Cyprus Troodos Mountains

It was Troodos Day today. Away from the coast and building sites and up into the mountains. Up, up and away we went along very quiet, narrow and windy roads (not all that bad really – quite comparable to many of the country roads in NZ).  We saw more goats than people (until we stopped at a little church where a bus load of Germans had stopped to have a look and a coffee). Troodos Mountains is well known for its list of world cultural heritage sites – particularly churches and monasteries with amazing frescoes. As we drove past we saw lots of little churches along the way and some rather big ones as well but most of them were closed (even though that guide book said most of them were open daily!!).  We munched on cheese and crackers, Cypriot oranges and biscuits (a regular picnic lunch for us and a far better alternative to dry buns) before heading towards the Kaledonia Trail.  The walk took us down a fairly sharp drop along the river and then back up again. At the bottom is the Kaledonia Falls and after a 2km walk it was nice to sit down and listen to the falling water and the mewing cat (yes there was a cat to greet us). The falls are just below the President's summer residence which was carefully protected by lots of barbed wire. The stream we walked beside and across numerous times is called Kryos Potamos and it is one of the few streams in Cyprus that has water flowing all year round. Our walk took us past 37 different varieties of plants both native to Cyprus and imported. We were informed when we walked past a wild plum tree, alder, barberry, wild cotonester, troodos sage, foetid juniper, honeysuckle, myrtle and troodos dwarf gorse etc – but even though we are known to recognise a few plants by name all we could see twigs, trunks, stems and sticks - winter left us none the wiser really.  Except for two, the blackberry (known as the blackberry bramble on this walk) and the strawberry tree which had a lovely red bark - we'd seen the fruit before but not the rich red peeling trunk. The video we saw up at the visitors centre also told us that the mountain is home to snakes, foxes, hedgehogs, mouflons (mountain goat), eagles but most of them probably headed to the coast or south for the summer as we didn't see any - probably return in Spring when all the wild flowers are in bloom.  We were pleased with our fitness and found the uphill bit easy compared to a couple of breathless Cypriot young men we passed on the way.

It is winter and we were told to expect some snow – but there was not one little drop. The guide book (yes that book!!) said we could expect up to 3 metres of snow around Mount Olympus and that we could have a go at skiing the short runs on the southern slopes or the more challenging on the northern slopes.  The chair lifts were lying dormant and we could easily drive to the top of Mount Olympus which is 1951 metres above sea level (a bit chilly at the top but we were prepared with woolly hat and gloves - we were afterall ready to go skiing). The ski huts were lying dormant and closed and so was the little town of Pedoulas. No doubt in snowy times it would be a buzzing ski resort, but today when the sky was blue and the sun was out it looked like a shanty town sitting on a hill. We saw only 4 people on our visit to the town and our wander around the Church of the Archangel Michael which was built in 1474 and is now a UNESCO world heritage site. If we could have gone inside we would have seen some amazing frescoes apparently but instead we stood beside the church with the only noise being the click of our camera as we took some shots of the ghostly town and the mountains surrounding them. The clouds started to approach across the Marathassa Valley and it was quite mystical and eerie as we made our way back up the hill and over the other side back to civilisation.

The sun was setting as we got back to the coast and we decided to have afternoon tea at Lady’s Mile Beach just around the coast from the port at Lemesos. We were treated to a view of a calm sea in high tide in one direction and on the other side a dramatic sunset across some of the small salt lakes which we had trouble finding the previous day. There wasn’t much birdlife and since dusk is the time they return to find shelter for the night I have a feeling that guide book might have been telling porkies about our two legged feathered friends.

Road works have added some “Minties Moments” to our trip around Cyprus. First we negotiated the witches hats stuck in pot holes in the middle of the road, then we had a 2 kilometre diversion with only the first sign to tell us which road to take (amusingly the road was a bit like a dirt farm track and other rental cars were stopped along the way with motorists trying to find where they were on the map - we’d learnt - just keep going and if we're lucky we will eventually find the right road again - and if not lucky then we will see some unexpected sights along the way). Then on the way back from the mountains we followed a few diversions and ended up in what looked like a demolition site. It was dark and we had no idea where the road went until some locals came along in their 4 wheel drives, drove around these hopeless tourists, over some mounds and through a gap with some more potholes.  We needed no other encouragement - we followed them blindly onto a road we didn't quite want but it was at least closer to civilisation.  We continued up the hill away from the hotel but had a delightful evening trip through some narrow village streets and little busy squares before stumbling on our hotel. There is often no warning that roads are closed. The one we have now worked out diverts us off the main road, around a corner, turn right (you have to ignore the ‘don’t turn right sign’), through some bumps and back on the main road - easy peasy when you know how. The locals must get tired of these rental cars aimlessly driving around as a number pull out and pass us (one even drove on the wrong side of the road for a good 500 metres, with Harry saying ‘I don’t believe it, I just do not believe it’ monotonously as we followed a very long way behind).  The last comment on road works is that the workers are often not protected with high vis gear and there are usually no warning signs and lower speed limits to indicate road works.  We complain about English roadworks taking an inordinate amount of time - but at least we know that those making our roads safer and quicker are at least safe. After last nights cooking, and having spent no money today except on petrol, we shouted ourselves some dinner at a restaurant in Coral Bay. We should have gone back to the first one we tried which was far better and more Cypriot but you never know until you try. And it is Christmas Eve tomorrow. We’ll try and ring the people we love over the next couple of days and hope that we can talk to them. If not, we’ll try texting but that is a communication medium which leaves me with the question "Did they get my text?" I imagine that the skies are blocked with many of our texts never finding the right destination. So, if you see one looking homeless that says "I love you" – its from me.