Symi Spring Pastels

Pachos kafeneion near our office is closed for a few days for its annual spring-clean and repaint.  It is quite common here to see business owners doing their own painting and decorating.  

The two boutiques on the other side of us are now open.

You must admit, Symi harbour is exceptionally photogenic.

The herb and spice shop by the bridge has opened for the summer.

The mulberry trees that were planted in the town square a few years ago have suddenly turned into proper trees and should provide good shade.

One of Symi's several sponge shops.  That is the National Bank of Greece next door. They have an ATM just inside the doorway. There is another ATM further down, in the vestibule of the Alpha Bank and then there is a third on the opposite side, next to the pharmacy.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation balcony today.  

Pretty spring pastels are always in fashion on Symi.

There is an amazing array  of fresh produce available at the moment as there is an overlap between the cool weather vegetables like leeks and cauliflowers, the strictly spring time artichokes and then the first of the summer cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines. No, the pineapples on the right are not local - they, like the bananas, come from South America.  Greek produces a wide range of fresh produce through the year but tropical fruits are not on the list.

A quiet lane in Yialos.

It is still fairly cool with a light north-westerly breeze and we had several hours of steady drizzle on Saturday night.  Temperatures are forecast to rise steadily through the week, peaking at 26 degrees on Saturday, just in time for the May Day long weekend.  There is no further rain on the horizon and unless we have a shower in May, the summer drought has begun.  Symi has one of the longest dry seasons in Greece and can go without any rain at all from April through to early November.

Work has resumed across the bay, on the new commercial harbour and jetty, and I can hear a steady distant 'tok-tok-tok' as they chip away at the rocky shoreline.  They are still creating a large flat area at the base of the hill and widening the frontage as far as Petalo.  Once this becomes operational there will be far less heavy vehicle traffic through Yialos as the car ferries will dock and unload there instead of at the clock tower.  Symi may also then provide shelter to occasional cruise ships late in the season when strong winds and heavy swells close Rhodes harbour.

Sorry but that's it for poppy pictures for another year!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Up in Chorio

The row of traditional cafes and tavernas adjoining the Syllogos Square in Chorio. This is the main square and meeting point in Chorio and a popular venue for events such as the Symi Shrimp Festival.

This mansion on the square is in the process of being restored.  If you ever go past and the door is open, glimpse inside as it has a very imposing staircase.  Proper internal staircases are unusual in Symi houses.

The main shopping street at the top of the Kali Strata, running from the Syllogos Square up towards upper Chorio.  Here you will find a baker, a butcher, a dress shop, a shoe shop, a gyros bar, a taverna, a supermarket, a toy shop...

The upper stretch of the Kali Strata from the view point at the corner, looking up towards the Syllogos Square.  On this stretch you will find the Symi Dream shop and Gallery, a shop selling herbs and Greek coffee, the Olive Tree cafe, a boutique and a flower shop.

Pomegranates and an interesting pediment in Chorio, in a lane near the bus stop/kiosk/clinic.

Birds on a lintel on the Kali Strata.

We see all sorts of boats in Yialos. The two blue tugs, one large, one small, are part of the harbour construction project. The white one appears to have been converted for leisure use as it has a covered after deck with dining table and chairs.

Reflections in Yialos.

The Meltemi has been and gone, replaced by high humidity and oppressive heat for a day or two. The temperature is in the low forties today and everyone with any sense is on the beach.  Due to its natural amphitheatre shape Yialos really traps the heat at this time of the year.  Chorio and Pedi are much cooler and airier in August, not to mention quieter.  It is not for nothing that the majority of the locals live up in Chorio.  In another couple of weeks the worst of the heat will be over and the golden days of September will be upon us.  The nights are already perceptibly longer and the supermoon this weekend was spectacular.

Friday is a religious and bank holiday in Greece and this week is the busiest of the year as so many people take their holidays at this time.  All of our houses and apartments are full now and anyone who arrives on Symi without prebooked accommodation may well find themselves in trouble.  Symi was never the sort of place really where people met the boats advertising rooms to let on bits of cardboard and with the enforced legislation now making it very difficult and expensive for locals to comply with the bureaucracy required to let out rooms, the informal budget sector has completely disappeared.  As the hotels on the island are small they fill up quickly and the majority of the accommodation is in restored traditional houses within the community so the supply of beds is limited.  Those in the know book well ahead, often a year in advance to be sure of getting the house they want.  We will be open for booking for 2015 in October if you would like to be sure of booking your dream holiday on Symi next year.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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June Postcards from Symi

Symi's famous amphitheatre harbour, as seen looking down from the windmill bus stop.  Our office and the Sunflower Laundry, the water taxis and excursion boats are all to be found at the narrow end.  Spiti Grand Helene and Villa Iris are on Mavrovouni, the Hill towards the back right, above the town square.

View of upper chorio, looking across from the windmill bus stop.  That scar across the hillside at the top is the motor road to Panormitis.  Chorio is much older than Yialos and is the original village. This is the area where you will find Villa Rose, the Little Blue House, Villa Anastasia, the Two Fishes and others.

The approach to Yialos, with the mansions of the Kali Strata on the left.  The red dome is Lemonitissa church for which Lemonitissa apartment and studio are named.  Other rental properties on this hillside include Villa Anastasia and To Plio.

Heading for the ferry - those are mountain bikes and cases lashed to the roofrack.

Roadworks ahead! The road is being resurfaced at the moment with a lot of disruption, unavoidable really as Symi only has the one motor road so there is no where to divert traffic and the work has to be done. The taxis refuse to run but everyone else, bus included, carries on regardless. We'll be picking the wet tar off our shoes for a while to come.

A mad moment in the harbour earlier this week.

The floating crane.  The calm before the working day begins, rearranging the seabed for the construction of the new commercial quay to take the big ferries and cruise ships.

St John's Wort flowering on the Kali Strata. There are lots of properties for sale on Symi at the moment, including the mansion in the background.

Unravelling a fouled anchor in Yialos yesterday.

Coming back from a night's fishing with a load of fish traps.

The swallows on the power line outside my office window early yesterday morning.  Their nests are actually in the light fittings in the high ceilings of Taxas supermarket round the corner.  Sometimes they take a short cut through our office, coming in through one balcony and out through the other.

After yesterday's heatwave with temperatures close to 40 degrees, today is quite pleasant at 25 degrees and is actually overcast with thunderclouds threatening.  I have just had a phone call from someone in one of the little Turkish bays along the opposite coast and she said it was pouring down.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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