Exploring Cyprus

On Sunday, after my last visit in 1995 I went to the Turkish side of the old city of Nicosia, not a lot has changed, a few important buildings have been renovated or are being renovated with EU money (how does that work?) and there are a few more tourist oriented cafes and shops but they are still selling the same kind of copy sports clothing they were 25 years ago. The biggest difference is the border crossing in the centre of the old city and the ease of getting through, just show your passport and that is it. I had imagined that the Turks being mainly moslem and that their holy day is Friday this being a Sunday the place would be just a normal working day but no they seem to have stayed with the Sunday day off as it would have been before partition. Imagine the thrill I got when crossing the UN buffer zone to find two full teams of Pakistani workers on their day off, playing an ad hoc game of cricket. The pitch was a dust bowl in the middle of the buffer zone - what would have been the moat - the boundary was marked out with old tyres and cans and there was only one set of stumps but don't get the wrong idea this was a serious match and the bowling was lethal, I wasnt the only spectator.

I went exploring last week and ended up at an excavation at Choirokoitia, it is a large Neolithic village site dating back over 10000 years which was discovered in 1934, I spent an interesting couple of hours there and felt that after walking over the whole site that I had earned a big slab of locally made chocolate cake.

Today I got as far as Limassol and I went to the castle which is also a museum, the museum was mostly a collection of old pots which does nothing for me but one of the gravestones on display took my eye, it showed the figure of a man obviously wearing chainmail, I wonder if he may have been a Crusader - fantasy is a great thing. What was really interesting was looking at the building itself, it had been a defensive or religious site for nearly two thousand years and you can see parts of earlier structures within the current building indeed some of these were pointed out notices on the walls provided by the museum staff.

Recovery and exploration

The great news is that the lurgy is now under control thanks to 'Snip' if it is available buy it now for the next time you are struck down. I have now explored the whole area of Southern Cyprus east of Larnaca and to be honest it does not entice me at all. Yesterday I went up to Lefkara thinking I hadn't been there for along time only to realise that I had been there after Keira and Charlie went home - is it an age thing or something more sinister? I went out again today and visited old haunts at Kiti and Pervolia and I must admit that the wrinklies and Russians (W&R) haven't reached that far which makes this area desirable because it is still a community.

I am gradually getting into the Cyprus way of life - late starts and not too rushed, after all I've still got four weeks to go but the clothes are getting tighter, it doesn't help that there is a souvlaki shop just up the road and they are so friendly and cheap that I feel that I must give them my business. I have also been self catering and the difference it makes cooking or salading with local fresh produce makes the meals so much more tasty.The sad news is that one of the best fish and chip shops in the world, Lambros is closed for refurbishment - never mind it should be open again when I come back in March.
One of the reasons for my explorations is to find a bolt hole for the winter when I am finished with my world travelling and this [village house in Alaminos caught my eye, no garden but a secluded courtyard and an upstairs south facing patio - I haven't dared phone to ask the price.

5 weeks in Cyprus

I had a great start to this trip and I was sitting in Frankie and Bennie's ordering breakfast within 15 minutes of joining the bag drop queue, there is something to be said for using smaller airports like Liverpool for the whole relaxed, friendly atmosphere - even the security staff smile! I had a small panic attack after dropping my hand luggage but the casings and the disc drive all clipped back into place on my laptop and as you can see it is working OK.
It is good to be back in warm temperatures and I managed a Mixed Sandwich for lunch and souvlaki for dinner on my first day. The fly in the ointment is someone kindly gave me a dose of the lurgy, so I have had two days of feeling sorry for myself but the kindly local pharmacist recommended a medication called Snip and it seems to be doing the job. Knowing Cyprus this drug is probably still in the testing stage or on the banned drugs list in the UK but it is working for me.
So tomorrow the adventures begin with some local exploring of places I don't think I have been before and to see if there is anywhere I would like to live/hibernate in the Winter.

Saga Singles Santorini.

I don't know what I expected of this Saga singles holiday but it has been a lovely experience sharing adventures with 36 like minded people. Santorini was at the top of Jan's bucket list and I had always wanted to visit the site of the massive eruption that could have been the basis of the story of the Flood. Jan would have been disappointed with the reality of the island especially Oia which I visited this morning. Oia is a beautiful extended village on the northern headland of Santorini (the iconic photo of Santorini is taken here) but it has been spoiled by being turned into a Mecca of shops selling overpriced tourist tat and is a must see site for all the visiting cruise ships, I had a walk around and left on the next available bus.
Getting away from the tourist traps there is plenty to see and do, I can recommend visits to Akrotiri - a partially excavated 4000 year old town that was buried in volcanic ash just like Pompeii and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera has wall paintings rescued from the excavations as well as other finds. The island also has walking trails which are well worth seeking out, I managed a 10 mile walk yesterday with another intrepid Saga lout, the walk took in the highest point on the island which was quite interesting when we lost the marked trail on a very steep mountainside but we survived and celebrated with a pint of Alpha.
to.

Today is the last day, we fly home tomorrow so just tonight's farewell party to look forward to.

Paros v Naxos

After two days of driving around Naxos I have come to the conclusion that Paros is a nicer destination but that doesn't take anything away from the people of Naxos who away from the tourist centres are friendly, funny and very forgiving of my poor language skills. Naxos is mountainous and the views from some of the headlands are spectacular, the north west coast was my favourite and I shared beaches with herons and a mega-friendly cat who watched me as I combed the beach.

These islands would be ideal to cruise around, they are close together and have hundreds of little coves and small harbours which are the highlight to any visit.
Tomorrow we head back to Santorini with the risk of thunder storms en-route.

Paros to Naxos

I rode a scooter for the first time in my life on Sunday - never again, it was the most unstable thing I have ever been on and combine that with a single gear automatic gearbox it was an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately I survived and the little buzzy thing took me to the beautiful village of Lefkes where I wandered the streets and had my first ever visit to a kafeneon where I enjoyed watching the world go by with the locals. 

I went back again yesterday and walked the Byzantine Road from Lefkes to the port of Piso Livadi where I had lunch overlooking the harbour. Paros is a lovely island but the airstrip is being extended to take larger aircraft so the peace here will be a thing of the past.
The next adventure starts today, we catch the ferry to Naxos at midday.

We stayed in Alyki on Paros and the resort in the close season was pleasantly quite but the restaurants were still open and we were treated to wonderful sunsets every night.

Saga and Santorini

With a late arrival and various tours and reccies the time is flying, we are now on our second night in Paros after arriving last night and immediately going out for dinner at a local taverna.
The white wine here is very good, I haven't had a bad carafe yet in fact I consumed a little too much on Wednesday so I made up for it by going up to Ancient Thera on Friday morning - how is that for a view of the Aegean?

The people I am travelling with are great company, already I have spoken to all but two of the 37 on the trip. It has been an amazing experience hearing everyone's very individual story - not just a bunch of Saga old foggies but a cross-section of Britain over the last 70ish years.
I fell on my feet at this current hotel, huge room and a modern four-poster bed.