Hot and ready

Yesterday was July 1^st. The temperature in the courtyard, in the shade, was 28 degrees at 6.30 in the morning. The day before, it had reached 36 at four in the afternoon, in the shade in the courtyard. My latest story, Artful Deception was published last month, and the next one, ‘Home From Nowhere’ is about to go off to the proofreader, and should be out by the end of this month. Meanwhile, I have started tinkering with a new novel, another in the on-going Clearwater saga set in 1889. “I think this is one of the best in the series.” Amazon review.

Here are a few more photos taken of late. I understand there’s a drive afoot to plaster social media with positive images from Symi and its businesses, to encourage folk here when they can travel. That’s happening on/from Friday. We’ve now got appropriate medical staff on the island, the village clinic has been reopened and prepared for use as a quarantine facility, which makes perfect sense to me, and anyone visiting and showing symptoms will be placed there and later moved to Rhodes by chopper should the need arise. At least, that’s as I understand it from what I pick up online.

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Pedi at dawn

Happy first of the month and all that.
Neil took an early walk to Pedi on Monday, setting off at 5.15 from home and arriving before the dawn. You may have seen some of his photos on Fakebook, but there are plenty more, and I’m sharing some with you today. Also on Monday, I popped down to meet him at the bar after work so we could do some shopping, and there, encountered our first visitors. One group consisted of four British ladies, and the others were regular visitors from Denmark who had just arrived. After the initial shock of a) seeing ‘new’ faces walking through the village, and b) seeing the ladies were coming from the beach in beachwear, I decided it was good to see. It did, however, also make me feel slightly uncomfortable at first. These were people from off-island walking past only a foot or two behind where we sat. We chatted to one of the visitors who said they had completed their forms before leaving their home country and had taken a test there and been cleared to fly. That’s good news, but you still wonder what might have been collected en route, what with plane, taxi and boat travel, but that’s just something we will have to get used to. There was no handshaking or welcome hugs, which is not a problem for me (never has been), but some people might find it hard not to show the same welcome and give the same greeting as usual. Anyway, that was an aside, here are some of Neil’s stunning photos. If you share them on your social media, please credit him as one of his classic shots of Pedi at dawn went viral on Fakebook, but his watermark had been removed. (Inserts angry face.) Enjoy!

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Movers and Shakers

After a day at home doing the final edits on a story, Sunday ended with a bang. Rather, a rumble and a bang as an earth tremor rumbled past in the evening. This was an unusual one, which I can only equate to being in a West End theatre basement when a tube train went past a few feet below the ground. (Any basement near an underground line will do, I just happened to be in a theatre.) We were watching a film when we became aware of a background sound, a truck passing, perhaps, or a large ferry pulling into port. This went on for enough time for us to slowly realise it was neither of those things, and we put the film on pause. Then, the air vibrated slightly, and we knew what it was. We sat there for what felt like several seconds waiting to see what would happen and expecting the rumble to stop as it usually does. It didn’t, it became more turbulent, the house shook, and the roof rattled. That part only lasted a couple of seconds before it passed, leaving the rumble which died away a few more seconds later. All in all, I’d guess the sound/vibration went on for a good 20 seconds, if not longer. Then we took the film off pause and carried on regardless.

It turns out this was a magnitude 5.3, centred 30.9 km NNE of Rhodes at a depth of 64 km (University of Athens), and you can see the placement on the map above.

Also moving about over the weekend was the Poseidon, running a couple of trips with fewer passengers due to regulations, and taking tours around the island, which was a welcome break for some. The boat was out again on Monday morning at 4.30 to take worshipers to Sesklia for the feast day St Peter and St Paul, to whom the small chapel there is dedicated. The photo below was taken later than that when the Blue Star came in. It’s difficult to capture the exact colour of the sea and sky on my phone camera, but hopefully, you have an idea of the tranquillity of the scene.

[Ironically, just as I am posting this (7.07 Monday), we’ve just had another, more traditional tremor: rumble, shake, rumble, gone in under five seconds.]

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Weekend and blogs to follow

On Friday, we went out to dinner for the first time since March. Taverna Maria & Georgos was open, serving lunch to a party who came over for a baptism at Panormitis. A few of us ‘booked’ a table for the evening, and sat outside on the steps at the top of the Kali Strata. It was a bit odd sitting outside the old butcher’s shop, now supermarket storeroom, and not in the traditional pebbled courtyard, but that was the choice of our hostess, and the taverna has been putting a table or two our there for a couple of years now. Nice view.

And the first chips I’ve had since Vancouver. The lamb was just about spot-on too, and before we knew it, it was half-ten, and everything was closing down, so we waddled off in our various homeward directions. Ours is only about 40 yards away from the taverna, but the following morning, I needed to pop to the corner shop, and the 80-yard round trip required six ‘Kalimeras’ and a couple of additional waves. The friendly, village feel continues despite uncertainties. Music plays from Lefteris Kafeneion through the day, rising in volume when the younger lads take over and being more controlled when dad or grandad comes back. The children play in the square, and sometimes have a rough and tumble where any passing adult will intervene if the rules of fair play are not observed, and the ‘Tilos veg man’ continues to call. (€6.00 for 5 kilos of Tilos potatoes, for example.) There have been a few more holiday boats in and out of the harbour. There’s talk of who will be allowed to travel after the 1^st, from which countries and how, but the last I heard, today will bring an announcement from the government. There have been so many updates and changes, those I’ve spoken to and seen writing online are never 100% sure what the latest news is. Mind you, it changes by the day as it needs to, so that’s hardly surprising.

Remember, where my blog is about what I see (mainly from the balcony these days), and my rambling thoughts generally, if you want more reliable information about what’s happening on the island, then Adriana’s blog is the place to go. If you want travel news as it affects Symi, and updates about airlines and ferries, then Andy’s Symi Travel blog is your port of call. I’d bookmark them both and check in now and then for up to date news and views.

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A different path

Another trip into Yialos on Wednesday. Gosh, that’s twice in one week. This time it was to collect a book from ACS who had rung to say I had a delivery. The book is about 19^th Century fashion as that’s the kind of world I am living in right now, and is just what I was looking for. I walked down via the zigzag path beneath the church of Lemonitisa for a change, but not back up it. The steps are far too steep in some places. Although it is a more direct route up to our house, it’s like climbing a ladder, but it does offer some alternative views, as you might see from the photos.

You might also note that the day was sunny and calm, and the harbour is still more or less boat-less. There’s one large cruiser in this morning (Thursday), and a smaller private yacht. There have been white sails out at sea, and some have pulled in for an evening. The main ferries continue to call in and out. There have also been some arrivals, but I don’t know where from or for how long they are staying. The first shoots of recovery, perhaps, but there’s a long way to go yet.

The new road that will join the new harbour to the main road is coming along, though I can only see one part of it from up here, the rest is behind the fold in the hill. The new amphitheatre in the main town square seems to be progressing too, but again, I only have a limited view, and the site is surrounded by safety fencing. Other businesses are preparing to open up or at least get ready. Ready for what, exactly, is still a case of wait and see, which is what I do most mornings on the balcony. I wait to see what the day will bring, and currently, with a slight sense of dread as I am expecting not only my health insurance bill but also my tax bill, and we’ve not seen an electricity bill for months (though I pay a little each month online to cover it), nor have we seen a water bill for some time despite asking our landlord where they are because they come via him. But all that stress is for another day. For now, I am going to read about changing fashion through the 19^th century and the etiquette of appropriate clothing.

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