Spring on Symi and a Walk in Rhodes

Yialos at half past eight this morning.  The calm after yesterday's storm.  We had very strong winds on Sunday and there was a shipping ban.  The flags are up because Saturday was the investiture of the new Metropolitan (bishop).

The many priests and officials who came over for the investiture ceremony and celebrations on Saturday were unable to get off the island on Sunday because of the wind.  I spotted this group waiting for the Dodecanese Seaways catamaran this morning.  People came from all over the Dodecanese for the event.

Meanwhile, in the Pedi valley, Nature is staging her own celebrations.

Who would think that the barren dust of summer would hide such potential abundance?  Just add water for a wonderful wild garden.  This is along the roadside in Lieni, Chorio.

Mother and child, out for a morning stroll in the Pedi valley.

The olive trees are smothered in millions of tiny pale green flowers.

I had to go to Rhodes on Friday for various appointments.  Inevitably I had several hours to kill between finishing my business and taking the Blue Star back to Symi.  It seemed a waste to spend them reading in a corner of the Plaza Hotel so I took my camera for a walk.  If you chose to walk from Akandia, the commerical ferry port, into town, you will pass this attractive kiosk (periptero) near the old town walls.  An ideal pit stop for an ice cream.  

Rhodes is full of ruins spanning millenia of continuous occupation.  Invaders came and went and everyone left their mark. Somewhere along the line the end wall of a Byzantine church became the wall of a house, with windows overlooking what would once have been the nave.

This is the altar of the same church.  You can take a short cut through the open area into a park on the right of the photograph that takes you eventually to a gate in the old town walls that opens out over the moat, near the kiosk above.  There is a more direct  route out onto the waterfront on the left, through another gate.

Rhodes old town closes down during the winter months and all the tourist tat disappears, leaving the underlying architecture exposed to view.  A great opportunity to see the buildings as they really are.

Spring flowers are everywhere, even on the old town walls.

A gargoyle leaping from the roof of the old library.

There are many Ottoman drinking water fountains dotted around Rhodes. This one is near Kolonna.

The Rhodes municipality has provided an information system that enables you to download an app on your smartphone.

The old shopping area behind Mandraki.  Bits of it have been restored like this section. Others are still falling down.  Many of the old speciality shops have disappeared, replaced by trendy cafes, bars and eateries.

The spring equinox is only days away and the weather is very unsettled.  Calm hazy days alternate with strong winds and shipping bans.  The major weather fronts generally pass to the north of us in March and April after causing disruption in the Ionian and on the Greek mainland.  Saharan dust is a familiar sight, turning the sky pink and leaving a film of red on everything when it rains. Temperatures are in the low to mid twenties.  It is still chilly in the shade, particularly in places still damp from the winter rains.  Distant snow is visible on the Turkish mountains but it is disappearing fast.

The weather this week remains unsettled with gale force winds forecast for Thursday and the possibility of thunderstorms over the weekend.

Rhodes was still very quiet on Friday with little sign of activity yet for the forthcoming tourist season.  With the main focus these days on all inclusive package holidays in the resort areas, Rhodes town is a lot quieter than it used to be.  It was quite sad really, walking around, to see so many small hotels and businesses closed up, not just for the winter but probably for a year or more judging by the hoardings and piles of dusty post visible on empty shop floors.  When you book a package holiday with a big holiday company, very little of your money actually finds its way into the local community and eventually the community withers and dies.  When you travel independently, dealing with Greek businesses and eating in family tavernas, you are putting money directly into the local economy, keeping small businesses and communities alive and growing.  Food for thought.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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Spring Cleaning for Easter

The butterflies are back!

Eyes closed against the sun.

Down in the valley.

Free range feasting.

In the frame.  The water taxis and excursion boats are still out in the boatyard.  They won't be back until May.

Getting ready for the season.

The International at the back of Yialos is one of the very few tavernas that still stays open all year round.  

Nature adds her own embellishments.

March is galloping past and Easter will soon be upon us.  The skies are blue and bright.  There are few rain clouds looming on the long range forecast. Temperatures are creeping into the mid twenties and people who brought duvets in to the Sunflower for washing don't seem to be in much of a hurry to reclaim them.

Business owners are wrestling open doors swollen from winter rains and drawing up job lists.  There is the hum of electric sanders in the air and the hardware stores are busy.  Winter woollies are making way for paint-spattered overalls.  The tourist season proper does not start until the end of May these days but there is plenty to be done for Greek Easter.  People often come back to their families in the islands for the holidays as Greek Easter is traditionally celebrated as a family holiday.

The supermarkets are laying in supplies of flour, cheese, oil, yeast, sugar and dye for the traditional Easter baking marathon.  There's a bit of a price war going on in the flour department as Italian 00 flour has made an appearance on Symi at very reasonable prices.  The dye is, of course, for the hard-boiled eggs that are shared on Easter Sunday.  While Britain is awash with hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies - they were already appearing in the shops when I left in early January - here in Greece, particularly in the islands, everything is appropriate to its season. 

Elaborately decorated processional candles, traditional foods and the ingredients to prepare them only start to appear in the shops during Lent.  The air of anticipation is palpable because it really is something to look forward to.  The culture of treat yourself everyday hasn't filtered through here yet so there is always something joyful on the horizon.  If you are fed up with the commercialisation of Easter and other religious holidays, come and celebrate in Greece instead.  You will really feel that there is something special happening.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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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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Springtime Symi

The view from Symi Visitor Accommodation this morning.  The bunting is up for the Dodecanese Day parade on 7 March 2018.

The Kali Strata in winter mode - rain streaked whitewash, moss, weeds, cats and an abandoned office chair.

Or perhaps not so abandoned...  

The first poppy photo of 2018.

No snow on Symi these year but, as usual, plenty of snow on the mountains across the way in Turkey.,

The second poppy photograph of 2018.

Yesterday was clear enough to see the snowy mountain tops. Today was grey and there are pockets of mist trapped in those distant valleys.

Thursday was the first dry sunny day in ages and everyone was out, doing things, including the municipality catching up on roadworks.

Vapour trails over an empty harbour.

A very wet February is behind us and March brings its promise of spring.  There is still lots of wet stuff showing up on the long range forecasts but temperatures are creeping upwards, the days are getting longer and lighter and Easter will soon be upon us. 

The international tourist season used to start in April with couples, families and walking groups coming to spend their Easter/spring break holidays on Symi.  In recent years, with the decline in niche market tourism to places like Symi, April and May are a lot quieter and it is mainly Greeks who come to the island.  June is the new April and the tourist businesses are slower in getting going.  This does mean that if you do opt to visit Symi in April or May, you will have a far more authentic island experience and the pleasure of having Symi to yourself. 

It is a beautiful time to visit as the island is still green and the spring flowers are quite overwhelming.  If you are a keen walker, photographer, writer or just want some time to yourself, there are worse places to be than Symi in April.  Just allow yourself a low stress schedule as you may have to spend a day/night in Rhodes at the beginning and end of your stay due to the vagaries of the ferry schedule. That in itself is no hardship as Rhodes old town is much nicer outside the main tourist season and there is plenty to explore.  Make the coming and going part of the holiday and enjoy the adventure.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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April Postcards from Symi

The spring flowers are setting seed and will soon be over for another year.  Only about a fortnight more of sneezing and then my hay fever should be over too!

The end of an era - Syllogos restaurant is now closed and the premises are to let.  Luckily Giorgio and Maria's taverna, next door, is still doing well and you can also stroll further up to Zoe's taverna for more traditional home-style Greek cooking.

The two traditional cafe bars at the top of the Kali Strata, just off the village square, are a popular meeting place in the evenings.  Easy to find and centrally located, they are a good stopping off point on the way home from a day on the beach or for enjoying pre-dinner drinks with friends before a meal at Giorgio's next door.This is also the  new venue for the Symi Gallery Sunday cinema club.  Look out for posts advertising what is on each week.

The narrow lanes of Chorio offer picturesque glimpses of village life.

You might think that building a house out of stone on Symi would be cheap, considering that the island has this resource in abundance. The thing to remember is that stone is very labour intensive.  Here two stone masons sit, in the shade of the trees in Lieni, chipping stones and rocks into appropriate shapes for building walls.

A spot of free grazing.

The vibrant reds and yellows of the poppies and daisies are giving way to the pale pink of bindweed and tiny wild chamomile.

Symi parking.  The horse was actually tethered to the boat trailer, waiting patiently for his master to come back.

The view from the Symi Visitor Accommodation office at midday today.  Still not much yachting activity but the only day trip boat from Rhodes still missing is the Symi Sea Dreams.

There are even a few day-trippers around including a lot of young families on package holidays to Rhodes.

Symi colours

April is drawing to a close and the temperatures continue to rise.  The island is all-set for a sunny bank holiday long weekend and the 10 day forecast mentions neither rain nor clouds so this is probably it!  Monday, 1 May, is traditionally celebrated in Greece by gathering wild flowers (whatever is left!) to make wreathes and garlands with which to decorate front doors.  I hope to share some of these with you in my blog on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

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