The other day, there was some chatter on the wire about building work on the island and whether it would spoil a holiday. Fair question if you don’t know that place well or have heard a rumour and want confirmation. The thing is, there’s always some kind of work going on somewhere, so it’s hard to say anything except it is unlikely to spoil your stay. For example: The new treatment plant that’s being built on ‘Council Corner’ off the main road, above the ‘new’ port by the big bend, you know, on the way down the hill (as the area is locally known). Well, that’s unlikely to cause anyone any issues even though it’s probably the largest works currently taking place. Meanwhile, there’s another great big water-guzzling hotel and holiday development going on above the main road, not far from Haritomeni, on the road through Petini, and although the last time I saw it, the walls were up and the roof was on (I think), there may well be banging and crashing going on if you’re staying in the places nearby. If there is, it’ll only be from around seven until three, and such works doesn’t usually go on in the evenings until later in the summer.
We’re constantly getting dumper trucks trucking by our house and shaking the dust from the rafters, having concrete and sand dumped nearby, filling the house with dust, and the sounds of concrete mixers, hammering, and construction from somewhere up the lane, but we just get on with it because that’s island life. It’s not constant, but it happens. Someone might decide to start renovating a ruin a distance from where you’re staying, but the only access is past your front door, or beneath your holiday balcony, but what can you do? At least you know you’re not going to have a twenty-story hotel going up next door, not on Symi.
On Symi which is currently in a slight post-Easter, pre-summer lull, except there are day trippers and a few longer-stay visitors. The village square has been very quiet of an afternoon. The temperature was nudging 25 yesterday, and I am wearing shorts at 5.30 in the morning as I type, but you probably didn’t need to know that. On a final note about construction, when we came here in 1997, was passed a property that was being built near the main road, and it had a safety sign outside which read, ‘Caution, slow works in progress.’ I walked past it the other day and it’s still not finished.
