Wednesday Morning

No great news from me today. Yesterday, the Blue Star came in and went again in the early morning, and the swallows were on the line chatting, as the slightly dodgy phone photos today show. The temperature remains high though we were due could and possibly rain, and some high winds later in the week or early next. The schools were due to reopen on a limited basis this week, but I’ve not noticed any change in the peace and quiet during to and from school time. The new road is progressing, and we can see part of it from the front of the house, way over beyond the new harbour which it will one day link to. I wonder if there will be a traffic light needed, or possibly a roundabout? They would be firsts for the island if they are necessary, and I’ve not heard any rumours. Apart from that… we’re carrying on carrying on. I am trying to write a new story, but something always gets in the way of a whole, clear day of typing time; emails, blog, Neil’s laptop needs cleaning out as it’s so slow, the housework, shopping and other equally shared chores, reading and the occasional trip out of the house… One thing I can tell you, it’s very odd to be in this heat, at this time of year, but with no visitors. The bars should be reopening soon on a ‘see how it goes’ basis, but as to who will be using them, well, that’s anyone’s guess.

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Aegean Airlines

Yesterday, I received an email from Dimitris Gerogiannis, the Chief Executive Officer of Aegean Airlines. He’s not a personal friend or anything, the email would have gone out to thousands of people, but I thought it might give readers an idea of what’s happening with the airline, in case you wanted to know. Many people are worried about pre-booked holidays and wondering how and when they might get here and to other places in Greece either for a break or to visit their holiday homes, and this email doesn’t exactly help. But it’s background information about one airline from a horse’s mouth (no offence, I am sure Mr Gerogiannis is in no way equine). I’ve included the opening blurb as I thought it was rather cosy, the meat of the matter comes later in the text which is interspersed with random shots of Symi to break it up a bit.

Here’s the email:

First of all, we hope that you and your family are in good health.

For all of us in the family of AEGEAN and Olympic Air, 2020 started on a high, with optimism and vision for the new year and our next steps.

Unfortunately, the unprecedented situation we have all been faced with during the last three months has forced us to give up doing what we love most, flying with you. We have had to stop flying with you, but we never stopped flying for you, stepping in to be by your side every time we were asked to, no matter how far we had to fly, to bring back to Greece whatever was needed.

Greece has successfully tackled the first phase of the health crisis, making us all very proud of what we have achieved together.

In keeping with the successful national efforts made so far, we are working diligently to face the new challenges raised by the pandemic. Having as absolute priority the health and safety of our passengers and employees and in close cooperation with the authorities, we have already modified the procedures in place for boarding, both at the gate and for aircraft access, and our inflight service. We have also reinforced the protocols for cleaning and disinfecting our aircraft. The use of a face mask has become obligatory for both our passengers and our crews, and from now on, only one personal item will be allowed in the cabin. Furthermore, the last 3 rows of seats will be kept vacant in case we should need to isolate a passenger with potential symptoms. During the week, you will receive detailed information of all the protective measures and new procedures that we will be putting in place within the framework of new protocols for safe travelling.

From today, as travel restrictions to the mainland and the island of Crete have been lifted and from next week to all the Greek islands, we are ready to fly together on our domestic network.

We are getting ready to gradually restore international operations in the coming weeks and months. Initially, we plan to restart operations with a limited schedule from Athens to Munich, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Zurich. At the same time, we shall increase flights operating to Brussels, which is the only international destination that we didn’t suspend. Soon, more destinations will be added.

As we adapt to a new way of travelling, we are adjusting our tickets accordingly so that you can travel with more flexibility and confidence. All new tickets issued between 18th May and 15th June 2020, and regardless of flight dates, will have the benefits of the FLEX fare category so that you can have one piece of checked luggage free of charge and also the option to change your ticket without rebooking fees.

In conclusion, please be assured that we shall be constantly monitoring developments and learning step by step how to successfully and carefully progress to the next one. After all, this is what we have been doing for more than 20 years at AEGEAN, always guided by our values and having you, our passengers, as our main focus.

We look forward to travelling together again.

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The sequel

Just to finish off the spider story… The creepy visitor had been carefully removed from the sitting room and rehomed outside, and still wary, I settled back in to watch whatever film we had on. About twenty minutes later, during a pause in the action and a sudden, quiet passage, I heard what I thought was the cat trotting up the corridor. The sound of claws in need of clipping, I thought and then remembered we don’t have a cat. Maybe a moth caught in the paper lampshade…? But the light was off. Obviously, the film went on pause as I was convinced we were again being invaded. Neil was up, searching the passage and the kitchen at the other end, and I gingerly poked about the stack of DVDs we’d brought down to watch and never did, convinced I’d heard something nearby. I had. There was a second beast a foot away from where I had been sitting, hiding behind the heater that was waiting to go into storage. Luckily, the man of the house was able to pick it up (the beast, not the heater) and hand it back to its accomplice outside, but I’ve not been able to relax in the evenings since. I’m constantly on the lookout for something dark and fast heading towards my bare feet. So far, however, so good.

Perhaps that’s the invasion over for a year as we’ve only had these great big spiders in the house in April or May, and then, only for one visit. They are out there though, and growing bigger, and I have to say, I am getting better with them, I no longer throw up at the thought of finding one. Perhaps I expect to see them at this time of year and when I do, it’s less of a surprise. Anyway… No photo as that was the last thing on my mind, but that’s the story. On Sunday night, we did have another fast and shady visitor through the open window; a little lizard came in to have a nose around. We have one or two of the transparent-style ones living in the hallway, but I don’t mind them at all, and I can even cope with the snake who pops into the courtyard from time to time. If only they would learn to eat the tarantulas. Ah well.

All peaceful and quiet on Symi yesterday morning. Calm, clear and 28 degrees by six in the morning. It’s like July and August but without the breeze, and going from a pleasant 26 to a stuffy 38 in the space of a few days was a shock to the system, but we’re adjusting.

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Sun and spiders

The predicted heatwave arrived with a vengeance, and over the weekend we had out hottest May day for the last 50 years or something. It coincided with the reopening of beaches (under very strict rules), allowing some people to go to the beach for the first time in years. I’m not talking about me, me and lying on a beach or floundering in the sea don’t go together, but I was talking to a friend of ours who would usually be working by now. He was, he said, for the first time in five years able to spend a summer day on the beach, and making the most of having no work to go to, he and some friends spent a whole weekend at St Emilianos, something they’ve not been able to do for many years, not in good weather at least. So, although he’s got no income, he like many others is making the most of the weather while he can.

Bars and cafes are, apparently, reopening soon, again under strict conditions, and Neil’s been asked if he will go back to his afternoon shift when the Rainbow starts up again. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword as a) the job pays his health insurance, but b) he will eventually come into contact with people from off the island, and who knows what they might bring with them? But then measures have been announced regarding travelling by ferry which include a medical self-declaration, a screening before you board, masks, limited numbers of passengers, distancing and so on, but as we know, nothing is foolproof. I think a lot of the islands, and other places, although welcoming visitors back, will be wary of anyone who has not been isolated on the same island, at least to start with.

The hot weather has also brought out the spiders. There we were watching the box on Thursday night when a quick movement to the left caught my eye. Then it stopped, and I assumed it was a shadow, but then it started again and ran under where I had my feet up. A few expletives from me, even Neil jumped when he saw it coming for him, and it hid under the sofa. Neil, bless him, is unfazed by these things and fetched a plastic carton to trap it in (101 uses of the plastics Sotiris puts your ham and cheese in). Ten minutes of searching under sofas and moving furniture ensued. For Neil, that is, not for me, I was standing on the other sofa with my skirts hitched shouting ‘Thomas! Thomas!’ like the maid from Tom and Jerry. Eventually, it was decreed that the thing had vanished, and TV watching continued. All was going well until I noticed Neil silently reaching for his plastic box and surreptitiously leaning towards the balcony doors with intent. I didn’t need to ask and hoped I wouldn’t be dragged in, but the thing went behind the cabinet that’s heavy with folders so I had to help move that – in my bare feet, I might add (such a hero). Finally, Neil caught the beast in a tea towel and put it outside, as if there was nothing wrong with having a three-inch-long spider in your hand, and we settled down to watch the rest of ‘Hard Rain’ or whatever the other thriller of the night was.

There was a sequel, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow, and I’m not talking about the film.

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Friday Photos

Did you notice I resisted the temptation to write Friday Fotos? As I’ve gone from six to five-day working weeks, I’m putting up on a Friday what I used to put up on a Saturday, i.e. around 10 random photos. These ones were taken during this week. Have a good weekend wherever you are, stay home when you can, stay safe and don’t read the UK’s Daily Express. Rumours they put out about Greece opening its tourist season to UK visitors by the end of this month were completely wide of the mark and caused friends’ hopes to be raised and dashed.

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