March Postcards from Symi

Buttercups glistening in an old stone terrace in Lieni.

Nature's delicate handiwork brings the wall of a ruin to life.

The freesias have been quite spectacular this year - they don't seem to mind 5 days of rain out of every 7.

When the sun comes out a cat just has to squirm and squirm and squirm in the warm earth.

Those grafts have taken.

A dolls' picnic party in the Pedi valley.

The landmark oak in Lieni is unfurling fast.

Chorio rooftops.  I wonder what is under that long red roof. That used to be the terrace of Syllogos restaurant, now sadly closed.

Meanwhile, down in Yialos, the clean up from November's devastating flood continues. Cars are still being fished out of the harbour by the bridge.

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A Drizzly Day on Symi in February

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office this morning.

Yes, we do get fresh cauliflowers and celery on Symi.  They are winter crops in this part of the world.  No one has to teach the Greeks to eat in season - they always have done.  It has only been relatively recently that we have been able to reliably buy tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines in the winter. They come from poly tunnels in Rhodes and Crete.  The usual Greek salad in tavernas in the winter is actually a green salad based on Kos lettuce and various wild greens and herbs not available in the summer.

Low cloud rolling down the Vigla warns of more rain to come.  That is the bell tower of St John's church in Yialos. The buildings on the hill behind are in one of the oldest parts of upper Chorio, dating back to when the donkey path up the Kataraktis was the main route up to the village.

The view from the bridge in Yialos. The water level is very low due to a barometric high over the area.  The water, which used to be very clear, is still discoloured by all the soil that washed into the harbour in the flood on 13 November 2017.  At least the sunken boats and wrecked cars have all been removed.  There are still odd chair legs and bits of bicycle sticking out of the silt though. Further up, in the upper parts of Chorio around Stavros Church, work has not even begun on rebuilding the destruction that the torrents caused and for many Symiots and expat residents it will be a long time before life returns to normal.. The Pedi valley and the football pitch are still awaiting attention too.

The slip by the customs house this morning.  With the low water level today this marvellous green carpet of weed has been revealed.  No doubt incredibly slippery.

As you may have gathered, there isn't much for men to do on Symi in the winter except fish or chat to friends who are fishermen.  In the summer those blue booths are the ticket counters for the water taxis to the beaches.

Empty vistas.

One can always feed the pigeons.

Symi is a very vertical sort of place.  The steep slopes of the amphitheatre harbour look like a hanging garden. That is an almond tree among the conifers, unfurling its spring greenery as the blossom falls.

Lemonitissa church on the Kastro overshadows Pallas Athena on one of the island's oldest jewellery shops.

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Signs of the Times

Friday midday in Yialos and there wasn\t much happening apart from a handful of locals fishing for their dinner.

Painting taverna tables outside Pantelis, a popular waterfront seafood taverna.  The seasonal nature of Symi's tavernas and restaurants ensures that at least once a year everything is stripped away, cleaned from top to bottom, repainted, repaired and replaced if necessary.  The traditional months for spring cleaning and preparation for the season are March and April, once the winter storms are over.

Once a week, very early on a Friday morning, there is a direct connection between Tilos and Symi on the Blue Star.  This woman comes over then to sell her fruit and vegetables, returning on the Blue Star late at night.  Tilos is about 2 hours away from Symi on the ferry and, unlike Symi, has abundant water and rich fertile soil.  It has a permanent population of only a few hundred people and is very isolated, even in the summer.

Every few years the Ministry of Random Signposts hits Symi with a spate of vaguely incomprehensible signposts. The last lot included one to the Ruins of Old Drakos which directed walkers into the bottom of my garden.  This time we have acquired a new Symi destination,  Palia Poli. This literally means old town, better known as Chorio (the village) to the rest of us.  While you may eventually hit the Kali Strata by dragging your suitcase up this ramp and then dithering between the steep steps directly to the high school or the not quite so steep steps to the school playing field, you will actually have missed most of it as you will arrive at the top of the Kali Strata, not the bottom.  A sign post marking the start of the Kali Strata which is behind Bella Napoli and the Vapori Bar in the back corner of the harbour would be much more sensible  - not to mention beneficial to people looking for the Old Markets hotel or the Krysallis boutique.

Empty!

Sunday was bright and clear, if a little windy, and we drove up the mountain to see how the rest of Symi was faring.  This is one of the hidden valleys above  the descent to Panormitis.

There aren't many ponds on Symi but those that there are are full after the heavy rains of November, December and January.

Yes, this is on Symi!

It is carnival season in Greece, although you would not think so here on Symi where life continues at its usual snail's pace.  Only the occasional bedraggled streamer in a gutter or fleeting glimpse of a child in fancy dress gives a clue to what used to be a very boisterous and fun-filled time of the year on the island.  The mood on Symi has been very subdued since Storm Eurydice hit the island on 13 November last year.  The economic losses suffered by many households and businesses at a time when there is little spare cash around will have a lasting impact. 

Nature, having caused so much havoc, now teases us with temperatures well above seasonal averages and weather that is only consistent in its inconsistency.  Showers, squalls, bright sunshine, downpours - February is the new April.  While Western Europe struggles with snow and bitter cold, the other side of the continent is experiencing a premature spring that is just as unusual.  Heavy rain is forecast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The rain showers we had this morning, however, did not appear on any forecast.

Next Monday is Clean Monday, the first day of Lent in Greece. Traditionally celebrated with picnics in the countryside and the flying of kites, everyone is keeping a close eye on the weather forecast to see what will come our way this time.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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December Postcards from Symi

Christmas continues to creep into corners of Chorio.

Some of the lanes in Chorio are so narrow, they are only just wide enough to permit people to pass single file.

A Christmas star on the square in Chorio. If the yellow binding holding the flag staff looks vaguely familiar, it is - it is a dressmaker's tape measure!

An alternative use for old refrigerator shelves.

No individually cling-wrapped bananas in Greece. Fresh produce is sold from returnable crates.  Customers choose the items they want which are then weighed and put into either plastic or paper bags. The brown paper bags are on the increase, particularly up in Chorio. Every few weeks all the empty crates go on a truck back to Rhodes to the produce market.

Those parts of the Pedi valley that escaped storm damage are looking very pretty and green after the rain.

Some inflatable 'Yo Ho Ho' outside the dress shop in Chorio.

Down in the harbour the clean up continues.  Pachos is still closed.  Now that they have finished the cleaning and painting and fixing up of damaged equipment, the tedious job of washing mud off individual bottles and cans has begun.  Similar scenes are to be seen all round Yialos.  Dino, the chandler opposite our office entrance, has been meticulously washing mud off tools, shackles and other items of stock since the day after the deluge.  Other businesses, such as the  pharmacy by the bridge and some of the boutiques, were not so lucky in that their stock was irreparably damaged by the muddy water.

The mud is still with us, unfortunately. This is the scene outside the customs shed this morning.

The water is slowly clearing and these locals decided to have a go at raising one of the many sunken small boats. They have rigged a basic winch to the roof of the fish market.

The suspended particles have turned the water in Yialos an interesting teal colour.  About 10 minutes after I took this photograph that dark cloud came over the hill and rained briefly over the town before moving on.

Municipal workers putting up Christmas lights in Yialos.

Success!  Now to scoop out the rest of the water.

Replacing broken pipes in the square in Yialos.

Mud aside, the square looks strangely naked as so much of the vegetation was lost in the storm.

In this photograph from the Symi Visitor balcony you can see some of the damage to the motor road out of the town, as well as some of the wrecked cars that have been dumped up there until their final destination is decided.  Don't stand too close to the edge!

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