Here are my Symi thoughts for today.
The weather is still the talk of the town at the moment, what with devastation in Skopolos, Bodrum being flooded and Rhodes getting an extra day of storms on Wednesday. It was still a bit cloudy on Symi yesterday, with more rain forecast on Thursday but at least it’s not as stiflingly hot as it has been recently, and the wind is not high, so the boats are not affected.
While we’re rabbiting on this morning I thought I’d put up some of Neil’s photo taken the other day in Yialos. More ‘portraits’ of folk on holiday and working in the harbour. The season is still going on, and doesn’t end here for a few weeks yet; usually around mid to late October. Mind you, we do have sailing boats coming in through and into November when we also have lots of visiting Greeks and others, for the festival at Panormitis on 7th – 9th November.
This doesn’t mean that all the shops stay open though. Some do, and just about everything in the village stays open. What closes for the winter? Well, a couple of tavernas and one or two shops, but that’s it. The cafes up here are all open, the Olive Tree has a couple of quiet months off in the early New Year, but the others, with more indoor seating, are open. Down in the harbour a few more places close, to the extent that there are only a couple, like To Spitiko and Aris open. Many of the bars are still going but again the ones with outside seating (mainly) tend to be shut. But that’s all a long way off yet.
As I’m writing this I am watching the Panagia Skiedani coming in, and it looks pretty full. Neil told me that when he was in Rhodes on Wednesday, getting soaked, there were hardly any taxis to be had, thanks to all the cruise ships that were in. We had one in on Wednesday too, in the evening. It’s fun on a Wednesday as the Panagia leaves at the same time the Diagoras is due in and that’s due to leave as the cruise ship arrives, while all the gullets (two Ls –note!) are trying to get a berth as well. Our mooring men do a great job down there at these times. Well, at all times.
I’ve been looking at the timetables because my nephew is due to arrive in under two weeks and I ned to figure out the best boats to get, and cross-reference that with the weather to make sure I am on the island with the airport at the right time. The Panagia is doing fewer runs soon, but still should allow me to head over on a Tuesday, to meet a Wednesday flight, if it looks like the Wednesday morning boat might be late or cancelled due to weather (too early to say yet), and the Pride is conveniently coming over on a Thursday morning so we can get back… You have to start planning these things in advance, checking the weather, organise the tickets early to make sure you have a seat, then I need to book the hotel for a night or two… The fun of island living; very suitable for frustrated travel agents like me.
There you go, that’s a ramble for you, something to read over your morning coffee. Let’s hope this cloudy stuff passes over quickly and we can get back to complaining about the heat soon. Mind you, it’s never that hot at this time of year, I am now considering a duvet back on the bed and having to work with a shirt on.
