A few more shots from around the village today. We are waiting for bad weather, though neither Wind Finder or Poseidon forecast any rain here. The news is that storms with ‘red rain’ and Sahara dust are on their way to the south of the country, but there’s no sign of it yet. Let’s hope it misses, I’ve only just been able to start catching up on the washing. It’s not lack of water (makes a change at this house) it’s lack of drying weather and sunshine in the courtyard, but we will get there.
There’s also a lack of news on my part, so I’ll leave you with the photos and get back to my editing.
Just realised I didn’t put up anything on the blog yesterday. I think that was because I was adjusting to a new routine which involved going out for a short walk between work and real work. As you can see from the sky in the photos, it was a wonderful morning for it. The rest of the week looks a bit dodgy with a severe storm warning for the Cyclades and Dodecanese from Wednesday evening onwards, so today might be the ‘second and last walk for a while’ chance I get to go for a ramble for a few days.
I saw that Neil put up a post on the Symi Dream Facebook page recently asking who had booked their holiday to Symi so far, and it is receiving a lot of replies, which is good news. Meanwhile, I read in the Greek news that the government are looking at ways to restrict/limit, etc., tourism on Santorini, which might be an interesting thread to follow. It’s always bugged me that when you see photos of Greece on posters (travel companies, websites etc.), it’s usually of Santorini. Looks like the island has become a victim of its own success with overcrowding in certain places and at certain times. Busloads of people off to see the sunset and only getting to see the back of the person in front, that kind of thing.
We’re off on holiday in a few weeks (beginning of March), so there won’t be any of this blogging business for that month. This trip’s been planned for over a year now, and we’re looking forward to it. Before then, though, there’s the same old routine to get through each day, plus some fun stuff like a quick morning walk when the weather allows.
I am gearing up for a weekend of book editing. At least, I think it’s the weekend. It’s that time of year when I am still unsure what day it is. I spent all of Wednesday thinking it was Thursday and all of last Tuesday thinking it was Tuesday, which it was, but then when Wednesday became Thursday for half a day… You know how it is. Anyway, I am nearly back on track now but did have to look at my diary to see what day it is today.
Easter is still three months away (April 19th for Easter Sunday in Greece, I believe), but sheep and lambs have started appearing in the village already. Despite being brought up on the Romney Marshes and being best friends with the son of a sheep farmer, spending long days playing on the farm and even helping with lambing, I still know nothing about it, and can only assume this pair has been brought down from the hills to be closer to the farmer’s home (?). Just seems a bit early to be grazing in the village when the hills are sprouting green, and there’s plenty of vegetation around. Perhaps the lamp was so early it needed looking after? I don’t know, but it’s always pleasant and, for some reason, amusing, to round a corner and find livestock wandering the village, or tethered in a place you don’t expect.
The Blue Star ferry finally made it into port around 3.00 a.m. on Thursday and will be back again today, though in the afternoon rather than the early morning as the timetable moves closer to being back to normal. The sky is clearing, and no more rain is forecast for a while, but I am being dripped on in the shower thanks to the condensation in the bathroom. A sudden cold shock really wakes you up between washes when you turn the water off to lather-up. Just thought I’d share that with you. And now, back to the editing.
Returning to the age-old question, what’s it like living on Symi in the winter? Well, one of the things you have to be aware of is the weather, particularly when it comes to travel. Not wanting to put anyone off travelling here at this time of year (because the island is beautiful all year round and the peace and quiet of winter weighs up nicely against the trauma of storms, leaks, floods and so on), but you do have to watch the boat schedules. Due to bad weather further north, there has been a ban on shipping for days. I think it might have now been lifted, but here’s a story…
Cold winter skies
If anyone wanted to go to Rhodes last Friday, either for shopping, or a weekend away, appointments etc., they found they had to wait until Saturday for the boat (Blue Star ferry). And then, instead of a reasonable morning arrival time, the boat came in around 4 a.m. That’s one thing. I’m not sure if the boat came back that day as scheduled, but the one due to leave on Monday night was still there on Wednesday evening due to weather, and even then, passengers were told it wasn’t going at 4 pm, but at midnight. The company did say, though, that you could get on at ten in the evening. The last I heard from the Godboys who were on it, it wasn’t then going to able to leave until two on Thursday morning, and as I write this (at half-six), it might still be there for all I know. I hope not, they are due back at school tomorrow.
Some of the recent hail
Meanwhile, another friend arrived in Athens with ferry ticket in hand last weekend, intending a short trip down to Symi, and hasn’t, so far, made it. The flights were massively expensive, apparently, and not an option in her case. I assume she had to go home in the end.
Winter evening in the village
Anyway, that was just a reminder to be aware that your travel plans may have to change due to weather. I hope I’m not tempting fate here as we are heading up to Athens in early March, and coming back via the same route later in the month. We always keep an eye on the weather at least a week ahead of our planned departure when travelling at this time of year, and if it looks in any way dodgy, we leave early and book into cheap accommodation to be near the airport or wherever. Not the cheapest way around things, but better than missing flights, or not making important appointments.
