It’s that time of the year when Symi alternates between clear cold sunny days (4 degrees this morning, folks!) and mild moist ones with rain from the south (14 degrees and 3-dimensional damp). It is the week of Carnival in the run up to Clean Monday and Greek Orthodox Lent so occasionally one may see a fairy princess twinkling through the lanes with her mother but most of the time one just sees snoozing cats, foraging cats, basking cats, distainful cats, tatty cats and loved cats, all looking for a patch of sunshine out of the biting north wind.
This is the first really cold winter we have had since the freak snowfalls of January 2022. There hasn’t been any snow on Rhodes so far this year – all the rain fell in the early part of the winter, long before the temperatures started to plummet. We have had sustained periods of temperatures in single figures, with days that have not risen above 9 degrees centigrade and night time temperatures around 3 degrees.
As you may know, central heating is rare in Greece, certainly in the southern regions, and using air conditioning for heating is expensive so many homes have old-style wood burners or new-style pellet stoves to keep warm. We also wear lots and lots of layers of clothing, even indoors! There is no shortage of firewood this year – many trees succumbed to the heat and either died off completely or lost substantial branches. Every afternoon I hear chain saws buzzing away in the Pedi valley and see pick up trucks laden with logs heading in different directions. The air is fragrant with wood smoke.
On a more serious note, this Friday, 28 February, there are country-wide strikes in protest at the poor handling of the investigation of the Tempe train accident which took place on 28 February 2023. There was a head-on collision between two trains. It was a holiday period and there were many students and young people among the 57 fatalities. The families are still waiting for justice. At the same time it is also a holiday long weekend this year as Monday 3 March is Clean Monday. If you are travelling in Greece at this time, please be patient and tolerant.
Adriana Shum 
Thanks for the update, Adriana. Here it’s a warm cat, as she’s an old girl who doesn’t move far from a comfy chair near a radiator, and soggy fingers. We’ve had more than our fair share of rain this winter and although temperatures are above freezing, they’re not far enough above for comfort. We hope to see you in the second half of September – it’s been so hot in recent years that we’ve chosen later flights than what had become the norm – meanwhile, have a good Spring and keep the occasional updates going if you can.
Jan