Adriana's Symi-a Greek island diary

Symi Secrets

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:59:00 +0000

Today I thought I would share with you some more reasons why I love living on Symi. Things that make
Symi special and different. Things that make me stop and look again.

I don't usually post blurry photographs but this one was worthy of inclusion for two reasons. The first is that there are three children on that small bicycle. The second is that it is not everyday that one sees a car covered in ropes of garlic!

The Kastro at sunset, as seen from the windmills on the ridge in Chorio. The Castle of the Knights of St John is long gone, only a few remnants of the walls remaining after it was blown up by the retreating German army during the Second World War, but it does not take much imagination to envisage what a splendid sight it must have been , perched on Symi's acropolis. The buildings on the pinnacle now are a group of small churches.

Speaking of churches, we have been watching the construction of this little chapel over the past 15 years. That is the Pedi Valley with Pedi Bay in the background with the hills of Turkey visible in the distance.

This lone ewe blends in so well with her environment that I was not aware of her presence until she bleated indignantly as I passed. Note the copper bell around her neck. The shepherds have been busy shearing the sheep now that the weather is warming up and this one certainly 'scrubbed up' well.

A lone cockerel inspecting some packing crates at a storage facility on the Pedi Road.

It may be spring but the wheat is ready to harvest and every evening there are men out in the fields with sickles, cutting hay for the summer. I love the golden colours of the fields and the gentle contrast with the olive trees in the distance. Symi is as much about visual textures as it is about colour and light.

An allium up close. The flower head really is that size and the stalk is over a metre high. The gaudy displays of daisies and poppies are over for this year. The remaining wild flowers are more discreet and elegant. As the summer equinox approaches and the days grow hotter the vegetation becomes more sparse but on Symi there is always something to look at.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

An Air of Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:07:00 +0000

Bright Bougainvillea in Chorio - next to the Cottage.

Not quite Banksy - just two little girls with a packet of crayons and an irresistibly flat rock.

One of the new solar powered street lights in Yialos.

Zinnias and Basil in Yialos

Pots of larkspur in Yialos. The shop to the right of the picture is Kiara Luna's new premises.

Symi is gleaming after the recent rain and there is an air of optimism about the place that is very much at odds with the impression of Greece that the foreign media loves to paint. This is not because the Symiots are in denial about the state of the nation's finances or the Eurozone crisis but because Greeks are essentially good at making the best of whatever life hands them. There is no point in weeping and wailing about what is happening elsewhere - islanders have had to fend for themselves by and large over the centuries anyway and life must go on. In answer to some of the emails I have received at Symi Visitor Accommodation in recent days, the banks are functioning normally, the ATMs do have money in them, we are unlikely to switch to the drachma any time soon as even if there was to be a Grexit it would take time to print/mint the new currency, there is plenty of food in the shops and tavernas and Symi is definitely open for business.

Yesterday afternoon I was invited to attend the christening of Yannis Moschos, the little son of Maria and Dimitri of Kampos Supermarket - the one on the corner by the bus stop in Chorio. I have put some photographs on the Out and About page - my little camera is not very good in twilight conditions and I do not have a fancy zoom lense but I hope that you enjoy them never the less. The photograph at the bottom of this blog was provided by Andrea Amerikanas of Pedi. Thank you very much, Andrea. A big fat Greek christening is a joyous and exuberant event, even in times of austerity, and everyone made a big effort. The clothes were bright and summery, the children beautiful and a good time was had by all. Memories of happy occasions are what tide us all through the rough times and I found myself heading home in a far more cheerful frame of mind than I had set out. Symi does that to people.

I apologise for any glitches in the layout today - Google seem to be tweaking Blogger.com again!

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Built in 1931, this little house in Lieni has seen the Italians and the British come and go. It has survived the Stukas of the Second World War, the Greek Civil War, mass emigration and extreme poverty, the Colonels and their Junta, the advent of tourism and Symi's Renaissance as a heritage destination.

The scooter is a box containing new clothes for little Yannis to be dressed in after his baptism. For more pictures please see the Symi Visitor Out and About page.

Help Save Greece, Holiday There!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:08:00 +0000

Faces are a common detail on Symi's traditional houses. See if you can spot this one.
It is in Yialos, Symi's main harbour.

Talismans against the evil eye are popular in this part of the world.
This blue glass emblem is as common in Greece as it is in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel or Egypt.
A relic of the Ottoman Empire perhaps?

The pomegranates are in flower at the moment. Symbol of wealth and prosperity, Greece needs pomegranates as much as talismans against the evil eye at the moment.

Rain clouds over Pedi Bay at 8 o'clock this morning.

It is an unusually wet May day in Symi today. We were awakened by a torrential downpour at half past two in the morning and the day has been a succession of thunder showers and rain squalls punctuated by dazzling sunny intervals ever since. A low pressure system hovering over Greece, Turkey and the Balkans is responsible for the inclement weather which is only expected to improve late on Saturday evening. After several weeks of dust from Africa the rain has provided welcome relief and the air is sparklingly clear. The harbour’s many cafes and coffee shops are full of day trippers and locals alike, sitting shoulder to shoulder in cosy conviviality under the awnings, watching the rain drops bounce off the sea.

On a more practical note, Dodecanese Seaways has released an improved ferry schedule which helps to fill in some of the gaps in the summer scheduling. The only major hiatus left now is Sunday evenings from Rhodes to Symi which must surely be filled because that is the main changeover day for the Scandinavian flights. At present although the Panagia Skiadeni appears on the schedules she is actually doing tourist trips, not running as a ferry, so it is not possible to buy one way tickets. It is, however, possible to buy one way tickets on ANES’ Proteus. The Proteus’ schedule is currently only up until 31 May but it is expected that she will run a similar sort of programme, starting and finishing in Rhodes each day, throughout the summer.

If you are on Facebook remember to look at our Symi Visitor Accommodation Facebook page. We update this regularly with news from the island including cultural happenings, travel news and lots more. You may also like to join Help Save Greece, Holiday There!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

The pelargonium, bright and optimistic and very much a part of the Greek urban landscape.
The silvery foliage behind is an olive tree.

The Symi studio of celebrated Danish artist, Jytte Loehr, who does a great deal of her painting on the island.
The Kali Strata is home to several galleries and studios. Ian Haycox of the Symi Gallery is hosting a new exhibition of work by local artists which is opening at 7 p.m tonight. If you are in the area you are welcome to come along. Many collectors have contributed works by local Symiot artists. Look out for the writing on the stairs.

Proudly Greek - this flag pole is on the hill above the harbour.

Crisis, what crisis? The rich are still including Symi on their cruising agenda.

Leave the Worries of the World Behind.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:10:00 +0000

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.

Symi the Cultural Gem

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:38:00 +0000

It is a bright sunny day on Symi. Temperatures are now reaching the low thirties at midday, falling to about 20 degrees at night. Every afternoon we see the thunder clouds build up over Turkey and lightning flash over distant mountains but there has been no rain on Symi since Easter. It looks as though the long summer drought has begun.

First of all, before I forget, the herpetologists who visited Symi over Easter have now put up their blogs and field reports. For anyone who is interested in Symi's fauna, there are some great photographs and a lot of information. The links are Matt Wilson, Carl Corbridge and Ilias Strachinis For those of you who are fearful of snakes, apart from the Ottoman Viper all of these snakes are harmless to humans and even the Ottoman Viper would rather slide away than attack. The intrepid trio had to search long and hard to find these snakes up in the mountains so even if you are a regular visitor to Symi it is unlikely that you will ever see any of them except in these photographs. If you have any questions I am sure that Matt, Carl and Ilias would love to answer them for you.

Photographs of the annual VE Day Parade on Symi can be seen on our Out and About page and also on the Symi Dream blog. It was good to see the banner of the Symi Women's Association flying high. This worthy association was formed 60 years ago to help the women of Symi cope with the difficulties of life on the island in the years after the Second World War. As Symi became more prosperous through tourism its role evolved into one of preserving the cultural life and traditions of the island and fostering educational opportunities for the young as well as organising visits by health professionals. Bravo to Sevasti Nikoli who has been at the helm for the past 30 years, and to all the other Symi ladies who are involved in this organisation and have helped keep Symi the cultural gem that she is.

A handsome resident of Chorio.
The grounds of the as yet unfinished undercover sports facility in Chorio. In the light of the present economic crisis it is unlikely to be finished any time soon.

As I stopped to photograph the billy goat, a cat came sauntering past. They looked at each other peaceably and then continued their separate ways. All over Greece there must be similar blue boards announcing projects that came to an abrupt halt as austerity kicked in. Perhaps one day some magnanimous philanthropist will step in and see this project to its conclusion.

It is not just houses that are decorated with posies for 1 May. Spotted in Chorio.

The harbour is slipping into summer mode. The cafes are open and selling ice creams to the day trippers. That herb and spice shop next to the gyros bar has been here ever since I can remember, but the building that houses the Dodecanese Co-operative Bank used to be a sunhat shop. Monique, the owner of the sunhat shop, used to put out card boxes for the cats to snooze in. When she retired, the cats retired with her and now they all live round in Harani.

This old door in the back lanes of Yialos is a work of art in its own right.
The wrought iron work in the door panels is a trellis of iron roses.

The Merakles taverna is celebrating spring with cheerful petunias. The white building behind is the new extended premises of Soroco boutique.

Pelargoniums in the Pedi Valley.

Nasturtiums and Rosemary

Have a good weekend. I have some Danish friends visiting this weekend who I have not seen for many years so my next blog will be posted on Tuesday.

Regards,

Adriana

The Joys of Spring - My Walk to Work

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:34:00 +0000

The wild hollyhocks are in flower. The recent strong winds have knocked their spires into various crazy angles but they are still delightful. My little Olympus camera does not really do the color justice - a voluptuous satiny pink.

A defiant clump of poppies, hanging on despite the rising temperatures. With midday peaks around 30 degrees the flowers don't last very long.

Looking across to the windmills from Lieni, Symi is still predominantly green. The dust of summer has yet to settle on all those shiny new leaves.

Clumps of daisies, plumes of grass.

Symi is famous for its beautiful neo-classical architecture. While the houses seem quite uniform at first, close attention reveals all sorts of little details, like this carefully cut stone work above a doorway on the Kali Strata.

Or this eye on a pediment, also on the Kali Strata. In this part of the world, houses and boats are often marked with eyes to protect them from evil.

The fascinating staircase leading to the current home of the peripatetic Symi Gallery. Gallery events are advertised on their Facebook page and you can see more work by Ian Haycox on his website.

Two beautifully restored mansions on the Kali Strata. Symi is so steep that very few properties have gardens and those that there are are usually full of useful things like lemons and oranges, as is the case with these two.

It is such a bright and cheerful time of the year here on Symi. The sun is shining, there are people about, everything is growing and looks fresh and perky - only the most determined pessimist could be gloomy in such circumstances. That said, this was the quietest election I have ever experienced on Symi. Usually Pasok heartland, there was no reason for dynamite and victory toots last night. Coming in third was a definite shock to moral and there was a lot of discussion going on in the cafeneions and lanes this morning. New Democracy, who won by a very slender majority, have 3 days in which to create a coalition government. If they fail, there will be another election. For tourists this will have little impact, except that those coming to Greece from outside the Eurozone may well benefit from the fact that the value of the euro has dropped slightly on the results of both the French and the Greek elections.

Tomorrow is VE Day, a local public holiday. If you are on Symi, come down to the harbour and enjoy the annual parade. If you aren't on Symi, photographs of the parade will be on the Symi Dream site as they will be covering the parade as usual.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

A White Cat of Symi

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:12:00 +0000

I noticed that someone was searching on this blog for a white cat of Symi. Well, here is one, enjoying the spring sunshine in Chorio. Another famous white cat on Symi can be found on the Symi Dream website.

Chamomile growing in the Pedi Valley

A Symi sheep balances on the edge of a cliff, in search of a succulent morsel.

Not for them the lush pastures of New Zealand. Symi sheep work hard for their food.

Spot the pigeon.

That is Pedi Bay in the background.

Olive blossom on my garden table.

A busy 5 minutes in Yialos this morning. Yes, that is the Poseidon heading off for a round the island trip.

It is a busy weekend in Greece with the elections for the government taking place on Sunday. Here on Symi the lists are up for the candidates and the schools are closed as they are being used as polling stations. As Greeks have to travel back to the place where they are born and registered to vote there will be a lot of movement around the country over the next few days.

The cheerful bunting fluttering in the harbour is because Symi will be celebrating VE Day on 8 May. The surrender of the Dodecanese was signed here, at the building that is now the Katerinettes Hotel and restaurant, and every year the event is commemorated with a parade.

As you can see from the above photograph, the Blue Star ferry is coming through Symi on Fridays as well as Wednesdays this week - and the round the island excursions have started.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

A Great Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:07:00 +0000

A lone sail heading to Nimos. That is the Turkish coast in the distance.

Yachts lining up in Yialos for the night.

Grape vine fronds reaching for the sky on the Kali Strata

Excursion boats, Poseidon and Diagoras, are back on their berths.

Tomorrow is May Day (Protomaio), a holiday traditionally celebrated in Greece long before it became associated with workers’ rights and the trade union movement. May Day in Greece is a celebration of springtime and is characterised by decorating front doors and gates with flowers, preferably wild ones gathered from the countryside, but garden ones are also popular. Wreaths and posies of roses, geraniums and daisies often add the final touch to doors that have been newly painted for the summer.

With the recent rains followed by lots of sunshine the whole island is a garden at the moment. Temperatures continue to climb up into the low thirties and it is now definitely mild enough in the evenings to sit outside. Speaking of evenings, there is quite a lot going on this week as apart from the bank holiday tomorrow, there is also a Symi Gallery Poetry reading dedicated to spring tomorrow evening. This is taking place at the Kantirimi Bar in Yialos at 7 p.m so if you are on Symi please come along and join in. Admittance is free but please buy your drinks at the bar.

On the same evening, 1 May 2012, at 6.30 p.m there is also Koukoumas – the traditional dance celebration at Agias Thanassis church in Chorio. This is when the local girls of marriageable age perform a special dance which should, according to local tradition, enable them to foresee their future husbands. If you are in the area and interested in traditional Greek dancing, this is a great opportunity to see traditional dancing and beautiful costumes. Once again, admittance is free.

Last but not least, the Greek government elections take place on 6 May and with the schools being used as polling stations the children are looking forward to a long weekend.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Dodecanese Seaways Summer Schedules

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:57:00 +0000

The summer ferry schedules for Dodecanese Seaways catamarans Dodecanese Pride and Dodecanese Express are now available on line. Please go to their website on www.12ne.gr/en for further information.

We are hoping that the absence of a Wednesday morning connection from Symi to Rhodes will be corrected when the schedules for ANES are released as the Blue Star coming from Pireaus is often late due to its complex route and cannot be relied upon by those who have planes to catch.

Adriana

Flowers and Ferry Boats

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Springtime on Symi is the loveliest time of the year and most of the people on Symi are out and about, enjoying the sunshine and preparing for the summer season. Shop fronts are being painted, including the façade of Symi Visitor Accommodation and the Sunflower Laundry. While in Chorio springtime is the scent of flowers, down in Yialos it is the smell of wet paint, coffee and grilled octopus. Tavernas have their tables and chairs out, ready to receive the daily arrivals from Rhodes. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, some of the businesses on Symi have moved premises. Symi Flower is now happily settled in the lane opposite Antoniades, the hardware store. Siroco has expanded its premises next to Merakles. The Stani Cake Shop has moved to next door to us in the lane. Kiara Luna that used to be at the back of the square, by the Niraida Restaurant, is moving into the same lane as Symi Tours, as has Symi Spacephone, the mobile phone shop that used to be by the Aktaion. No doubt there will be more changes apparent in the harbour as Symi opens up for the season and there will be new places for visitors to explore.

On the ferry scene, the Blue Star Naxos passed through Symi this morning, en route to Rhodes and Kastellorizo, bringing island hoppers from Nissyros into our office in search of help and advice. The Panagia Skiadeni has come in on a special trip from Rhodes and the Dodecanese Express has just tied up alongside. Tourists are strolling past below my window, eating ice creams.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Symi Flower in Spring mode.

Freshly painted and ready to launch

Symi cats have an affinity for Symi bikes

The Scent of Orange Blossom

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:48:00 +0000

Bees gorging themselves in the orange blossom

Lemonade ingredients on the branch.

Olive blossom

It is a glorious spring day on Symi and all the celebrations for St George’s Day at the various churches on the island dedicated to that saint will be making the most of the sunshine. St George is such a popular saint on Symi that his name day is often celebrated over two days so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy it at each of the different chapels in his honour. St George at Drakounda, the chapel on the hill overlooking the footpath down to Nimborio, and St George the Far, the chapel at St George’s bay, are the two best known.

There has been a marked improvement in the weather over the past two days with few clouds and plenty of sunshine. Temperatures are in the mid to high twenties although the breeze is still quite cool. Anyone using a motorbike or scooter still has to wrap up warmly and the sun has yet to penetrate into the shady places. The citrus trees are now in full bloom and the scent of orange blossom is quite overpowering in the gardens and courtyards of Chorio. The olive trees are also flowering in the Pedi Valley. Their blossoms are more discreet but pretty none the less.

Down in Yialos more and more yachts are passing through as they leave their winter berths across the water in Turkey and prepare for the summer’s cruising season. The view from my office window of the yachts coming and going is irresistible and webcam enthusiasts from around the world email me whenever there is a glitch in the feed. Some boats only stay the night but others take advantage of the fact that it is still relatively quiet so early in the season and enjoy a few days of Symi hospitality. The island’s three chandlers are certainly busy, selling warps and chains and courtesy flags for the next port of call.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Hermes in the back streets of Yialos

Yasmin, a trawler yacht all the way from the USA

Current Ferry Crisis Averted

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:32:00 +0000

Yesterday evening it was announced that an agreement had been reached between Symi Town Hall, ANES and Dodecanese Seaways regarding the ferry service for Symi.

The current schedules for May are now available on Dodecanese Seaways website and there has been a vast improvement in high speed connections between Rhodes and Symi. More information about the car ferry situation will be released later.

Visitors to the islands in May will be very happy with this news.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Adriana

The Small Island of Symi

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:26:00 +0000

The first water taxi in the water in Yialos but it will be some weeks yet before the beach tavernas open
and the water taxi service starts.

Yialos - the head of the harbour showing the customs house. Spiti Grand Helene and Villa Iris are on the hill to the right.

A lone fishing boat heads out to sea.

It is a mild spring day on the small island of Symi and the sand storm that buffeted Greece mid-week seems to have blown away to Turkey and beyond. A cool breeze is blowing through the harbour and the Dodecanese Express has just arrived on a tourist excursion, bringing a large group of day trippers across from Rhodes. As the Proteus’ day trips came to an abrupt halt this week with a rope around the propeller the shop keepers in the harbour were relieved to see some customers. The summer ferry situation has yet to be resolved but the talk in the harbour this morning was that Mr Spanos, the founder of Dodecanese Seaways, was coming over personally today to talk to the town hall. We hope that some sort of agreement is reached quickly so that schedules can be published and visitors can make their travel plans without a lot of guesswork.

The first water taxi has returned to her berth below our office window – a sure sign that the summer season is not far away now. The island is still very quiet, though, as can be seen from these photographs.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Daisies everywhere.

Even the graffiti-clad rocks outside the high school have turned into a spring garden.

Making the most of the poppies before they all fade away.

A spot of sign writing on the Proteus, before the unfortunate rope around the propeller incident.

Bright Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:12:00 +0000

The week after Greek Easter is called Bright Week and Bright Monday was all that one could wish for - sunny and calm after the strong winds and heavy rain of Good Friday and Easter Saturday. It was such a lovely day that I thought I would share my walk down the Kali Strata with you.

Usually when I stop at this corner on the Kali Strata in high summer it is to photograph cruise ships, mega yachts and gulets. This time I stopped to photograph this tangle of daisies bursting through a homely gate of reinforcing rod and minium (the red primer that Greeks use to undercoat everything from boats to houses.)

A few foreign yachts came in for Easter. Yialos is so empty at the moment that there was space for these boats to tie up alongside instead of wrestling with anchors in Symi's notoriously deep harbour. As you can see, there are tables and chairs set out at Katerinettes and other waterfront places but the shops were closed. This view was taken through a gap in the buildings on the Kali Strata.

Looking down the Kali Strata steps.
The daisies and wild flowers still dominate, topped up by the recent rain, but they will be gone in a few weeks.

This ruin near the bottom of the Kali Strata fascinates me.
That little curl of wrought iron is a window latch for a window that has long since become open sky.

The Old Markets Hotel has yet to come out of winter hibernation.
With its open terrace and al fresco design it has to wait until the last of the rain is definitely over.

And finally, a flock of goats near the unfinished sports complex in Chorio. There are far fewer goats on the island than there used to be and this flock is an unusual sight. They are properly tagged and have collars and bells so obviously properly looked after.

Even as I post this blog the sunny weather is turning once again to strong winds and thunder showers and there are gale warnings in effect. The Mediterranean Basin is the point where the cold air of Europe meets the warm air of Africa as spring reaches North Africa far sooner than it does continental Europe and some years April can be particularly stormy. Looking at the long range forecast it does seem, however, that after this next blow all should be calm and sunny for a while.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Life in Austerity Greece is Never Dull

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:52:00 +0000

Yialos at 11 a.m today. Not a lot happening.

Yialos an hour later. Here is something we have not seen for a long time - the Proteus proudly gliding into Symi harbour.

A gleeful toot on the horns as she turns ...

... as she reverses into her berth at the bus stop with a boat load of day trippers.
The emblem at the stern is the Hellenic Duty Free logo.

It is the start of the Easter long weekend in Greece and as I was coming down to work this morning I passed many elegantly clad local ladies heading for church. For many it is a dramatic transformation from practical trousers and slippers to tailored suits, black tights and high heels. All the more astonishing because as soon as they leave the church and head for home they will revert to the track pants and slippers so that they can resume whitewashing steps, washing windows, baking hundreds of cheese pies and dyeing innumerable eggs red, all the while keeping an eye on the children who are on holiday from school at the moment. Greek Easter would not happen without the incredible stamina of Greek women. Throughout the next few days we will see the Symiot ladies alternate these roles several times a day without complaint as they juggle church attendance with the equally demanding domestic obligations that the season requires.

With the trials and tribulations of life in austerity Greece, more is home made and less is shop bought. For example, the supermarkets are experiencing record sales of yeast as more women are baking their own tsoureki, the sweet plaited loaf that is traditional for Easter breakfast, rather than buying the ready-made long life version that arrives, cellophane wrapped, from Athens. The two day shipping strike called by the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation has had a severe effect on what is available in the shops as a lot of the bulk supplies come in on the ‘big boat’ and a lot of Greek fresh produce was left stranded in Crete instead of reaching the markets for which it was intended. The disruption was compounded by the current 3 way spat between Symi Town Hall, Dodecanese Seaways and ANES regarding which boats are running when and which resulted in Dodecanese Seaways suddenly dropping the Panagia Skiadeni’s Symi routes and the Proteus coming out of moth balls to do tourist trips between Rhodes and Symi under the sponsorship of Hellenic Duty Free. One thing is for certain. Life in austerity Greece is never dull.

The forecast for the Easter long weekend is showing thundershowers and squally weather which could be a nuisance for those with large groups to feed outdoors but temperatures are mild and the anticipated rainfall is not expected to be heavy.

As tomorrow is Greek Good Friday and Monday is Bright Monday my next blog will be posted on Tuesday.

Kalo Pasca to all my Greek friends and a good weekend to everyone else.

Regards,

Adriana

Early Morning Peace and Quiet

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:20:00 +0000

Nimborio - Calm and not a soul to be seen.

The Nireus Hotel and the Aliki Hotel have started to pack out their outdoor furniture and prepare for the season.

Yialos - deserted on a Saturday morning.
The bollards have been newly painted, with numbers so that the berths can be identified.

The Monday Morning Rush Hour in Lieni, Chorio

Figs ripening in a ruin on the Kali Strata

Cats enjoying the early morning peace and quiet

It is a cool and cloudy day with the promise of rain in the air. Heavy rain is forecast for tonight with the possibility for thundershowers tomorrow. April showers indeed. With no proper rain since 13 March Symi is very dry and the wild vegetation is dying back rapidly now. A heavy shower or two would not come amiss to keep things going for a while yet.

There was a small flotilla of charter yachts tied up on the quay in Pedi overnight, their masts glinting in the early morning light. Yialos, Symi’s main harbour, is still very quiet though as the water taxis and excursion boats are still out of the water and there is very little other maritime activity at the moment. On the subject of maritime activity, the bad news is that there will be a 48 hour shipping strike from midnight tonight as the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation is protesting changes to their medical insurance. The government has been negotiating for days to no avail so it seems that this strike will be going ahead, despite the huge disruption this will cause in the run up to Greek Easter and the thousands of people who will be affected, one way or another, as many islands have no other connections. This will not, however, affect Dodecanese Seaways which operates out of Rhodes but it does affect the Blue Star ferry service which operates out of Pireaus. For more information please refer to the Living In Greece website.

Here are some photographs to give you an idea of how quiet it is on Symi at the moment.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Preparations for Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:38:00 +0000

While those following the Catholic calendar are celebrating Easter this weekend, here in Greece we have a whole week to go and, as I mentioned in Monday’s blog, it is the most solemn week of fasting in the church calendar. Not even olive oil is permitted. There are lots of quips about how the Big Week diet of boiled pulses and vegetables is what everyone will be living on in Austerity Greece but given the ingenuity of Greek cooks, even the plainest dish of fakes (boiled lentils) is a tasty one. The Easter Sunday lamb on 15 April will be all the tastier for the frugal food that precedes it.

The island is already busier as the Panagia Skiadeni and Dodecanese Pride have brought some day trippers over from Rhodes and there have also been a few gulets over from Turkey. There has been a steady stream of arrivals all week as foreign property owners and regular visitors start to arrive for the Easter or Spring break and looking out across the harbour, there are far more shutters open. Shops are also opening up after the long winter and it is not unusual to be served by someone who is holding a paintbrush in one hand as preparations for Easter and the season are underway.

The sphinx on the roof next door has had a new coat of paint.

Temperatures are still around 20 degrees centigrade with a cool breeze coming off the water. Yesterday afternoon we had a few sprinkles of red rain, legacy of sandstorms in Libya and Tunisia, but the sky is clear today. Some thundershowers are expected early next week as the low pressure system that is currently bringing rain to Italy and snow to the mountains heads our way. The current long range forecast for the Easter long weekend looks good.

As you can see from the photograph below, there is still a large empty space in the water where the water taxis and excursion boats usually berth. They are round the corner, on the shore at Harani boatyard, having their bottoms painted and their engines serviced. The Proteus is being prepared for her trip to Pireaus for her inspection and ANES has put up the schedule for the Agias Nektarious – not much help to us on Symi but it does mean there is life in the company yet. The schedule for the Panagia Skiadeni is still only available up to 17 April but more information should be available after Easter. The Friday trips from Rhodes to Marmaris have been confirmed until the end of the month but the bits in between have not been announced yet.

Happy Easter to our western readers.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Good news from Symi to Start the New Month.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:46:00 +0000

The skewers are to discourage the local cats...

The new month arrived with a flurry of April showers and after three dry weeks the island certainly needed the drink. The weather will remain mild and partly cloudy for the rest of the week with midday temperatures on Symi in the low twenties.

Magnificient moths doing what moths do when Spring is in the air.

Regular visitors to Symi may remember Kleanthi, the young Greek girl with the waist length wavy golden locks who used to work at the Symi Visitor office and occasionally at the Sunflower Laundry when not helping out at her mother, Roulla’s kiosk or her sister, Despina’s flower shop. Well, Kleanthi was delivered of a beautiful baby girl in Rhodes this morning. Congratulations to the happy mother and Kostas, the even more delighted dad. Good news from Symi to start the new month.

Next week is Big Week, the most solemn week in the Greek Orthodox calendar and culminating in Easter. While in many parts of the world Easter has become another opportunity for marathon retail therapy in Greece Easter is still very much a religious holiday and in these times of austerity even more so than usual. When it comes to a choice between stocking chocolate rabbits or Pascal candles, Greek shopkeepers are more likely to invest in the latter when feeling the economic pinch. Even those Greeks who don’t fast for the full duration of Lent often fast seriously during Big Week as it is a time for atonement and reflection. The big celebrations start with the Resurrection at midnight on Easter Saturday night and by the time Sunday dawns everyone is really ready for the Easter lamb, fattened on oregano bushes and wild flowers.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Ruggedly Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:27:00 +0000

After last week’s heat wave Symi has settled into more normal temperatures for the time of year with midday highs around 20 degrees and night time lows around 14 degrees centigrade. Of course there are plenty of sun traps, particularly in areas facing south, where the temperature can actually climb up to 30 at midday but this is unusual and it is still quite cold in the shade. We are having heavy dewfalls at night and quite a lot of mist which only burns off quite late in the morning. No significant rain is expected for the next few days.

Preparations for the season are well under way in the harbour and in Chorio, with much cleaning and painting going on. The first visitors are expected next week and the day trip boats are also expected to start early in April as there are already quite a lot of tourists in Rhodes with time to kill, it being a little chilly still for swimming.

Ruggedly beautiful with amazingly clear water.

This mysterious cave is only accessible from the water, and the interior is a massive cavern full of seawater.

Symi’s beaches are still deserted and it will be some weeks yet before the beach franchise operators and water taxis set up their operations for the season. Regular visitors to Symi will be aware that most beaches on the island can only be accessed by boat, or by some fairly serious hiking. This is sometimes a little puzzling to first timers who are unaware that Symi is, to all intents and purposes, a mountain peak poking out of the sea. This is why there are so few waterfront properties and why being able to see the sea from your accommodation does not necessarily mean that it is possible to swim from the terrace. These photographs give an idea of what St George and Nanou, two popular and spectacular beaches, are like out of season, when there is no one around except the occasional tortoise.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

If the cliffs of St George look vaguely familiar to old movie buffs, it is because they were used in 'The Guns of Navarone'. More recently this was the venue for a BASE jumping event last August.

Nanou - no umbrellas or sun beds for a while yet, but plenty of natural shade under the trees.

The lone inhabitant of Nanou in March.

Green Shoots of Recovery?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:27:00 +0000

The population of Symi was roused from its usual mid-morning coffee break by several brisk toots on a horn as the Panagia Skiadeni, Dodecanese Seaways' new car ferry, announced her triumphant arrival in Yialos, Symi's main harbour. Although there was nothing on any schedule to inform of her coming, various trucks were waiting in happy anticipation at the clock tower. They may yet be waiting a while longer as she is showing no signs of departing again. Her schedule should be appearing on www.12ne.gr/en in the next day or so.

Green shoots of recovery? The weather has warmed up considerably in the last few days and leaf buds are unfurling wherever one looks. The valonia oaks are rapidly greening over and the figs have turned from bare stalks to standard bearers.

I was in Rhodes last week on business. The intention was to go on Sunday evening and come back on the Wednesday afternoon Blue Star but with the 48 hour strike of the Panhellenic Seamen the ferry schedule was thrown into disarray and I only returned to Symi late on Friday evening. As I had time in hand I went on several long walks around Rhodes town, camera in hand, and took literally hundreds of photographs. Here is just a small sample for your amusement.

One of the intriguing things about Rhodes is that wherever one goes there are archaeological sites - much to the despair of property developers who often wind up with their projects on hold while finds are examined, and their architectural plans changed to avoid destroying whatever has turned up. This amazing mosaic is part of an excavation under a housing complex in a Rhodian back street. Rattling around Rhodes in a taxi or vehicle one is unaware of all this as it is mostly hidden below street level, so if you are interested in the many layers of Rhodian history, don your walking shoes and peer over railings.

The moat around Rhodes Old Town also holds a few surprises that passing motorists are unlikely to see. This football pitch, for example. It does not seem to have seen much use this winter. Perhaps the children have grown up and gone away, or perhaps they prefer watching it on television to playing it in the extremely cold weather we have experienced this winter.

And where better to graze ones horse than in a moat? There is undoubtedly a far longer precedent for this than football in Rhodes Old Town. No, that isn't a knight, dozing under the tree. Just an unidentifiable piece of old scrap metal.

The moat at the top of Rhodes Old Town is far more sedate. No football or grazing horses here. Just heaps of stone canon balls and, surprise, an archaeological dig. There are guided walks around the moat in the summer and it is a great way of seeing the Old Town from a different angle.

25 March is Greek Independence Day and in the days leading up to this holiday the shops in Rhodes were full of displays of traditional dress for the children participating in the parades. For photographs of some of the Symiot children in their parade finery, please see Out and About where Jenine Woodhall of the Olive Tree cafe in Chorio has shared some of her photographs.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

Blue Skies and Daisies

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:29:00 +0000

It may be chilly but the skies are blue and the daisies lush.

While the areas closest to the road and therefore vehicle access have been extensively rebuilt in recent years, many of the houses in the oldest part of Chorio at the head of the Kataraktis are still ruins and this neighbourhood is only sparsely populated.

Many businesses are still packed up for the winter, particularly those that are on the 'cold' side of the harbour. The summer season on Symi does not really begin until the middle of May when the weather is more settled and there are more tourists around. Some Greek holiday destinations further north have longer winters than we do and only have a tourist season from June to September so we are quite fortunate.

Bright new flags were put up for Dodecanese Day on 7 March. The next big holiday is Greek Independence Day on 25 March. This is also the Feast of the Annunciation, making it a religious as well as a public holiday. The ochre building in the centre foreground is Symi's customs house and duty free shop. The open green structure to the right of that is the fish market although these days fishermen usually sell their catch direct from the boats when they come in, first thing in the morning.

The Nireus Hotel in Harani, still wrapped in plastic against the winter storms. This area can be really battered in winter gales and the hotels along the front minimise damage by wrapping as much as they can in plastic. Even the larger plants are often wrapped in sacking to keep the salt off.

The clear waters off Harani, swirled by the wake of the incoming ferry.

Despite a much promised heatwave Symi is still shivering in a cold north westerly wind that is keeping temperatures down around 11 degrees. Gale force winds in the Aegean played havoc with shipping this week as Pireaus was closed due to a shipping ban. With so few all weather ports in Greece, particularly in the islands, the policy is to keep ships safely in harbour during bad weather as there is no where safe for them to shelter if things deteriorate. The wind dropped sufficiently for commercial shipping to resume yesterday but it is still quite rough out. Fortunately this wind direction does not cause swell problems in Rhodes harbour so activity was able to get going again fairly promptly. The wind is expected to ease over the weekend with slightly warmer temperatures than usual next week as a high pressure system comes into effect. The photograph above shows the Blue Star coming in from Pireaus en route to Rhodes at midday on Thursday, more than 24 hours late. She will only be coming through from Rhodes this evening after fitting in a trip to Meyisti (Kastellorizon), the most remote of all the Greek islands.

Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Adriana

Waiting in the Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:34:00 +0000

At this time of the year Symi is a mass of self-sown hanging gardens, whether from natural rock formations or
from the stone walls of ruined houses.

Rush hour on the Kali Strata.
The Old Markets boutique hotel is in a little lane just to the left of this picture.

The sunny weather broke on Sunday with showery squalls and the first red rain of the year. This phenomenon occurs in the spring, when sandstorms from the Sahara combine with rainy weather over the Mediterranean and it literally rains mud. More of the same is expected but a lot of people were out cleaning the fine film of sand from their cars this morning as it allowed to dry it can be very difficult to remove. It is not for nothing that so many houses in this part of the world are tinted ochre and terracotta rather than the usual bright white.

Many parts of Greece, including the Peloponnese, experienced snowfalls over the weekend. The long range forecast remains unsettled with falling temperatures again as heavy snow is forecast for neighbouring Turkey. Spring may be waiting in the wings but she is a very shy performer at the moment. The lengthening days, however, bring more light and warmth and as long as the Easter lambs are fattening in the daisies we know that the real end of winter is in sight.

DodecaneseSeaways have now released their schedule up to 6 May. It is not very encouraging but does give us something to work around, particularly as the Blue Star Diagoras has agreed to continue a weekly service for April and May. More information on how to get to Symi can be found on Andy’s TravelBlog.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

This mansion on the Kali Strata was carefully plastered to look as as though it was made out of far more elaborate dressed stone. As the building falls into ruin and the plaster flakes away, details of the original construction are revealed.

Stone roses and faded terracotta pigments.

Typical Symi colours - whitewash (asvesti) tinted with ochre powder.

Gentle Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:09:00 +0000

Much of Symi's shoreline is like this - sheer cliffs rather than sandy beaches.

The moon is full and the equinox approaches so we should be battening down for gales but right now the weather on Symi is as calm as one might ever wish it. Sharp shadows and gentle reflections are characteristic of the light at this time of the year. Drenching dewfalls and slowly rising temperatures are turning the lanes and steps into magical mossy gardens with nodding poppies and droning bees at every turn. The sun shone for the Dodecanese Day Parade on 7 March, a celebration of the Dodecanese Islands finally becoming a part of Modern Greece after the Second World War. A timely reminder, perhaps, to the mainland, that these islands on the border with Turkey do have needs and rights as well as obligations.

Despite the interminable gloom in the media, spring is in the air and with it a spirit of optimism that is very characteristic of the Greeks. The Symiots have seen the fortunes of their small island rise and fall many times over the centuries – indeed it is the legacy of ruined neo-classical mansions from the island’s late 19^thcentury heyday as a sponge fishing centre that form the nucleus of Symi’s attraction as a tourist destination. A people that has managed to carve a civilisation out of bare rocks and barren hillsides and is no stranger to hardship is not going to disappear under a barrage of negative media coverage.

Here are some photographs to whet the appetite.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

A good day for washing and drying cuddly toys on the Kali Strata.

An Encouraging Sight

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:08:00 +0000

After a bright and sunny weekend Symi is once again under cloudy skies as another low pressure system moves slowly across Greece. This time we will see showery and unsettled weather for much of the week but temperatures should be between 8 and 18 degrees rather than the bitter cold we experienced last week. As Symi’s traditional neo-classical houses have high ceilings and thick stone walls they are very difficult to heat adequately, even for those who have the rare luxury of central heating. While one can set the air conditioner to warm, if one has one of course, this is a very expensive way of heating a house and these days few can afford that kind of electricity consumption. Instead an increasing number of fireplaces are being put back into service and cast iron wood stoves are very popular. Scrap wood, pine cones and wind blown branches don’t lie around for long and truck loads of firewood are being brought down the mountain and sold. It is as well that we will only have cold weather for a few more weeks as it would be sad to see the island’s forests disappear in a wave of austerity-driven frugal heating. The planting of mulberry trees in the town square in Yialos does not really count as reforestation. There are, however, an increasing number of self-seeded conifers growing out of the rocky slopes and less accessible places that are an encouraging sight. The reduction in the feral goat population combined with the fencing off of property as part of the Land Registration Act a few years ago which reduced indiscriminate grazing had a role to play in this. There are now far more fences between the trees and hungry livestock.

Supporters of the winter cat feeding scheme will be happy to know that Symi Animal Welfarenow has a dedicated website which is worth a browse.

Summer visitors often ask what people do to amuse themselves on the island during the winter, when everything is shut. Well, apart from swopping books and DVDs and hosting dinner parties and going for long walks on sunny days there are also musical evenings, poetry readings, art classes, group crossword sessions, weddings, christenings, name days… There is a poetry reading at the Symi Gallery on the Kali Strata this afternoon at 16.00. The theme this time is ‘Naked’ which sounds intriguing – particularly as we are all particularly well muffled up at the moment!

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

That is a little patch of snow visible on the distant mountain in the middle of the picture.

A tenacious cypress growing out of a cliff.

The old part of Chorio, above the Kataraktis.

Greek Traditions of Hospitality

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Gadd) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:13:00 +0000

A Place in the Sun.
This old tom cat has found a comfy place for a nap.

Symi Frozen Lamb.
There is ice on those puddles.

March began with some exceptionally cold weather – so cold that we actually had flurries of snow in parts of Chorio, Xisos and Nimborio on Wednesday afternoon. It is unusual for Symi to experience sustained periods of freezing weather lasting several days, although it is quite normal to have occasional winter nights of ice when the wind blows strongly from the north and when Turkey has heavy snowfall. Looking back in my diary, late snow is not that uncommon in this part of the world. The weather is expected to warm up again over the weekend as the wind changes to the south. This may bring some showery weather which is also normal for the time of year.

With Easter and the first visitors of the year expected in April, preparations for the season have begun. Most people wait until the last minute to do external painting as one needs good weather to do that, but shops and businesses that have been closed up all winter are being opened up and aired and there is a hum of cement mixers and the whiff of fresh paint in the air. The Stani cake shop is already comfortably settled in its new premises next to the Symi VisitorAccommodation office and Symi Spacephone has moved from the Aktaion to the old Symi Women’s Association shop in the centre of Yialos. Soroco boutique is moving into the old Stani cake shop next to Merakles taverna and the old Chouchi Gold shop is being refitted as, believe it or not, a pedicure parlour with nibbling fish!

Easter is very much a family affair in Greece so large numbers of foreign visitors are never expected at that time but the Greek tradition of preparing to welcome guests for Easter is one that will never die out in Greece, no matter how difficult times may be. The Easter celebrations are a good excuse for family members living and working in Rhodes to come back to Symi and foreign visitors often find themselves invited to join family festivities. Greek traditions of hospitality are indomitable.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana

A beautifully painted front door in Chorio.

A Frozen Angel on the Kastro.

Bitter Oranges in a Garden near Alemina, Chorio.