Cam’s busy day

We went to Curium and Elena took the kids to the ancients while I flew.  They had a lovely time, walking around the ruins and the amphitheatre, Kyle just about running everywhere and Cameron soaking it all up.   After that we all went down to the beach and had a long swim out to the buoys together, being very careful to all stay close together, Kyle with his armbands, Cam with the boogie board strapped to her wrist.  I think the only knackered ones were myself and Elena, trying to keep up!  We all had a lovely day and came home, were we all showered off the salt and sand and rounded the day off with a BBQ, which we almost managed to devour.  Very tired now, I must say!

Cyprus-London and back again

I went to pick Cam up from UK for her first visit with us here.  Above is a picture of her at the terminal at Luton on the dreary, rainy, 27th.  Four and a bit hours later and things were a tad bit different.  Apart from getting the chair that doesn’t recline, the journey was way better than the one out from Larnaca 24 hours previously.  I am sure I won’t be flying with Monarch again any time soon, unless there are no other choices.  On landing in Paphos, it was a balmy 30 something degrees of typical Cypriot stickiness.  That evening about 6pm we were all in the warm Mediterranean happy, but in my case knackered!

Alice

Last night (12th) was the Alice Cooper concert in Limassol – what a cracker!  Mano procured the tickets and doors opened at 1900.  We arrived about 1930 and found a beer and a place at front centre.  Alice is famous for his ‘shock rock’ shows, full of humour horror, executions, fake blood and all sorts of theatricals and tonight was no exception.  They played all the classics, like School’s out, Poison, Halo, No more Mr. nice guy and many more.  Mano and I were deep in the ‘mosh pit’, with all the great sweaty unwashed and needless to say we were very sweaty too by the end of it all, but it was brilliant from start to finish.  My favourite part would have to be when Alice drives a stake through the heart of a mock baby vampire and is then placed in a straight jacket and frogmarched up the scaffold to be hung.  the baby’s mother, played by Cooper’s real life daughter Callico Cooper, throws the lever to open the trap door and drop him!  I’d definitely go see AC perform again given half a chance!  here are a couple of pictures from the event: 

Photos by Mano

Below are some photos by Mike G.K.  You can see more of his work by following this link.  Thanks to Mike for kind permission!

Fire

Too windy to fly, but evidently quite a big one at the Aki plantation area!

Great meal

We went for a meal for Mike’s birthday at the Stonegrill in Dherynia.  The food was delicious and the company very good also.  A really nice meal was enjoyed by all and Kyle ate his, before moving to Kiddie-land upstairs for a play in the supervised play area, which was free for customers of the Stonegrill, which was a real bonus.  I had a really succulent fillet steak with tiger prawns, which were delivered on a pre-heated stone, sizzling away and smelling gorgeous.

The only peculiar, embarrassing thing about the whole affair, was being given a ‘Stonegrill’ bib to wear, which Elena of course found hilarious!  Nevertheless, this proved to be not a bad idea at all, as it did prevent me from dropping food on myself and marking my shirt as I would normally do.  Mike however, didn’t fare quite so well, since he was wearing white trousers as well, and managed to drop something in his uncovered lap.  Oh well, can’t win them all mate – thanks for inviting us, we had a great time!

28th – 29th May 2009

28th May 2009  We set off from Kyrenia in the morning, driving along the north coast road, with a slight detour via the Pentadactylos range affording stunning views out to the northern shores and southern plains.  It is a long arduous road along the north side and I begin to see why people from Kyrenia prefer to use the highway running east from Nicosia and then turn up north again.  We arrived in Dipkarpas at 3.10pm and 5 minutes later checked in to our prearranged accommodation at the Oasis, Ay Philon about 5km or so north of the town of Dipkarpas.  We were accommodated in one of the more expensive rooms, with en suite shower and wc, set off to one side.  These are priced at YTL100 (€45 approx) and consist of a single room with a bed, complete with mosquito net and wc/shower in one corner, basic but fully functional.  The cheaper accommodation is YTL15 cheaper and occupants share a communal shower block at the end, probably better for childless couples/singles.  We settled in, had a swim on the sandy beach there and then went for a fresh fish dinner, which was delicious.  Afterward, we went for a drive to the Golden Sands beach, so that Elena and Kyle could have a sneak peek, before returning to the hotel for a cup of tea before bed.

View Full Album

29th May 2009  We got up, had a lovely breakfast and went for a walk to a nearby  sandy beach.  Kyle and dad had a dip there and dad went for a little snorkel, but there was nothing much of great note.  Afterwards we went back to the hotel, packed and left for the very end of the ‘pan handle’ of the peninsular.  We posed for some pics beside the two enormous flags there and then took a look at the very ‘underwhelming’ St Andreas Monastery.  Next we pottered down to Hasan’s Turtle Beach, where we checked ourselves in and set up tent ready for the night, before taking a look at the enormous and beautiful Golden Sands beach, where we swam, snorkelled, sunbathed and even walked for miles.  We wandered to the visible end of the beach some couple of kilometres south and up onto a high sand dune which, as it turned out was ideal for rolling down!  We strolled back again and collected our belongings from the beach where we’d left them and returned to the campsite, where we had a simple meal at the café.  It took a fair while coming, so we were quite hungry before it had arrived, but nevertheless we were satisfied and duly scuttled off to bed afterward.  Sleep was a bit intermittent, what with all the wildlife chirruping until the early hours, but some sleep was still had nonetheless. 

Exploring the north

We set off yesterday on our little exploratory tour of the north for a few days.  Having rung ahead and booked a night in Kyrenia, staying at the Teacher’s House to the east end of town and our second night booked in at The Oasis in St Philon, we crossed to the north.  We had a pleasant day on Tuesday, wandering around the shops and ate a kebap at a little cheap and cheerful restaurant in town.  Kyle wanted an ice cream, but Elena said he’d have to wait.  When he insisted, she told him, “OK, then you go and get one, we’ll wait here”.  He replied, “But I haven’t got any money”.  The waiter, overhearing this, said, “What, you have no money?  You have to wash up then!” and led him by the hand into the ‘cooking room’ as Kyle later referred to it.  He was in there a minute or two and came back out with wet hands, thinking it was great fun!  I had arranged to go for a flight with Ozgur and Piers in the afternoon, so at 3pm, after a refreshing dip in the pool, off I went.  A pleasant enough start to our little tour – here are afew pictures:

View Full Album

Evening constitutional

Just a nice little walk in the bondu before bedtime, followed by a nice bite to eat at the Kourion Beach café and then home.  The air was totally still and it was relatively cool – just right for a little walk.

Breakfast smiles

We thought it’d be a spontaneous and fun idea to create a bit of a special breakfast treat for Kyle.  No special occasion, it was just a spur of the moment thing.  Anyway, he seemed to enjoy it!

Pancake face with yoghurt and strawberry eyes and grape teeth.  We weren’t sure about the blobs of yoghurt, but a little sugar smoothed that over and he woofed it down!

Sweety crawlies

Kyle enjoys visiting mum in her workplace, ‘The Shack’.  He is also very fond of the local wildlife.  No, I’m not referring to the 2nd Lancs, but the actual wildlife on the island.  He likes the little lizards we find about the place, but he isn’t too keen on setting them free, but rather wants to keep them as pets!

Melander meander

We went for a walk along Melander beach today.  Just a nice stroll along the beach – very pleasant.  It reminded us all of almost one year ago, when we had first arrived and we came to this beach and walked from the Kyrenia restaurant to the Melander and the latter was closed.  Today, it was very much open and we partook of a drink each and shared a few chips.  It’s still not over warm here, but slowly heating up.  Give it another few weeks!

Famagusta

It’s definitely NOT ‘grim’ up north!  A day trip to Famagusta included a quick stop in to see Stu and Caroline and their 6 month old baby boy ‘Finley’  What a happy soul he seemed to be.  After a cup of tea and some lovely cake in Florentine’s cake shop, we set of through the ‘Black Knight’ crossing into town.  A look around the beautiful old town with it’s Venetian walls and then down to Varosha in the ‘Forbidden Zone’.  Here we explored the lovely sandy beach area and played with starfish, crabs and all sorts.  Elena was very pleased with a particular shell and was set to take it home, until it’s inhabitant (a fairly large Hermit crab) had other ideas and started to ‘leg it back to the sea.We had a wonderful time and a nice meal at a little restaurant called Gingko in the main street near the cathedral.  All in all a lovely day and one which I am sure we will be repeating before too much longer!

Rain rain… go away?

We went for a walk today along the Kouris dam, almost exactly one year since we saw it for the first time.  Comparing the water levels then and now gives a pretty good indication of the amount of rainfall we’ve had this past couple of months, good thing it is too!

Taken 6 Apr 2008

Above are the pictures from a year ago, below are today’s…

Taken 8 Apr 2009

Kyle, Elena and I had a nice walk across the dam, looking at the water level and listening to our echoes as we crossed back.  Kyle loves this part of the walk.  In the picture above, is an old raft, resting at the point where it obviously came to rest at some point when the water level was remarkably higher than it is now. Forecast for the next week?  Still more rain.  Oh well, no more water worries this year I guess, or a lot or people will want to know the reason why!

Camping trip

Well, we decided to go on a little camping trip overnighter.  The original plan was to go to Akamas and camp wild there for the night, but to be honest, when we got there we discovered a whole lot of not very much. Sure it’s pretty, especially as there has been quite a lot of rain lately, but frankly there isn’t too much to entertain either adults or children, so  after a good look around the area we decided to press on over the top of the peninsular to Polis.  We found a decent little road going over the top via Ineia and down into the valley the other side.  It would have made for some great views, but for the low cloud, which absorbed the top of the hills completely.  Once into Polis, we decided to abandon the idea of wild camping altogether and instead, headed for the campsite in town.  At only €2.50 per person and €3.40 per tent, it turned out very reasonably indeed.  We set up the tent, had some food and then set off for a walk along the beach path to Latchi and back, before some games on the beach and hide and seek in the campsite.  We turned in very early, about 8pm, just as the light had gone. In the morning we had a look around Polis, which has a very picturesque town square and main street, then we headed off for home.  A pleasant little night out which we all enjoyed.

Party

At a birthday party in Happy Valley for one of the children, some of the kids had a pony ride and watched a children’s entertainer.  One of the parents found a praying mantis and some of the kids took a close up look at it.  Kyle was fascinated.  So good he’s not afraid of these things!

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!

I’m pleased to report a relatively easy journey back to the sunny island.  With a delay at Gatwick, to try and clean up spilt fluids from the runway, we eventually got airborne about two hours late.  We made up about 20 minutes in the air due to favourable winds, so not too bad really, and…  welcome home to 15°C and no traffic!  Now I remember there are some things I like about this country, even if it IS becoming too expensive!

As an aside, I went up to Troodos today, for some work’s ‘bonding’ and skied my head off, had a great time, thanks Sam for organising!  There may be some photos to follow later.

UK escape

Not really a Cypriot adventure, but more a Cypriot escape really; we had a short break in UK and visited friends and loved ones.

Kyle – very happy after introduction to AoN

Firstly we were staying with Dudley and Lisa, then on to Newcastle for a day visit to see Martin and Martina (and Sebastian), before heading back south to spend time with Dudley, Lisa and the kids, together with Cameron to complete the family picture. 

The finish of the trip was Watford and more friends we hadn’t seen for a long time.  What we hadn’t counted on was the snow that fell on our way back to Watford.  Will it hamper our journey home?  We’ll have to wait and see!

Cypriot fare

On Friday nobody felt like cooking and we couldn’t decide what we wanted.  Neither of us had a great appetite, as we’ve all been ill.  In the end, I decided I wanted a steak and Elena wanted pasta.  So we set about finding somewhere open… at 4.30pm.

We tried Kolossi, where there is a steakhouse that seemed to fit the bill, but… not open til six!  Next, on to Akrotiri, Aphrodite… shut, Ryan’s… shut, then on toward Limassol.  At this point we wondered whether it wouldn’t be better to go to the supermarket and go home to cook for ourselves after all, things were going downhill!  I decided that an executive decision had to be made quickly, otherwise things would deteriorate into the usual bickering arguments which ensue when everyone is too hungry to bother reasoning.  Finally we passed TGI Fridays on the front at Limassol and I said, “That’ll do!”  In we went and I promptly ordered my New York Strip Steak, while Elena and Kyle both had pasta dishes. 

My steak was OK, nothing special, just OK.  Something like a steak should be, just one third the amount you’d expect to get in the US for around the same in $ US.  The pasta was… well, pasta really, OK except the pasta was overcooked and the veg slightly overcooked.  Never mind, at least we know!  We won’t be rushing back there, that’s for sure!

Gathering winter fuel

It has been getting quite cold for some time now, so we decided it was time to make a concerted effort to find some wood to burn.  I noticed, just off the beaten track to Akrotiri, that there was a fallen tree blocking the track and decided to pay a visit with a chain saw if I could lay hands on one.  Sean owns one, I discovered, so I borrowed it and went a gathering.  We managed to acquire a fair bit of wood to burn, but it was fairly hard work, even with a chain saw, since the tree was not that old and still quite moist inside.

Still, it makes you feel quite virtuous, getting your hands dirty and collecting your own winter fuel, as well as saving quite a bit of money into the bargain.  Now I just have to work through it slow time, sawing it up into fire-sized logs.