Traveling in a pandemic is strange at the best of times and usually to be avoided. Sometimes, however, it is necessary. Like many millions of British people who have made their lives in the EU, I have had to apply for a special biometric residence permit as my old ‘blue card’ as a citizen of the EU is no longer valid (thank you, Brexit). When I phoned up in January to make my appointment at the Immigration Office in Rhodes none of us thought we would still be firmly in lockdown on 22 March. Residents of Symi were given Monday or Wednesday appointments as those are Blue Star ferry days and the time slots are tightly controlled. Miss it at your own risk as the next slot available is now September!
Apart from gathering a vast amount of paperwork, plus a few extra bits just in case, I also had to get a piece of paper from the KEP, Symi’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau at the town hall, in order to justify being allowed off the island. No ferry tickets for jolly outings.
The Monday Blue Star comes through Symi at 5 in the morning, arriving in Rhodes shortly after 6. My appointment with the authorities was for 12.30 midday. With the lockdown there is nowhere to go in Rhodes and the only way to be allowed into the usual Symi ‘killing time zone’ at the Plaza is by booking a room for the day. By walking from Akandia to the hotel, remaining in my room apart from my appointment nearby and then walking back to Akandia for the ferry back to Symi I think I was pretty well protected from picking up any unwanted souvenirs. Although I have had my first Pfizer shot, as we all know that is not a cast iron defence against the current plague.
Rhodes was moved from the Dark Red category to ordinary Red over the weekend, with effect from yesterday. The only effective benefit of this recategorisation as far as I could see was that barbers, hairdressers and manicurists are allowed to reopen, by appointment only. On my walk from the hotel to the port the only businesses that I saw that were conspicuously open were three hipster barber’s shops where trendy young men in their thirties were having their man-buns coiffed, moustaches waxed and beards groomed. The male peacock resplendent.
The rest of Rhodes town was looking very forlorn. Some places aren’t just closed due to the lockdown but definitely gone for good – windows boarded up, piles of bills stuck in the doors and for sale stickers on the walls kind of closed.
Click Away and Click and Collect type systems are supposed to be in place for the limited retail outlets currently allowed to trade but I saw little evidence of this in action. Central Rhodes town shops are mostly fancy shoe shops and designer clothing outlets – the sort of places where people want to browse and try things on before making decisions, not pop in quickly to pick up a known item. There were signs in doorways giving phone numbers for people to call to make appointments to be allowed in, along with signs advising 1 customer per 25 square metres of shopfloor, but most places were firmly closed. Masks to be worn everywhere, indoors and out, countrywide.
The lack of cafes, bars, tavernas and other eateries has also stripped central Rhodes town of people. Usually in the winter there is a thriving coffee culture, particularly around Mandraki but yesterday even the big gyros place by the bus station was closed. Take away food is permitted but if there are no people out and about there is no demand so no point in opening.
Back at the port, I was stopped by police who wanted proof that I live on Symi before allowing me to board for the return voyage. I suppose I was obviously foreign and may have looked like some kind of geriatric hippie back-packer as they didn’t seem to be checking anyone else. There were very few other passengers on the boat and most seemed to be obvious medical cases – old ladies with zimmer frames, young men on crutches or arms in plaster. Lots of soldiers, this year’s fresh conscripts heading for the excitements of a posting on Symi. No Jumbo bags or conspicuous shopping. The ferry companies are dependent on shifting freight and goods from island to island for their survival these days. The Flocafe had a meager display of buns and filled rolls that did not change perceptibly between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The other piece of news is that Symi has its first confirmed cases of Covid-19. A policewoman and her daughter who had come from Ioannina on the mainland. They are now in 14 days quarantine and others with whom they had come into contact are being tested. According to the report in Sky Rodos is that it was the child who was noticably ill whereas the mother is asymptomatic. The news broke on Sunday morning and after a certain amount of pressure, Symi town hall issued a statement to confirm the rumours. There was also an announcement in one of the Rhodian news sites. The irony of the disease being brought to the island by one of the police is not lost on the islanders. The atmosphere is subdued.
On that happy note I shall leave you.
Adriana Shum 