Cyprus Adventure

Agia Napa…

Since this is Saturday and I like to do something which gives me some relaxation and rejuvenation after the hectic demands of the week, we made our way to the south eastern area known as Agia Napa (Ia napa). You will remember that Cyprus is a divided island since the Turkish Cypriots hold the norther part of the island since 1974. So, our adventure along the coast could only go so far due to the divinding line.

We traveled about 1 hour from home on good multilane highways and soon saw the waves of the shimmering Mediterranean Sea. There was a strong southerly wind and so the waves coming ashore were quite significant. This caused some picturesque moments as the waves slammed against the rocks - some appear in the photos.

We passed through one area which is known for its potatoe growing and yes, Cyprus has marvelous potatoes - Marian and I had jacket potatoes for lunch today - we call them baked potatoes! The soil they are grown in is redder than that of PEI - it looked lumpy at this season of the year but does produce great spuds!

Leaving Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek) we traveled toward Larnaca where there is the major airport and the turned east toward Agia Napa. This is resort city mega times over and since the signs were predominantly in English we assumed that this must be a vacation magnet for the Brits. We did hear some conversation that we understood and that was encouraging! As we walked along the beach, we soon noticed that we were not on a Canadian beach because here as in many parts of Europe, women have optional parts to their swimming attire!!! I am not sure whether this is an economic issues ( I could hardly believe that since there is so little in those two piece things anyway!) or a fashion statement! In either case it was frequent and obvious!

We stopped several times along the coast to take some pictures and enjoy the scenery which was breath-taking! The blue green of the clear water melding with the blue of the sky made one realize that when God creates, He is so generous! We then came to Cape Gkreko (greko) and we climed to the top where we had the most fantastic view - if it had been clearer, I think we would have seen Lebanon or Syria.

By now we were getting hot and happened to see a small cove which we drove to and enjoyed our first swim in the Med this trip. What refreshment and cooling.

But for the plantlife in this area, there seemed to be that aching parched longing or groaning as Paul says in Romans, for water to cool the parched soil. As we returned to Nicosia and entered the city, the dark clouds framed against the mountains to the north told us there was rain on the way. In a few moments we had the first rain of the season and it was significant. I am certian that the plants will just thrive and rebound now that nourishment has returned.

Just by way of other topics, Marian has developed a real knack of doing village salads and so we enjoy at least one per day! Our trip to the market in the old city this morning before our adventure, was an education in how to hawk your produce! Shouting at every turn and lots of choice and prices are fine. We went into the agora (permanent market place) and found a spice man from whom we purchased some sweet curry and paprka! A few stalls away we found some fresh Halloumi cheese and as well taswted a couple of cheeses we will retun to buy - you know me and cheese! - one will be a very fresh sheep's milk cheese which is very much like ricotta while the other is sheep's milk cheese which has been aged at least a yeaar. Yummy taste to both of them!

I hope the pictures give you a few insights as to how our adventure went. No captions needed this time!

David

posted by David & Marian Sloss @ 10:08 AM