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.

Cyprus Lemasol

The creaky bones woke up a bit late the next morning and after breakfast they set out for Lemosol (Limassol to the English) with a few stops on the way. The supermarket was our first stop where we bought some fresh bread and cheese and the next stop was Cape Aspro where Aphrodite was born (near one of the rocks but we weren’t sure which). A beautiful place, limestone cliffs falling into the water, the sea murky white in places before it becomes a deep blue. The waves crash lightly on to the shore and the rocks roll around noisely as they tumble back with the waves (I had forgotten that rocks talk to you as they return to the sea). There was a family there all prepared to enjoy the day and a couple of others taking photos like us, but on the whole it felt peaceful and restful and a nice place to relax for a while.

Then onto the Kourion. It is another ruin but with an amphitheatre that has been reconstructed with some of the rocks from the original foundations. So we were keen to see it. It’s about 2,000 years old and was once the Sanctuary of Apollo and later a Christian Bishop. At one point around 4 BC it looks as though it may have been destroyed by an earthquake and one of the houses gave clues to how the locals lived in those times.  Sitting looking over the sea, high above the hill, it seemed almost impossible to imagine how people would have lived so many years ago - rather than freezing cold conditions the problems would be in the summer heat.  Eustolios of Kourion built the locals  a bath and cool place for the locals entertainment - and this was it.

And then onto Agios Nikolaos ton Gaton (St Nicholas of the Cats) but not before we followed the sign and turned left only to find it was the off ramp of the motorway – very pleased it wasn’t too busy as we were prime targets for a head on - a rather unnerving experience to say the least. The little monastery is near the salt lake (wanted to go and see it but the road isn’t that close to the lake and it looked rather swampy without any obvious paths). I was keen to see the swans, flamingos and pelicans but I guess I have seen plenty of those before. So, back to the monastery is a little oasis in the middle of a fairly arid country (we drove past the English military airbase Akrotiri which Harry thinks is used for practising bombing now - some of the peace and quiet of this area would be shattered on bomb practice days. Also learnt that the area is used to train Red Arrow pilots). We were allowed in the church and to look at the garden from a distance. Roses and hibiscus were being enjoyed by the many cats living with the monks (but perhaps not living a monks life). According to tradition the monastery was founded by St Helena who was the mother of Constantine the Great. On her trip home from a pilgrimage to the holy land she found Cyprus over run with snakes – a plague of them – and decided to send a ship full of cats to the island to get rid of them. It must have worked as we haven’t seen any more since the one Harry saw on the Akamas Peninsula and the cats are flourishing so they seem to be the victors in any fight against the snakes.  They also have some wonderful benefactors as all over the island there are little piles of biscuits and meat left by the locals.

Then on to Lemosos (Limassol to the English).  It is quite an attractive town on the shores with a little fishing port. Further around is the shipping port with huge container cranes but we could ignore that as we wandered along the promenade. We started our tour in daylight and finished it as the dark drew in - a much better time to enjoy the relaxed nature of the town with its palm trees, fountains, lights out to sea and of course all the cats getting ready for a night out on the town. There is a Carob museum but Harry wasn’t keen to go there ("It isn’t chocolate" he replied when I asked if he was interested in a visit). We wandered past the castle an old olive press,  many restaurants and cafes getting ready for the evening meals and lit with Christmas lights, little gift shops with silver jewellery, lace work, pottery, dried fruit and finally past the Mosque and Church in the town.  The castle is famous as King Richard the Lionheart married Princess Berengia there in 1191.  Apparently Richard, well known for his courage was sailing past Cyrpus on his way to the Cruisades when a storm blew one of the ships to the Cyprus shore.  On this ship was his sister and fiancee.  The ruler of Cyprus probably not recognising that there was 'a courageous man in love' on another ship imprisoned the crew and the princesses.  Richard wasn't too happy about that and he landed on the shores (not alone he had his army with him) and imprisoned the Cypriot leader Komnenos and his armies.  Grateful that he had his loved ones back he married Berengia at the castle and on leaving the island he sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar.

And that was another day over...the trip back along the motorway was uneventful.  We drove through Pafos (getting lost once again) and past a number of restaurants open for the tourist trade but with no tourists eating.
Some thoughts for the day:

• When do the Cypriots use the hay bales - is it in summer months when there is more likely to be a drought? 
• Northern Europe is having freezing cold temperatures and snow storms while we are enjoying a wintry 25 degrees.  There is problems with the EuroStar and airports and many people won't be with their families for Christmas.
• We bought some spaghetti in tomato sauce for tea and then tried to decipher the Greek instructions on the packet. We decided we couldn’t go amiss with adding water and boil till a glug and it turned out we were right.

Cyprus Akama Peninsula

We followed love around today. Yes, this is Aphrodite and Adonis land.  She was born in Cyprus and met  Adonis when he came to the place she bathed. We drove over the hill to Aphrodites Bath, following another rental car who was obviously going to the same place as we were.  We took the same wrong turnings that she took as signs are normally right on the turning and easy to miss. We walked along to where Aphrodites bathed "a pool in a grotto shaded by an overgrown fig tree, with water running down moss-covered stone" yes we went all that way to see that! The little pool is fed by a little brook falling into the hole below and has an impressive fig tree covering most of the pool (would be nice and cool in summer). The water is no longer "potable" and we weren't allowed to swim in it (I did so want to try it - because I would stay young if I could immerse myself - but alas we will have to find another place).

After taking a couple of photos we went off in search of the nature trail and found a 7.5 km hike in parts of the Akamas peninsula, up the hill and along the coast line. This was Adonis's pathway where we assume he went to hunt and look out for pirates before getting thirsty.  After reaching the top we went down along Aphrodites path – a bit of a goat track really - not sure if Aphrodite would have wandered up there without prompting from a personal trainer - but who knows.  It zigged and it zagged and was country only fit for the goats and a few hardy souls.  We saw a number of goats and fewer hardy souls and climbed up and down to the sound of music (bells around goat's neck that is)...
High on the hill is lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay odl ee lay hee ho
Loud was the voice of the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay odl oo

It would be lovely in spring as the bulbs were beginning to spring up everywhere – some with tulip type leaves, others with more daffodil-like leaves but we had no idea what they would look like when they flowered. The mountain daisies were just beginning to flower and it looked as though their were wild orchids and begonias to complete the hillside garden. We wandered past lots of lizards, discussed and decided that there would be no snakes around (then Harry saw a metre long black one slither into the undergrowth - no more going to the loo behind a bush for me!) Many of the trees and shrubs were named - there was Bramble (blackberry), a Murray Red Eucalyptus (a long way from home), lots of cactuses, thistles and different shrubs we hadn’t seen before.  At the top of the hill we settled down for lunch - which turned out to be one of our worst picnics so far – hot cross buns we’d found at the only supermarket we had come across – dry, hard and not at all appetising and a rather sour Cypriot orange which appealed more to my tastes than Harrys sweet tooth. While recovering from out walk near the car park three brown donkeys meandered past obviously going for their daily walk around the town. Nobody seemed to mind and they were happy occasionally stopping to eat before wandering home for the night. There is a donkey sanctuary run by an English couple near by - apparently the locals let donkeys go when they get old and this couple provides a retirement home for them.  The ones we saw though weren't homeless as they were happy, well groomed and very much in the prime of their life.

We are getting older and we know it. That walk did our knees in and we were giggling (somewhat hysterically at times) as we stiffly struggle to go down slopes. Going up is so easy but coming down is another story. Anyway, on the way back to the hotel and while we were looking forward to a soak in the hot pool (disappointment when we discovered it was only tepid – about 20 degrees – so got out after a few minutes and took turns to soak in the bath – took a while as the bath fills up through the shower rose!). On the way back we stopped at Adonis Bath – we saw the sign – "Adonis Bath and Waterfall – Road Suitable for all Cars". Well!! If you are a rally driver (which Harry aspired to be in an earlier life) then you would have enjoyed the trip and thought the 7euro fee each to see yet another little pool and another little waterfall (the second was only inches high) was well worth it. In any weather except desert conditions the road would have been impassable and the owners of the Adonis Bath and Waterfall probably would charge extra for towing rental cars out of ditches and mud.  A sign half way along stated that it was 12 kms to Paphos, or 5 hours which shows the owners have a sense of humour if not a sense of responsibility.Without the sign we have a feeling that most tourists would have turned around considerably earlier and forgone the visit to these baths - despite the promises of love and fertility.   We got to the pool (we were greeted by 3 very friendly dogs), paid our fee, wandered through the museum and grimaced when we realised we had to climb a few more steps to the pool. There is a little plaque to say that if you kissed the stone where Adonis bathed then the barren woman would become ‘infurtile’...and a story about the owner of the museum, waterfall and bed...
"The wooden bed, otherwise called in the old days a Tavla. On this traditional wooden bed the last Miller made 20 children with his two wives. Eight with his first wife which died very young (not surprising really - that's not part of the quote). Then he got married to another one and made another 12 with her..."
Perhaps there is something in the water after all.  The legend goes that that Adonis the God of Beauty used to tie his horses around the pool after he had hunted and a legend says that all Cypriots who live in Paphos are descendents from Aphrodite and Adonis. However, all was not peaceful in this love nest as Artmis, who was the Goddess of Hunting was jealous of the lovers. She tried to kill Adonis (not Aphrodite so it probably wasn't a triangle of love).  She had a few techniques a bit like the witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  She threw a golden almond in the baths to try and attract his attention - which his Mum probably told him never to eat - and I think if he had tried to catch it he would have been drowned by a torrent of water.  But Adonis has some friends and Poseidon the God of the Sea intervened and saved him from drowning. Another devious plan involved Mars the God of War who was asked to push the mountains onto Adonis as he bathed below – perhaps jealous Gods still cause rock slides or earthquakes. Poseiden was there again to stop disaster but not the third time.  Adonis went shooting (probably became a bit complaisant since he was such an expert) and someone mistook him for a wild boar and the rest is history.  Aphrodite missed him heaps and unlike in a Shakespearean play when she would have killed herself because of her grief she asked that Adonis be sent back to earth every six months. That happens in autumn.  In my mind a far better solution that perhaps Shakespeare could have used in a couple of his stories.

I think the thing that struck us today (besides the aching legs) was the housing construction – it is booming out here like in Malta and the Algarve.  Similar to these other places it looks as though it is on spec - come and have a look at the plans, or perhaps the outer shell and then buy.  Development is everywhere with homes half built from breeze-block and reinforced cement and huge billboards all in English advertise residential settlements looking over the sea, vineyards and groves of oranges, bananas, mandarins and olives. We felt a touch of sadness at the prospect of losing the Cypriot flavour of life with this continued development. That night we enjoyed the best meal of the trip at a local Coral Bay restaurant.  A full meze (bit like tapas) - so full that we took some home for dinner the next day.  We must have been tired, or perhaps I was just a quiet dinner companion as Harry decided to make acronyms out of the restaurant names and came up with Corolla and other car names.

Cyprus Pafos

Thursday night it snowed and snowed all around London. It was a tad colder than in Bristol but we felt the chill as well, as we stood with only a few other hardy Bristolians singing Christmas Carols around a fire.  The singing was led by a group of men that looked as though they had just come from participating in a scene of the Adams Family (black cape and black top hat all seen by a flicker of flame) but they did have nice voices which stopped the imagination flying about too much.

Friday afternoon we left early for our Christmas week in Cyprus and as we hurtled along the M4 we wondered if we would get to the hotel and then whether the next day we would be playing in the snow around London or sitting in the sun in Cyprus.  It was a five o’clock start next morning and the snow continued to look pretty but it hadn’t snowed any more so our plane was scheduled to leave fairly much on time. The airport was buzzing, as most of the flights from the previous two days had been rescheduled.  There were queues everywhere of Britons anticipating their Christmas holidays and it took over 2 hours to check our luggage in and then another 40 or so minutes standing in line for the customs check.  A few tempers frayed (like the woman who wasn't allowed to take 4 plastic shopping bags of clothes through security and threw them down in a tantrum - the security guard looked unamused and told her to pick them up and dispose of them appropriately or she wouldn't be allowed on to the plane - sense did prevail in the end). The flight went fairly uneventfully (except silly old me started to feel unwell and went straight to bed when we arrived at the hotel). I did manage a bit of navigating around pot holes and Harry successfully navigated around them in our little Chevrolet Matiz - the potholes which were rather large were a bit hard to see in the dark as the only thing that marked them was a witches hat placed in the middle of the hole. Anyway, after a good sleep for me and a fish and chip dinner for Harry we were all ready to go next morning. The hotel was a self catering place right on the beach - nice and new and clean so no complaints there.  Even had an invention which we haven’t seen before - the dishes sit in a cupboard, with a drip tray underneath it – so you put the dishes away wet, they come out dry – I guess that’s a good idea since they didn't provide tea towels but even so ours got dried with a hand towel before going into the cupboard - some habits die hard. And like some other places we’ve been to there was a notice saying ‘for your health and convenience please place the toilet paper in the bin and not the toilet’- yes that is the used bits!! It doesn’t feel like a particularly hygienic practice to us but after seeing a few blocked toilets along the way (they use narrower pipes over here) we changed our minds and decided we would continue to do as requested!!

It wasn’t a great idea to arrive Saturday night, because on Sunday most of the supermarkets are closed. We were vaguely organised with our muesli and breakfast bought from England, but nothing else. After a bit of searching we found a little supermarket to buy some essentials and from a ‘chilly’ store we bought some frozen Indian for dinner and vegetables.  The latter need an oven or microwave but we hadn't done our homework and when we returned to the hotel these bare essentials were no where to be seen.  Stir fry in one pot was the only option. After loading our food into the fridge we took off for our tour of Pafos (Paphos to the English). We wandered the streets and were a bit disappointed with the town especially the municipal gardens which were barren and flowerless. The local newspaper (yes it is in English presumably for the large expat community over here) said that the local church was suing the mayor for agreeing to pull down a wall in the gardens – not sure what wall it was – maybe it was down already. Anyway, after that little wander through some unexciting streets, we drove to the port and had a great walk around Kato Pafos – an archaeological park excavated in the 1960’s by a Polish group. It is rather special as the houses discovered are reasonably intact and there were some mosaic floors to admire - all in one piece (or lots of little pieces) and the colour and pictures are quite spectacular. We have been spoilt with seeing lots of ruins in many cities and find they have to now be rather unique to be memorable to us.  These mosaics were. The houses that are thought to be around 2000 years old look towards the sea in one direction and the hills and new city in another. There is a little lighthouse that doesn’t seem to fit between the ruins and the modern city and a fort that overlooks the port (which used to guard the town against Arab pirates in the middle ages). The port is little, with fishing boats and leisure boats moored side by side. There were boards advertising parasailing and jet boat riding but not many were open and there weren’t many tourists wanting to take up the offers (but on Boxing Day it was a different story - the place really buzzed with tourists wanting to eat and take rides in glass bottom boats). There is a few touristy shops that sell cheap souvenirs and postcards, some reasonably nice looking restaurants with mainly fresh fish on the menu (we tried one in the sun on our last day and the food was as good as it looked) and a couple of icecream vendors. There was a fresh breeze and the table cloths were pegged to the tables to keep them in one place, but not all the umbrellas, bill boards and portaloos managed to stay standing.

Question: How do you tell a local from a tourist? Hint: It has nothing to do with cameras, looking at maps, driving a rental car (which have special red number plates), looking lost.
Answer: Locals are wearing thick clothes, jackets, furry boots and hats – the tourists are wearing shorts or light trousers and a summery top or teeshirt. Yes it is 22 plus degrees here and we are enjoying the warmth after leaving a snowy minus 1 degree the day before. I do wonder what the locals would wear if they come to the minus temperatures currently in England.

 

It’s great having a rental car because we can just stay as long as we like and when we have had enough we just hop in and go somewhere else. Much better than a tour when you can only spend a certain amount of time somewhere and not somewhere else. We took off for Chlorakas which the guide book says is "on the road to Pafos and where the Church of St George is" well we found a church but it wasn’t St George's (we found that one another day when we weren't looking). We then went to the Mavrokolympos reservoir. The guidebook says "above the car park is the Adonis Baths and a 32 foot water fall". Think we’ll return this guidebook back to the library with pleasure when we return to England.

We wandered for a bit around the reservoir and found what we thought was a water fall (well it would have been one if there was some water) and no sign of the Baths and then drove back down the roads past lots of banana plantations (with all the bananas wrapped in blue plastic bags to protect them from the tee shirt weather we were having). After heading down the hill we found Coral Bay where we sat and had a nice cup of tea (green tea with milk cos someone who shall remain nameless didn’t keep the black and green tea bags separate) sitting on the beach and very glad it isn’t summer when "all summer long it is covered by rows of sunbeds for hire, and there is a wide choice of water sports" oh for the peace of winter!