Well, it has been such a long time since I last posted here, in fact I had thought that I would be putting this particular blog to bed, since we left Cyprus in Apr 11. Well, I now have to announce to our friends and family who are not already aware (which won't be many of them I suspect) that we are back for another three year dose of sunshine, meze, Kokinelli and Brandy Sours.
We arrived back on the island on 26 Jan, but this time we will be experiencing the delights that the eastern end has to offer. Having lived near Limassol last time around, this time we will be living near Vrysoulles in the east, not too far from Famagusta.
The flight was remarkably comfortable, there being relatively few passengers, meaning that we had plenty of room to stretch out, wander around etc. Unfortunately, we did have to route via a stop off in Europe, which added a couple of hours onto the journey, but the extra comfort onboard a new aeroplane made it so much more bearable.
The kids flaked out on the flight, so that the trusty laptop DVD player wasn't even needed and we all arrived at the destination feeling considerably better than the norm.
Things were however about to take a turn for the worst, when it was announced that there had been some difficulty with our slightly earlier arrival than expected and that transport was not ready to convey us the 200m to the terminal building.
When we did finally manage to disembark, a fellow passenger remarked, "oh well, at least it means that our bags will be ready and waiting for us". "You think so?" was my retort. Inside the terminal building, no bags in sight, the man walked past and muttered, "OK, so I was wrong"!
Another hour delay meant that we were finally on our long bus ride in the wee small hours, somewhat exhausted, but relieved to be on the final leg of our epic journey.
On our arrival at our destination, my very good friend and his wife were waiting, despite the late hour and we were helped in with our baggage etc and a cup of tea was savoured over a catch up. Finally we got to bed way past 1am.
A slight lay in the next day, followed by a bit of a guided tour of the local environs made for a chilled, relaxed way to fritter the day. The next day being Monday we set about some administrative chores and so it all begins. Fortunately I am not expected in to work for a little while longer, so we will savour the time off, as I expect it will be quite hectic once I get going, only time will tell.
What follows are some photos from our first week back on the island and getting to know the east end, renowned for it's superior beaches etc. There is something especially nice about a holiday resort out of season and this one is no exception, especially when the weather is unseasonably pleasant as it is here just now.
Both children are clearly settling to the idea of living on a small island and are enjoying the short distance to lovely beaches etc. Exactly how long we have got until this novelty wears off only time will tell. As for us; it's good to be back and I for one am looking forward to another three years of better climate, nice food and drink and hopefully the opportunity to paraglide a little bit more.
Now that I have resurrected this blog I will endeavour to keep it a little more up to date than I had been doing before and will try to report notable events, excursions of interest etc. That's about it for now, stay tuned for future updates!
