symi

Mimosa at Agios Elefterios church in Chorio.

Halloween decorations at one of the English language schools in Chorio.  Halloween isn't really a big commercial holiday in Greece the way it is in the USA and the UK.  

The once-crowded lanes of Chorio where houses stood tightly packed before the explosions of World War 2, feature narrow winding lanes and occasional arches where houses once straddled the lanes to save space.  In a region where level land for building was non-existent and houses were built of stone, this was a way of creating more room for the dowry houses of marriageable daughters.  Chorio must have been a real warren before it all came tumbling down.

Look carefully and in every crevice there are specks of green as seeds start to germinate.  We have had over 20 mm of rain since the drought broke last Tuesday and the rainy season is off to a good start.

How did the chicken cross the road?  On a broomstick, of course.

I have known this oak since it was a sprouting acorn with a handful of leaves. Note how the wayside moss is starting to turn green.

The wild clematis is also busy transforming from dead twiggy stuff to glossy greenery.

Down in the harbour, the boat trips are over for another year.

The gypsies and hawkers are starting to arrive for the Panormitis Festival on 8 November.

False alarm!  The Noddy train is still with us - it fitted in a few more rides on Friday as there were a lot of people over from Rhodes in anticipation of the Ochi Day celebrations on Saturday. Dodecanese Seaways is offering big discounts on the last day trips from Rhodes and as many Greeks in seasonal employment are now off for the winter, Symi is a popular day out.

Bunting for the Ochi Day parade on 28 October.  The rain actually held off for the duration of the parade and resumed around half past one.

Looking across the harbour from the top of Mavrovouni.

The Pedi valley lies between the rows ofhouses in the foreground and the ridge of hills in the background.  That is  the monastery Zoigos Pigi, the life-giving spring, among the trees on the ridge.  It is one of the few natural sources of water on the island and flows for a few months each winter when the water table is fairly high.

Symi is becoming cooler, damper and greener.  Temperatures are now around 22 degrees at midday, falling to around 14 at night.  Some areas are colder than this if they are north facing and receiving little direct sunlight. 

The hawkers are starting to arrive for the Panormitis Festival next week.  The Feast of St Michael has turned into something of a fair over the years with many stalls set up in the monastery grounds.  In some ways it is very medieval with gypsies, hawkers and pilgrims all converging on the Panormitis monastery.  Before the road was surfaced everyone came in small boats and caiques. Now they are more likely to arrive by ferry and Panormitis bay is not the jostling throng of brightly painted wooden fishing boats with pilgrims sleeping on the decks that it was when I first came in 1993.  It is, no doubt, a lot safer and more comfortable these days but the fairground atmosphere lingers on.

Have a good week!

Regards,
Adriana

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Symi's Second Spring

Pedi bay Saturday morning - lots of yachts over from Turkey for the Eid holidays.

Pedi Bay Monday morning - they've all gone and the sky speaks of rain in Western Turkey.

The vapour trails are back!

Some of the vapour trails even echo the architecture...

The moss is turning green and wherever you look, tiny seeds are germinating.

Ferns unfurling on a terrace on Saturday.

A fine film of tiny green shoots everywhere on Saturday morning.

A self-seeded conifer, suddenly visible now that the dust of summer has been washed from its needles.

The flowering tamarisks are a mass of bees.

Monday morning and the grass shoots have become much more visible.

Lemonitissa church on the Kastro, as seen from the side balcony of the Symi Visitor Accommodation office.  If you look carefully, there is a white goat in this picture.

Do you see him now?  I only noticed him because the air is now so clear I heard him bleat when I opened the balcony door and looked to see where the bleat came from!

The hawkers are back with more serviceable winter clothes.

Symi's second spring has arrived early this year, triggered by the heavy rain last week.  It is not often that we have the combination of soaking rains, warm temperatures and a reasonable amount of daylight to get things growing.  Temperatures are in the mid to high twenties with relatively high humidity - ideal growing conditions and not to be wasted. The rain has softened the earth to a good depth and we started planting our winter vegetables yesterday.  There was the stutter of rotovators all round us in the Pedi valley on Sunday so the next rains will really soak in.

The island is a lot quieter this week. The Turkish yachts have all gone back now that the Eid holiday is over and there are just a handful of live-aboards and late cruising yachts in Yialos and Pedi.  The dozen or so refugees that arrived at the weekend have already left.

The big British wedding at St Nicholas on Saturday was, by all accounts, a tremendous success and everyone enjoyed themselves.  This event was also great for Symi as it brought a hundred people to the island, many of them for the first time, and we all know how rare it is for someone to come to Symi and not return!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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