February is slipping past and spring is overtaking a winter that didn’t really happen this year. Oh, we have had rain and wind and ferry cancellations and flight disruptions but by and large we have had a very mild winter. Temperatures have seldom dipped below 12 degrees centigrade on Symi and on sunny days it can be as warm as 26 degrees centigrade. There are concerns in Crete and on the mainland as the mountain areas have not had enough snow to feed the streams and rivers, a problem that is affecting many European countries as snowfall diminishes and glaciers recede in the Alpine regions.
Symi is very quiet at the moment. Some days it seems as though it is an island of cats, chickens and sheep rather than people, particularly on a ‘Blue Star‘ day when it feels as though the whole population of Symi has gone shopping on Rhodes. The winter bus service is severely curtailed. Only 3 trips in the morning – at 8, 11 and 1 from Yialos – and then 6 in the evening. No where to go and not much to do outside the nest.
The main human activity is on the building sites. The new hotel in the southern corner of Pedi is nearing completion. Work is continuing on the new sewage processing plant at the bend in the road above the new port, as well as the new road from the port which will join the main one at that junction. It was announced in the Greek press yesterday that the continuation of the commercial port from Petalo towards the new port has been approved and is out to tender. Apparently this will also include a new slipway so that the slip by the customs shed by the bridge can be closed off. The overall plan is to further reduce heavy traffic around the head of the harbour.
Greek Easter is very late this year, on the first weekend in May. As western/Catholic Easter is very early, at the end of March, April is likely to be quieter than usual. There are the usual fraught speculations regarding ferry schedules and who is opening when and is it worth opening up when there are unlikely to be enough customers to cover costs and so on. As it is, far fewer places than usual stayed open this winter. The big push to digitise the Greek economy and clamp down on tax evasion has had the knock on effect of killing the old ad hoc winter ‘let’s open on Friday night and see who turns up’ trade as everyone has to operate ‘by the book’ these days and that is just far too expensive in tiny places like Symi.
On that subject, you will see far more POS devices when you visit Greece this year. Every kind of business, including freelancers and the self employed, now have to be able to accept all kinds of card payments. There is an understandable reluctance on this, despite heavy state pressure, as service charges on card transactions are so high. The POS device has to be connected to the till which has to be connected to Taxisnet, the Greek tax portal, in real time. We also have to accept IRIS payments which are through an app on your phone. To add to the fun, there is a government app you can download to your phone so if you think you have been issued with a dodgy receipt or that someone is evading their taxes, you can report them to the tax office and there are actually prizes for doing this.
Adriana Shum 
Thsnk you Adrian’s for such an interesting update. There seems to be no hiding place from the taxman anymore! Not like the old days. I see Jet2 are offering package deals to Symi now.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of uptake Jet2 get. The accommodation they are offering is all in hotels that have dealt with various package holiday companies in the past. I hope that the hotels get a better deal than used to be the case, where they were paid half nothing, had to wait forever for their payments and were often left with rooms empty because the holiday company insisted on holding them until the last minute ‘just in case’ so ordinary people couldn’t book them ahead of time. Symi is a place where off-the-street hotel bookings rarely happen – once the last boat has gone, that’s it until tomorrow.
Thanks, Adriana. Always good to get a view of island life in the winter – and it’s certainly winter in the UK in terms of rain. Not particularly cold but certainly wet!
Hope to see you in September – we’ll be on the island for a little less than 3 weeks.
Jan
That’s great. How many years is it now?
A good question. We first arrived in 1981 on a day trip from Rhodes and were immediately hooked. At that point my brother was working in Athens and we spent a number of years topping and tailing short stays there with a couple of weeks, at first exploring the Peloponnese then island hopping (you name it, we might have been there). We never found anywhere but Crete which rivalled Symi (chalk and cheese, you might think) and still return to both. Crete we backpack in the south west and stay 4 or 5 places with people we’ve come to regard as friends; Symi is much more convivial of course though we ‘found’ George and Julie when they were at the (much missed) Katerinettes and moved with them to Harani where we stay just below their own house. Yes, there are so many other islands and since retiring we’ve been adding on others to the end of the Crete trip but so many of the Cyclades are no longer our cup of tea. Tried Naxos last year but found it full of Americans on hired beach buggy things ‘doing’ the island in a day. I’m eternally grateful that we went to Santorini in the 80s – wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole now.
Jan
Hi Adriana
Ilove reading your newsletter as we rent a house on Symi every summer. I wondered if you had any news on Nos beach for this summer?
Caroline
Caroline Rowland C.Psychol
Laidlaw Associates Ltd
http://www.laidlawassociates.co.ukhttp://www.laidlawassociates.co.uk
07768564041
Hi Caroline,
As far as I know NOS beach is still mired in bureaucracy and has to be put out to tender. I haven’t seen any chat about it recently in the various Greek-language Symi Facebook groups where the locals discuss what is going on.
Thanks
Caroline Rowland C.Psychol
Laidlaw Associates Ltd
http://www.laidlawassociates.co.ukhttp://www.laidlawassociates.co.uk
07768564041
Hi Adriana, I always look forward to your update. Some interesting developments on the Gov cracking down on tax evasion. I look forward to your next update which is always welcome.
Kind regards
Malcolm ( from near Manchester, England)
Hi Adriana, good to see your blog again.
You mention a new hotel on the south side of Pedi, is that near Taverna Tolis?
No, Taverna Tolis is on the north side and Asymi Residences has been there awhile. Another, much bigger, hotel is being built on the slope in the corner above Kamares, before the bay curves round to St Thomas’ church and the path to St Nicholas beach.
Ah, thank you. Kamares was a favourite place to stay for a good few years. Still in contact with Sevasti!