The weather had more tricks up its sleeve for Athens this week; after a cold front from the north blessed even downtown areas with a dusting of snow, on Thursday strong winds from the southwest kicked up large waves drawing surfers into the chilly sea.

Being located on the closed Mediterranean, Athens is not blessed with regular large swells such as those seen in capitals on the shores of oceans such as Lisbon or Rio de Janeiro.

But when the wind blows strongly enough from a southerly direction (which is much more common in the winter months), decent surfing conditions are created on its southern coast, namely at Vouliagmeni where a deep bay channels the waves to create a playful break.

A small but dedicated group of surfers in the Greek capital keep an eye on the forecast, and when strong southerlies are predicted will invariably ditch work and flock to the beach to make the most of the waves.

The latest weather system to roll through gave them just what they were looking for, with gale force winds kicking up large waves. And while the skies remained largely overcast, the southerly winds brought milder temperatures which reached the mid teens.

Below are some images of the wintry surfing action.