STOP PRESS - DUST

 


Like a fog it was rolling up the Gulf when we got up this morning. Linda (on Poros) had disappeared into the miasma by 8am. By 9 Aegina was looking distinctly soft focus, and by 0930 this was the view over central Athens from down by the Perama shipyards

We can taste it, dirt in your mouth. Those masks are at last coming in useful.....


It even seems to have trapped and be carrying along a distinct whiff of heavy marine fuels combustion (ship's exhaust fumes), which is also fairly yuck.

Comments

  1. Hari Om
    Ah, the Saharan drift, eh? When we lived in Nigeria, every year the Harmattan winds brought the sands south to cover us and I can so easily remember that dust in mouth and eyes you mention - and up the nose and on the skin and in the hair......... hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx

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    1. You were probably a lot closer to it there than we are here. F's not even covinced it could be traced back to Sahara despite people's convictions.

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    2. Hari OM
      That harmattan travelled about 5000 kms... so I doubt we were closer! The European dumping of Saharan dust is an established meteoroligal fact... no mere conviction! Makes for spectacular photographs, that's for sure... (I must see if I can find mine from last century). Yxx

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  2. OH NO! I had not idea you have dust storms like the ones they have in our western states. When the photos came up, I thought what beautiful fog photos, dust is another story.... Hope it doesn't stay long. I assume you will be housebound until it leaves?

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    1. Not really a storm; more of a slow smorhering in a wooly blanket. So those masks have co e in useful at last. No not housebound, doors all open so lots of it gets inside..... (some humans seem to like cleaning up dust). xxx Tigger

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  3. You've got a heavier sky than we do here. It's very dull still but the sun does poke through. There are rumours of a little rain. I hope damn not. We've just whitewashed. Don't want nasty red streaks over everything

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    1. 3 spots as F was leaving on the bike. Weak sun all day except for an hour or two in the middle (blazing and hot - the blinds even got lowered). We hope you get to ztay white and streak free for a bit longer.

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  4. Yes, the masks do come in handy for some things! Looks yucky and I bet it smells awful. At least you get some pretty sunsets from it.

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  5. What is it that causes the dust in such quantities? We don't have that but we do get sea fret a lot - 5 miles inland it can be blazing an yet freezing on the coast.

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    1. We are led to believe the dust blows off the deserts in the northern part of the African continent. Bloggers in France are also complaining about 'Saharan' dust right now. Piraeus is permanently dusty irrespective of whether it is coming form as far away as Africa or not. The daily dust layer on our tiled balcony creates a low friction effect nearly as lethal as wet glazed tiles. We sweep and sweep and sweep. Other people daily hose down their balconies and the street in front of their buildings. The amount of water that runs down drains around here simply to move dust, would rival any cowshed water consumption I've ever seen.

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