September Symi Sunshine

The clouds are back!

Clouds over the hilly peninsula that separates Pedi bay and the Pedi valley from Yialos, Symi's main harbour.

Some spectacular thistles in the Pedi Valley - all that is left after the long summer drought.

The cars were dripping dew this morning - a sure sign that the weather is turning and the nights growing cooler.

The last steps of the Kali Strata before one reaches the Syllogos Square in Chorio.  Next year this view will be slightly different as sadly the Symi Dream shop is closing at the end of October, victim to changing times.  Neil and James will, however, remain on the island and will no doubt reinvent themselves in a new venture, as yet to be announced.  For many regular visitors to Symi this marks the end of an era of wine nights on the steps and shopping for books, calendars and unique cards.

It may be September but the megayachts are still in evidence and there is still the possibility of some celebrity spotting!

Few plants can survive the harsh conditions of the Symi summer drought but this Virginia creeper on a house just above the Kali Strata seems to have plans for global domination.  Perhaps it has its roots firmly in the rain water cistern!

Who needs a tumble drier when Symi sunshine is free?

The bright parasols are carried by tour group leaders from Rhodes.   Everyone looks out for the appropriate umbrella for the correct group and language.

Day trippers from Rhodes, listening to a talk about Symi's sponge diving history and wondering who has to carry the shopping up all those steps.

Visitors staying on the island don't need tour guides - they are on the water taxis outside our office, heading for the beaches.

Dino, the chandler opposite the entrance to the Symi Visitor Accommodation office in Yialos, always has a splendid collection of brightly coloured flags.  

A new month has started, as has a new week so the greetings are 'kalo mina!' and 'kalo ebdomada!' The weather remains hot and humid but the breeze is cooler and there was heavy dew last night.  The wet weather that is currently causing problems in Italy and the Adriatic is expected to reach mainland Greece in the next day or so.  We are just seeing random clouds.

Many familiar faces are arriving on the island and popping into our office to say 'hello'.  September has always been a popular month with Symi's regular visitors and this year proves to be no exception.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

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Food for Many a Romantic Dream

Just add water.  A week after the rain and the wild grasses are germinating among the stones.



Desiccated oregano bushes are reviving on the hillside, sprouting tiny furls of new green leaves.  The flower buds which are dried to make the Greek herb rigani that we know and love only appear in the late spring, around April.



The Symi Gallery on the Kali Strata, easily identifiable by the Kate MacKay colour boxes about the entrance, is currently hosting an exhibition of drawings by Ian Bishop.



A grand but neglected mansion on the Kali Strata, food for many a romantic dream.



Early morning calm.
The number of yachts is steadily dwindling as the cruising season draws to a close and they return to their winter berths, often in Turkey and Cyprus.



The heavenly blue of the plumbago, referred to locally as blue jasmine.  It is a popular choice here as it flowers for many weeks in the summer and requires very little water.



An old commercial building in the back lanes of Yialos.  Downstairs is the modern lotto shop.  Upstairs is boarded up and abandoned.   Although a lot of people who work in the harbour live in apartments above shops for reasons of convenience, many of these buildings remain unoccupied and in poor repair.  The stencilled numbers above the doors are relics of early attempts during the Italian occupation of the island between the wars to set up a property registry.



The Blue Star Diagoras arrived this morning, delivering amongst other things the lighting van for the filming of 'The Judas Curse' which starts in Chorio this Sunday.

We are enjoying a few days of settled autumn weather before the next rainy front reaches us around Wednesday or Thursday next week.  There is heavy dewfall at night.  The Dodecanese Seaways ferry schedule has also dwindled considerably with limited options for getting to and from Symi. There is a partial timetable up now for November.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana





 

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Autumn on Symi

An olive tree and some rather sunburned tomato plants in the Pedi Valley.

My apologies for this blog being posted a day late – we had a big day yesterday, preparing for and then attending the wedding of Joey Magowan and Dominic Lillicrap.  Photographs will be appearing on Out and About as soon as we have finished sorting and selecting them. The official photographs were taken by Neil Gosling of Symi Dream and will no doubt be available on the Symi Dream website too.

There is a distinctly autumnal feel to the air now and temperatures are more tolerable.  It is still good beach weather and the sea is warm.  The Ionian and Greek mainland are expecting heavy rain and thunderstorms this weekend but Symi and the rest of the Dodecanese islands should remain dry and sunny. 

Although it is now the middle of September the shipping companies still have not released the ferry schedules for October.  It seems as though ferry information will continue to be released in very small increments at very short notice.  A determining factor is no doubt the fact that the cost of fuel is very high and boats cannot afford to run at less than 70% capacity so they are no doubt waiting to see what demand is like. 

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

The beach at Apostoli's taverna in Pedi.  

Looking across Pedi Bay from Apostoli's Taverna.  

Apostoli's boatyard in Pedi where they build caiques and fishing boats the old fashioned way.
If you look very carefully you can see a couple of canary cages in the tree on the right.

The Berlin - a big cruise ship that is visiting Symi today.

Looking across Yialos from the Kali Strata on my walk to work.

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