The weather is turning early this year. The first part of this week shipping was disrupted by northerly gales in the Northern and Central Aegean caused by Storm Xenophon. Now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the optimistically named Medicane Zorbas. This sounds like some sort of weird Greek pharmaceutical but it is actually a meteorological term for the Mediterranean version of a Category 1 Hurricane.
An old oven near the technical high school in Chorio. There used to be a lot of these communal ovens in the residential areas of Symi but many have been demolished or have literally collapsed in recent years. Symi houses are small and fuel is scarce. The big cast iron range cookers that were fashionable in 19th century Europe never made it to Symi. Instead there was an open hearth in the kitchen with wrought iron trivets for cooking over a small wood fire. Once a week or so or on special occasions an outdoor oven such as this one would be used to bake bread, roast meat and prepare other specialities that required an oven. When I first came here in the 1990s it was still common to see housewives carrying trays of food to the bakeries of Chorio to cook in the ovens as they cool in the afternoon. Nowadays they have modern electric ovens like everyone else – and air conditioning to cool the house after a day’s cooking.Most doors and windows on Symi are wood. There are, however, quite a few steel courtyard doors around if one looks about. This one is relatively recent in that it was welded rather than riveted. The floral motif on this one caught my eye.These days the bulls eye on the pediment is usually a solid motif but in the older houses this was an important part of ventilation for the house. Heat rises and escapes from the roof space through the lacy ironwork.The Blue Star 1 powering past the entrance to Pedi, on her way to Rhodes. Playtime in Pedi Bay.The monastery of Profiti Ilias (Prophet Elijah), perched on a crag overlooking the Pedi Valley.Sand and straw in a builder’s yard in the Pedi valley.Those brown bottles must have been there for a very long time, probably since long before I started work at the Valanidia on the Pedi road, yet I only noticed them this summer. The labels have washed away and they are held in place by a bit of fencing. They aren’t broken so it is possible that they were originally in boxes or some kind of packaging which has rotted away over the years, leaving the bottles to gently topple over against the pig wire.Preparing for the rain in one of the walled gardens behind the beach in Pedi.Pomegranates ripening in a garden up at Megalo Sotiris.And down at sea level on the north shore of Pedi bay. There is a bit of a cave in the hillside behind the tree which has been waterproofed with cement and secured with a door which you can just see on the right. When houses are small, the occupants tend to spill out into their surroundings and before the advent of the ‘marina’ the north shore of Pedi bay was a picturesque row of outdoor kitchens and living spaces in the summer.Doesn’t that sparkling water sing you siren songs? Pedi bay last week.A windy sky. My pomegranate tree is never very productive. This year it is providing support to a random handful of ipomea (morning glory). Reach for the skies…
The weather is turning early this year. The first part of this week shipping was disrupted by northerly gales in the Northern and Central Aegean caused by Storm Xenophon. Now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the optimistically named Medicane Zorbas. This sounds like some sort of weird Greek pharmaceutical but it is actually a meteorological term for the Mediterranean version of a Category 1 Hurricane. The Mediterranean Sea is over-heating and feeding storms more commonly associated with the tropics. Zorbas is currently revolving over the Ionian and South Peloponnese. Crete is already feeling its effects in the form of storm surges and gale force winds. It is moving slowly towards us and the various computer projections seem undecided as to when and where it will hit the Eastern Aegean and Dodecanese. The bulletins are changing hourly, the shipping companies are struggling to keep up and travellers are worrying about planes, ferries, connections and insurance. Somehow the last weekend in September is behaving like the last week in October.
I had to go down to the harbour this morning to see the dentist. Symi may be a tiny island and somewhat inaccessible but we do have two excellent dentists and, despite the various ferry disruptions, my new bridge arrived in time to be fitted this morning. The harbour, Yialos, was very busy as some late season fancy yachts had decided that retail therapy was the answer on a grey blustery day. The water taxis and excursion boats aren’t running today due to the anticipated storms so late September visitors were also in the coffee shops and boutiques rather than sunning themselves outside the Pedi Beach Hotel. Workmen were banging in battens and balancing on ladders, rigging the plastic ‘tents’ that provide protection against the elements for those hospitality venues that stay open through the winter. This ritual is usually performed in late October or early November, not the last week in September.
It is by no means cold. It is about 28 degrees today and very humid under a heavy blanket of cloud. The day has been punctuated by intermittent showers and the wind is starting to rise, buffeting the yachts at anchor in Pedi bay.
Have a good weekend – and I will let you know if Zorba came to visit or passed us by.
You never know what you are going to spot, walking around Symi. Anyone who knows where these are, please comment on this blog 🙂Back in the 80s and 90s this was a tourist shop at the bottom of the Pedi road. Now you have to go to Yialos to buy sunhats, sarongs and beach towels.It may still be hot and the first rains are still about 6 weeks away but this local works on his garden every day. I have noticed a big increase in agricultural activities on Symi in recent years. The only way to survive on an austerity income is by living off the land as far as possible.Tyres perish in the hot Symi sun. It is not unusual to see various protective improvisations like this one.If I had not heard the bleat I would never have noticed this nanny goat. She looks almost as weather-beaten as her surroundings.Beehives. Symi honey is prized for its delicate herbal flavours from wild mountain thyme, sage and rigani. You can find it for sale in limited quantities at several of the supermarkets, grocers and tourist shops.August is definitely over. There are very few yachts in Pedi now and they are of more modest proportions. The rich and famous have gone to play somewhere else or are back in their counting houses, counting out their money.The so-called marina in Pedi. As you can see, it is far too narrow to be a marina. Only very small local boats can squeeze inside. Apparently the plans did not take into account the widening of the waterfront between the time the original survey was done and construction actually started so the enclosed area is 4 metres narrower than originally intended. No comments please! Visiting yachts can tie up on the outside. Unfortunately there are no actual amenities available so don’t expect shore power, laundry, wifi or hot showers. It is, however, conveniently solid to tie up to if you are tired of rowing an inflatable full of shopping across the bay in a brisk catabatic.Fishermen’s cottages on the northern Pedi waterfront, as seen from the head of the marina.And finally, spotted in the Chorio car park… Cats don’t have the monopoly on cuteness around here.
August is over. The crowds have gone. The children are preparing for another school year. Next week the ferry schedules change as Blue Star reverts to smaller boats on the Symi route. Good bye, Nissos Chios, Welcome Back, Patmos!
There is also far less traffic on the roads. British tourists tend to be apprehensive about hiring cars and driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. The holidaymakers from other parts of Greece and further afield who arrive with their cars on the Blue Star have also gone home again. If you do visit Symi in September it is well worth hiring a car for a day or so to explore the interior of the island and visit Kokkimides monastery, Roukoniotis monastery and Toli Bay. While there are organised mini-bus excursions if there are enough of you, having your own wheels gives you more freedom to stop and take photographs as well as linger at places that take your fancy. On a clear day you can see as far as Kos on one side and Rhodes on the other with the islands of Halki, Tilos and Nissyros also visible.
As the continent of Europe starts to cool to the north of us, so has the breeze that blows down the Aegean, bringing welcome relief from the searing temperatures of the Symi summer. It is still around 30 degrees at midday but after days in the forties, 30 seems quite mild. Nights are cooling off too. We plugged our boiler in for hot water yesterday for the first time since May. Not quite time to dig out the duvet and woolly jumpers just yet though. That doesn’t happen until early November!
Adriana Shum 