Troodos.

We decided to have a day up in the mountains.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, but Kyle was reluctant at first, but soon got into it.  We all had a go, spent a couple of hours there and at Sun Valley and then had a look at the main square in Troodos, before popping in, just to look at Troodos camp all covered in snow.  Finally, we all headed back home for tea.  Not surprisingly, Kyle slept all the way back in the car.

Slip Sliding on Mount Olympus, Troodos from Raveydv on Vimeo.

Christmas day.

We had decided that we would have a swim on Christmas day, just because we could.  When the day came, it seemed more than a bit chilly, but we decided to go ahead with it anyway.

Elena was first in and the only way to do it was.. quickly.  She ran in while I was still getting changed.  I chased after her with the camera, but it wasn't possible to get any decent photos just standing by the shore, the only way was to get in there.  I quickly finished changing and took a couple of shots from in the water.  It was very cold, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Elena said it was like bath water going back in the second time after coming out for a minute or two.  I wouldn't quite go that far, but it certainly seemed warmer the second time around.  Actually, I could have stayed a little longer and had a proper swim, but Kyle was looking a bit bored, so we literally stayed just to take a couple of photos then got dried and went home.  As we were coming out another couple, seemingly inspired by our attempt also went in.  A few other people were around, but just looked at us as if we had all gone mad, perhaps we are, who knows?

Christmas Eve bouncing.

Kyle's Christmas present was delivered by Santa and erected today,

His good friend Braydon came round with his mum and dad and Braydon and Kyle had a bounce, while the grown-ups chatted over tea and coffee etc. 

Kyle and mum had a little bounce later on and dad even had a go too!  Seems like great fun and quite good exercise into the bargain.  I just hope that the interest lasts, cos it took quite a while to put it all together.  May be something on which to burn off some Christmas pounds methinks!  Also, it takes up a lot of the garden!  Oh well!

Rainy day.

At last the rain came!  Of course, we would have preferred if it had held off just a few more days, but much rain was needed!

It started yesterday and has been falling for 24 hours almost non-stop.  It has been accompanied by thunder storms and strong wind.  It seems to be settling down a bit as I write (mid day Tuesday 23rd, but it doesn't look too hopeful that it'll clear enough to fly today.  Kyle has been fascinated by the amount of rain and is itching to go out in his wellies and play.  We'll go down to Curium beach for a look in a short while and watch the huge waves crashing on the beach.  I love wild winter seascapes like that!   I think that, whilst a help, the island needs much more water than this, but still, this is a start for sure!  Just hope we get some nicer weather for Christmas day.

First fire.

We lit our first fire this year the night before last - Pete's last night here, the 28th Nov, after we had been for a rather pleasant meal at Chris' Kebabs in Akrotiri, paid for rather kindly by Pete - thanks!  It wasn't that cold really, but Elena was complaining she was cold, so I lit one for her.  Same occurred today, she was feeling a bit nippy, so I lit one again for her.  I don't personally feel it's that cold, but we can't have mi' lady chilly now can we?

Fireworks

We went to Akrotiri to watch the display, since Epi was £5 entry fee!  The display was quite good and afterward we headed back home.  It made a pleasant change not to be huddled up with coats on, trying to get as near as possible to the fire to keep warm!

Weather.

It's six thirty am and it's just getting light.  The sky is clear and the temperature about 19°C.  It's not quite cool enough outside to make me want a jacket.  Here are the details:

Yummy!

Kyle decided that he would like some fruit today, so we went to Episkopi village and bought some of the usual fare.  As we were passing Akrotiri I noticed a fig tree and a few of the fruits looked ripe for the picking, so we took a few of them home with us.  Once home, I couldn't wait to wash a couple and try them.  I persuaded Kyle to have a taste and was somewhat surprised to find that he loved it and immediately wanted another  one.  We've set the remaining four fruits on a saucer by the window to ripen a little more, but I reckon they will be nice with a little cereal over the weekend.  So pleased he's willing to try new things and especially glad when he enjoys the ones that are good for him.  What a good lad!

Special helper/Rain day.

The Huge honour for Kyle at his nursery, is to be 'Special Helper'.  I guess all the kids feel the same way, but he really puffs with pride when he gets to wear that sticky badge and tell me, "I was Special Helper today daddy"!  He got to be 'SH' last Thursday on his birthday, but of course didn't mind being bestowed the honour again today!

 

Another special occasion today, was may have been a one-off, OR the start of the rainy season.  From mid-afternoon the heavens opened and it bucketed down like we had so far not yet seen on this island!  It was very refreshing and where there is normally a road outside our house a river ran for a couple of hours.

I was very pleased that Elena thought to take these few photos to mark the occasion!  I'm sure that English people think we are mad, but we are so excited and impressed by rain out here.

Of course, we're hoping it's not like this every day from now on, but it has certainly freshened the air up a little bit and I suppose it must have helped the water situation, even if only a little bit!  We are certainly noticing the temperature gradually falling slightly now, almost daily and I, for one am getting to feel the cold in bed at night and find I'm ready for a quilt over me.  Soon we will have come one full circle and it'll be time to light a fire in the evening.  Kyle will be happy then!

Polis.

Today we took a little trip up north to Polis, just to check the area out.

Polis is reckoned to be one of the most authentic Cypriot towns, but lately has been slipping under the  tide of the tourist industry.

You certainly can see the effects of creeping tourism, but it is still very picturesque and it is possible, certainly at this time of the year to give the tourists the slip if you really try.

We stopped just east of Latchi harbour and had a little swim, but it's not particularly child friendly for non-swimmer little ones, since the beach is quite steep and stony.

It's OK for adults, but a little  tricky for youngsters.  Hence, Elena and I had a little swim and Kyle a paddle, then a play on the sand, before moving on.

Next we drove west to the Baths of Aphrodite, where we had a fairly unremarkable lunch, before making our way along the track beside the coast.  It's a little bumpy and Elena is not a fan of being shaken about in a car, so we pulled in at a suitable little cove.  It was disappointing how much litter and general rubbish was to be found laying around up there.  Such a shame people cannot show a little more respect for their surroundings.  This spoiled it for us a little bit and I decided I did not want to go for a snorkel amidst floating carrier bags, cigarette ends etc, so we just had a bit of a look around and then headed for home.  On the way back we called in at the village of Neo Chorio for a drink and then hit the trail back home.  All in all a good recce and we'll definitely go back for another look sometime.  In particular, I think we could have done considerably better eating in one of the cafés at the side of the Latchi harbour.  All part of the learning curve for our next visit!

Snorkelling

We decided to go along to Cape Gatta, where a friend had told us we could walk on the jetty and feed the fish.  Indeed you can and the temptation to get in a do a little bit of video was just too much to resist.  Here are our efforts:

Snorkelling at Cape Gatta. from Raveydv on Vimeo.

On two wheels at last!

On Thursday afternoon I had a driving job, I had to run some people to Larnaka airport, but after I'd returned we went down to Happy Valley with Kyle and his bike, minus the stabiliser wheels. For some reason, he decided he just wanted them gone and so we took him onto the grass area there at first.  He got it instantaneously and then insisted that he wanted to ride on the car park, because it would be easier.  He must have just known he was ready, because he took to it immediately and, apart from needing a little help at first to get started, he just sped off and didn't want to stop.  It was about as much as we could do to coax him off the bike and back into the car to go home.  this is a picture of him taken today in the Ermes car park, still keen as ever to show off his skills.  It's lovely to watch them develop!

Lonely coffee pot.

I was forced to have a coffee today without my partner in caffeine (Andrea - AKA Teta Adka).  I made a brave face of it, but the cafetiere looked pretty sad and Elenka very supportively joined me for a brew.  Ah well, suppose there'll be next year, or possibly later this year if Pete comes to visit (sigh!).

Visitors.

Aunty Andrea and Michal came to visit, so we have been enjoying playing tour guide.  We didn't seem to get an awful lot further than the beaches, but we managed to visit a few of those.  They seemed to be fairly impressed with Curium beach and so spent a bit of time there, then Elena and Kyle showed them around the ruins.  When I got some time off work we ventured west to Coral Bay and took a little stroll around Paphos, stopping off for some photos at Aphrodite's Rock.  We also had a look around Limassol and the local area.

Strangely, when they first arrived it was rather cloudy.  Having not really encountered clouds since we first got here back in February, we were a bit shocked at this, but we need not have worried, because everything returned to the normal 30 something degree heat and clear blue skies in no time.

So, we finally travelled further afield, to Nisi Beach, Agia Napa, which turned out to be Andrea's favourite and finally got to visit the Water Park at Fassouri too.

The weather and the beaches proved to be too much of a lure unfortunately, but here's to the next visit and hopefully getting A & M to Nicosia and up to the beautiful north of the island, as well as maybe up to the Akamas peninsular.  Now it's just a few hours before our visitors have to return home to Slovakia, where apparently the temperature will be in the low 30s too, so at least they won't immediately feel cold upon their return.  It's been nice having family to stay and it'll be sad to see them go, but we'll look forward to next time!

Boy-fish.

Our little dolphin-boy went to the pool with mummy, Eta and the girls today and mummy had a bit of a play with the new camera.  Here are some of the results:

 

Sandboy.

Kyle loves the water and he loves the sand.  He's not too keen on getting water in his eyes, but then what kid is?  He's really taken quite well to the sea and is very persistent in his attempts to swim, so I am sure it's only a matter of time before he gets it.

I couldn't help thinking he looked like 'Riddick' or somebody from a similar science fiction movie in this shot.  One of those post-apocalyptic kids that has been surviving in the desert somewhere, living among a colony of hardened survivalist primitives.  No?  OK, perhaps it's just my over-active imagination then!  Anyway, quite a cute picture I thought and an opportunity to show off our nifty new little camera at the same time.

Konnos Bay.

We met up with Mike today and he played guide, taking us to Konnos bay, where we snorkelled and Kyle splashed happily.  Afterwards we went to a little taverna near Protaras and had a nice vilage salad with fries, before taking a look at Kavo Greko near Agia Napa.

A very pleasant day out - thanks Mike!

A family/friends day out today.

Today we went for a pleasant day at a different beach, other than our norm.  We took a trip out with Dudley, our very good friend, to Coral Bay, just north of Paphos.  It's a very nice resort, with fine, soft sand, set in a large bay, with rocks either end.

Kyle played with his new boogie board, (a gift from Duds) and thoroughly enjoyed getting under the water with his goggles on.  Fortunately, by means of Dud's snazzy new underwater camera, we were able to get some nice shots of the boy wonder in action.  We stayed for a couple of hours and then made our way back home for a BBQ.

Goodbye to little friends.

The last day one of Kyle's best little friends is in the neighbourhood today.  He's certainly going to miss Summer-Lou and a few of the other kids!  Hopefully, there will be an influx of new little friends soon and he'll find new ones to play with.

The thing is, he gets on so well with little Summer-Lou and he will certainly miss her.  Kids are fickle though and have short attention spans, so I'm sure he'll bounce back!  I wonder if she'll miss him, when she gets back to England?  I suppose so (at first anyway)!

He has enjoyed our first four months here in Cyprus and finding new friends has been key to that.  Here's to little Summer-Lou and her family - have a happy time back in UK, and who knows, it's a strange world, we may even bump into you again some time.  All the best!

Breakfast.

 One of my favourite breakfasts, I have to say, is '7 Days' croissants and percolated coffee.  Add to that water melon (which I personally can take or leave) and Kyle is in seventh heaven!  Today, mum was out for a run, so we set out as the hunter-gatherer alpha-males we are to find a nice breakfast.  At the Ermes, the b'fast we found was the afore-mentioned croissants.  We took them home, set the table, brewed the coffee and - presto!  A breakfast fit for a caffeine-phile such as me!  Mummy duly arrived and much chomping ensued.  It's really starting to get warm now and quite difficult to feel cool in the house.  Summer's a comin' and the Neals are lovin' it!!

Update.

What have we been up to during the last week?  Well, let me see, the usual - a bit of paragliding for me and sunbathing and swimming for Elena and Kyle.  Then, this weekend we finally bought that much needed vacuum cleaner in downtown Λεμεσος.  We are still on the commerce learning curve here, as we purchased a machine for about €200, only to find that it's theoretical price should be about €127.  I say theoretical because that's IF you can find one here!  We should have learned by now (and yet now surely HAVE learned) that you cannot do anywhere near as well as to order via Internet (Amazon usually), then claim back the VAT and sit and wait for it to be delivered, oh well, never mind!  On the flip-side, the whole purchasing experience here is completely different.  Here, you the customer, are a VIP in any shop and the assistant is not doing you a huge favour by serving you, as the culture in UK would have you believe.  Out here the customer is king!  Anyway, we bought it and, aside from a little disappointment over the whole price thing, we are very happy with it, since now our carpets are clean, which makes Elena especially happy!

Today meanwhile, was the fourth anniversary of the Fasouri Flea market, so we thought we'd give it a look-see.  Nothing special on there, but we amused ourselves with the usual - the café, the bouncy castle for Kyle and purchased a few odds and sods, then as the wind was so strong we considered the beach to be a non-starter, so went instead to relax beside the pool.  Kyle enjoyed splashing about there by way of a change and then Elena went out in the evening with some of her buddies from the nursery.  A pleasant enough day and still one more day of weekend left!

Trip to the north.

We had a long weekend and so we decided to go up to Kyrenia and stay one night and explore a bit.  We visited St Hilarion castle, which is a little way off the route from Nicosia to Kyrenia and is very impressive and quite cheap to visit (about ­€4 pp).  It climbs up through 3 levels and is quite a hike to the top, especially for a small child, but we made it and posed for photos all the way up!

After a couple of hours wandering around the castle (and a couple of visits to the cafés) we headed down the hill to Kyrenia/Girne.  A very short recce in town secured a very reasonable B&B for the night at about €48 and we were sorted with a little home from home some 500m from the town centre.

One of the useful features of the hotel was the lovely pool, complete with kiddies pool, which Kyle was reluctant to leave.  Nevertheless, we did leave and went for a wander into town in search of a late afternoon meal.  We found a little place (having been advised to avoid the harbour) and had a reasonable meal for around €30 for the three of us.  We then took a stroll through the harbour and out around the old castle, before heading for 'home', at which point we systematically 'flopped', starting with yours truly!  The hotel was fairly comfortable - certainly adequate for our needs.

The following morning (Tuesday), we were up bright and early, as Kyle had decided to make an early start (circa 0600).  We went along in search of breakfast about 0745 and found it around 0800.  After feeding, we went for another splash in the pool and Kyle decided he was a real water-baby, splashing in the kiddie pool and singing at the top of his voice.  Clearly, this is a lifestyle he could quite easily become accustomed to!

All in all, a very pleasant stay and enjoyed by all.  On the way home we stopped in a Macdonalds in Nicosia, not an altogether genius move, as Kyle has been asking to go there ever since.  Ah, kids - the joys!