Always Something to Look Forward to.

Squalls hurtling across Harani.
This photograph demonstrates why the Nireus and Aliki Hotels close for the winter and
 wrap all external fittings in plastic until April.

Waves swirling round the bulb of the Proteus' bow.

This little boat is secured well off the quay to prevent damage in such weather conditions.

With the wind driving the water straight into the harbour the gratings are squirting and parts of the harbour are flooded.

The bow of the Dodecanese Express and a line squall marching into Yialos.

Winter certainly has not left us yet. While temperatures are slowly inching upwards and the clocks change in a fortnight the weather remains stormy and unsettled.  Strong south easterly winds have been hammering Symi since the early hours of the morning and walking down to work this morning I was dodging bits of broken shutters,  random twigs and swirling plastic bags.  Surprisingly the Dodecanese Seaways catamaran came through, bang on schedule at 9.30 a.m.  Whether she will be quite so punctual on the return trip this evening depends on how turbulent conditions are to the north of us.

Speaking of Dodecanese Seaways, this shipping company has released part of its schedule for the summer so potential travellers can book their flights with greater certainty that there will be a suitable ferry connection.  More information can be found on our travelblog, along with a wealth of information about flights and how to get to Symi from all over the world.

Although the island is not expecting many tourists for Catholic Easter which falls very early this year, quite a few foreign property owners will be on Symi this month, which may encourage a taverna or two to open up, even if they will be offering Lenten fare.  At the moment options in the harbour are limited to one taverna and the gyros bars and cafes.  Greek Easter falls on the first Sunday in May this year so Lent only begins here next week and the children have a long wait ahead for the Easter bunny to come calling.  Unlike other places I know where the first Easter eggs are on sale straight after Christmas and hot cross buns are available all year round, in Greece everything has its own particular time and season.  At present it is Carnival and the shops are selling fancy dress, masks, face paints and silly novelties.  When Carnival is over these things are packed away until next year. At the end of this week kites, pickles, halva and Clean Monday picnic necessities will go on sale for the holiday on Monday and the fasting foods associated with Orthodox Lent will dominate in the shops for the next few weeks.  As we approach Big Week, Easter Egg dyes and decorations will be for sale, along with special Easter candles and all the ingredients required for traditional Easter baking.  In Greece there is always something to look forward to and the children do not expect to have Christmas for twelve months of the year.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

When I saw that this little boat on my road had had its cabin put back on
I thought it was being prepared for the sea.

In reality it was to make it a more convenient shed for storing a lot of old Marseilles roof tiles!

An unusual use of a Sunflower Laundry bag -
this photograph of a Sunflower Laundry bag as a windbreaker was sent to us by a Danish Symi Visitor.

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Leave the Worries of the World Behind.

Gone fishing.

Agia Marina island with thunder clouds building up over Turkey in the distance.

The little chapel on the island at Agia Marina.  This is a popular venue for wedding blessings and was where Caroline Carver and Kenny Doughty celebrated their wedding.

Even though I live here it is not often that I am able to take a Sunday off and go out on the water so this last weekend was a real treat.  The water taxi service does not start for another week or so, when they all have their licenses, and the beach tavernas are still setting up for the season, so our only companions were Symiot fishermen and locals busy whitewashing chapels and clearing weeds in preparation for the summer season.  The sea was the irresistible clear azure for which the Mediterranean is famed and the children enjoyed swimming in the warm shallows off Agia Marina.  It is easy to leave the worries of the world behind in such beautiful surroundings.

There are still some thunderstorms around, mainly over the Turkish coast, and we were treated to a spectacular display on Sunday night.   As there was a lot of dust in the air initially the lightning flashed orange and red, but once the rains started on the distant shores the air cleared to the more usual white lightning.  Much of Greece and Turkey is experiencing thunder storms and heavy showers at the moment as the hot air of the Mediterranean Basin collides with the cooler air of Continental Europe.  It will be a few weeks before this settles into the summer meltemi breezes.

If you are arriving on Symi this week make a note in your diary the opening of the new exhibition at the Symi Gallery on the Kali Strata on Friday night.  There is also live music at Giorgio’s taverna in Chorio on a Friday night, starting at about 9 so you can have a real cultural evening going from one event to another. 

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite for summer holidays to come.

Regards,

Adriana

Apostoli up the ladder, putting up the pergola over the taverna.  The other taverna in Pedi, Katsaras, is down the other side of the bay  and is already open for business. We had supper there ourselves on Saturday evening.

The foot path along the front of Pedi Bay, from Apostoli's taverna to the bus stop and the Pedi Beach Hotel.  In a few days those boats will all be launched and the shore line becomes a welcoming beach with sun umbrellas and loungers for those who want to combine lunch with swimming and sunbathing.

The rocks at the entrance to Pedi Bay are called the Paximadia which means rusks in Greek.

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