Warm and Mild

This summer social media has been full of stories about British schoolchildren complaining about their school uniforms and dress codes. Well, here on Symi  formal school uniforms are worn for parades. The rest of the time both boys and girls wear shorts, jeans, jeggings or tracksuits depending on the temperature.  No complaints or protests there! 

One of my favourite photogenic washing lines off the Kali Strata.

The harbour is a lot quieter, particularly now that the Turkish government has prohibited Turkish flagged commercial vessels from visiting Greece.

After so many fibre glass production yachts and gin palaces it is nice to see some elegant classic lines and varnished topsides.  Sorry, I am a dedicated traditionalist when it comes to boats.

Agios Eleftherios Church in Chorio. This church is unusual in that it has twin bell towers and they are part of the church building.  Many of the older churches on Symi were built at a time when the Ottoman overlords forbade church bells so the towers were added much later and are separate structures.

Spot the dog.

The Panagia of the Kastro as seen from the Chorio car park.

An eye for detail.

Light and shade on the Kali Strata.

Waiting patiently for breakfast.  The Hatzipetros supermarket cat is very well-fed on a diet of cheese ends and ham scraps from the deli counter.

It may be October but there are still people around and the water taxis to the beaches are still operating.

It is the second of October, 26 degrees centigrade, bright and sunny with blinding sunshine and the occasional passing thunder cloud heading over to rain on Turkey.  It is cool in the shade, delicious in the sun and the sort of weather where those of us who live here say to each other, ''if only it was like this all year." We are all paying a bit more attention to the weather forecast now that rain is a possibility.  So far it has all passed to the north of us but our time will come.  From past experience, this is often a random cloud that appears from nowhere, defying all forecasts, dumps on a bit of Symi and then disappears, leaving us all wondering what happened as we watch the waterfall that is the Kali Strata.

The sea is warm and the evenings are mild. We sometimes go up to the kantina on the road above our house in the evening.  Beautiful evening views of Pedi, reasonable prices and the murmur of happy  conversation as it is a popular haunt with the locals of all ages.  If it is open when you are next on Symi, it is definitely worth a visit. Their menu is very simple. Just souvlaki, sausages and delicious hamburgers from the butcher, cooked on an open charcoal BBQ, served with freshly made Greek salad.  Make a note for next year!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Read more...

A Typical Symi Monday

The overnight yachting fraternity, unraveling tangled anchors before setting off for the day's sailing to the next port of call.

A gypsy van is going round the island at the moment, selling clay pots from Crete and big bags of potting soil.  In the background you can see the water taxis lined up with customers already on board, waiting for the first departure of the day.

Although our office faces the sea, the entrance is in the lane to the side. This is the colourful display at the chandlery opposite our entrance.  That strange object on the right, behind the bikes, is a large fibreglass ice cream cone belonging to the cake shop next door to us.

Two very traditional shops in the back lanes. The one on the left specialises in Greek products and organic foods.  The one on the right is the tin smith who makes lanterns and other domestic items, a skill he learned from his late grandfather.

There are several cool and shady tavernas among the back lanes. The shop with the green shutters is one of the two modern butcheries in the harbour.  The third butcher is up in Chorio.

Home made traditional patisserie, fancy designer labels, a specialist sunglasses shop and a specialist wine shop can be found in this square at the back of Yialos.

The post office at the back of Yialos. The shop on the right is one of several specialist wine shops in Yialos, selling Greek and imported wines and spirits.

7 a.m. and lots of yachts lying at anchor in Pedi bay.

This blog is developing something of an equine theme.

A tangle of grave vine and pomegranate blossom in an old garden at the top of the Kali Strata

One of my fans, Joy Steptoe, came into the office this morning and asked to be photographed on the balcony as an alternative to doing a webcam wave.  Apologies for the blinding sunshine in the background!  At this time of the year many of the island's regular visitors come into the office, even if they aren't staying specifically in our accommodation.

May is drawing to a close and may go out with a thunderstorm or two, judging by the long term forecast for this week.  We will all be unplugging our modems at the first rumble of thunder as the island's lone OTE telephone technician is still rushing about, trying to repair the damage from the big thunderstorm two weeks ago!

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

Read more...