Today, there is a report in The Guardian titled, ‘Athens swallowed up by orange haze from Sahara dust storm.’ This is one of the images:
Photo from the Guardian
It’s true, we are currently under a cloud of dust from the south, as are other parts of Europe. We get this every year and often more than once a year, though spring is the most common season. If it rains, we call it ‘red rain’ because it leaves behind a layer of red/orange dust. We haven’t had rain since last weekend, but we have had and still are having very high winds. They are blowing the dust everywhere, so the washing is drying inside, and my nose is completely blocked and has been for some time. Because of the wind, there was only one boat yesterday, and the Blue Star didn’t run from Piraeus until nine hours after it was meant to set off, assuming it did. Boats have also been stopped today (though it’s not that blowy out there right now), and the Blue Star won’t be coming through until the afternoon, before doing a quick turnaround in Rhodes and leaving there tonight at 17.30 – at least that’s what I read on their site last night.
Yesterday, the house was vibrating under the strength of the wind, the air conditioning unit on the roof was humming, and combined with the other activity, produced a weird and very deep sound. It reminded me of the story told in the book ‘Dead Mountain’ (by Donnie Eichar) where Russian students go hiking and camp beneath Dead Mountain, only to flee during the night. Later, they were found dead in strange places and poses having seemingly run from an avalanche. The book suggests it was the sound of the wind through the pass, vibrating so low as to cause disorientation which led to panic. It’s a fascinating book – the film version takes a more Hollywood path and involves a Philadelphia Experiment kind of ending, but… Hey ho!
Hatches will remain battened today.
