Activity in the harbour, Symi

In Symi Bad weather and the cafe bars are packed.

There is nowhere quite like the cafe in Symi, esspecially during or after a storm, some take a stiff drink after pumping out a boat, others sip coffee discussing damages, or just getting away from the ‘drips’ in the house.

The seawater by the bridge and on the South Side of the harbour has drained away, leaving rubble and dirt in its path, awnings flapping in the wind and more than a couple damaged. As one woman said “The harbour looks like a Steven Fry horror movie”, one of the boat captains “worst weather we have had in four or five year”. Tales of going out in the night to tie back the shutter, front door slamming and being stuck out on the street in pyjamas and slippers. Friends laugh together, it unites us.

I was surprised to see that the Proteus ferry had moved disappeared, surely not gone out in this weather. Not so surprised to learn she was taking shelter in the bay of Nimborio. The worst is over and I look on as she returns to her normal mooring, stern on.

Hopefully things will get back to normal soon; selfishly I’m waiting for packages from Amazon.com, and anticipate new books with the next post delivery, the shipping services are our lifeline.

Enough distraction, back to the serious stuff of my study. Plan to get a lot done, before my visit to Cambridge next month. Like everything here that’s permitting I get off the island. ;-)