Symi in the winter
Wednesday morning, sitting with my dressing gown over my knees, the heater on my feet, fingerless gloves on, at the desk, with the gaps around the window taped up to keep back the breeze that blows through and looking forward to a New Year’s weekend. We went for a walk on Tuesday afternoon, just down to Pedi through part of the valley and around to the new jetty, where work has been continuing of late.
This is turning out to be a quiet week, which is a good thing after the madness, mayhem and food-fest that was Christmas. It is now starting to turn into a dark week as well, as we’ve closed several shutters around the house as the wind picks up. Not that it’s been gale force or anything, but when the wind blows, so the temperature falls. I expect it’s still reasonably warm in the sun, and on the north side of the harbour which faces south, but I’ve not been down there since before Christmas, so I wouldn’t know. The sun was out yesterday, but still, you can feel that winter is starting to creep back at last.
Doing a quick check of the weather sites I see that Wednesday night is/was meant to be around four degrees, with the temperature dropping to two degrees on Thursday night. Better check out the Symi winter bed-wear collection which has, in the past, included shoes, overcoats and woolly hats under electric and several other blankets. I kid you not. If you have ever wanted to ask, ‘What is Symi like in the winter’ but been too afraid to ask, then this blog will give you some idea as the winter progresses. This is also our first full winter in this house so it’s a bit untried.
The old house wasn’t too bad for heat (though it wasn’t so good for keeping out the rain) and we could heat one room and shut doors, light a real fire and then let the heat spread out by opening doors later in the evening. But here we have one long building with no internal doors. Curtains are up to try and isolate the sitting room where we spend the evenings. This room, which faces north, also has a mousandra balcony overlooking it, through now this is temporarily sealed off with large thermal curtain liners, which are helping. We’ve fixed the hole in the oxeye window which was letting in drafts, and also the gaps under the balcony doors, where the shutters are now shut. But a few feet away from the end of the sofa is the front door, including half inch gaps beneath, which now has a curtain across it too. There is also the plastic sheet contraption to try out which should keep some draft from entering the porch.
But, once again my ramblings have been taken over by a weather report. So, what else is happening around here in the winter? Well, so far, for us, it’s been work, walking, shopping and staying in. Symi in the winter is what you make it, and it could be a quiet and lonely place unless you have people with whom you can socialise. Although Greek living comes with the temptation to sit in bars and people-watch as the day goes by, it’s not so inviting in winter when many bars and tavernas are closed, the shops are struggling for fresh produce and you don’t really feel inclined to sit outside and watch people, even if there were any people passing by to watch.
Thus, we are settling in for the start of real winter and that could well include many days when I stay at home, write, watch TV, read, cook, serve the cat and do little else. What blog posts may come? I wonder, for days when I’ve done nothing.
