Cyprus
31 August to 9 September 2007
What with one thing and another, it was three years since we'd last been to
Cyprus, and a Friday afternoon saw us happily arriving in Pissouri, where seven
other members of the family awaited our arrival.
Ben gazes rather uncertainly at his Uncle Stephen
Ben sploshing in the swimming pool.
Mark, Ben and Lucy in the swimming pool of villa Kambos
Saturday evening at the Bunch of Grapes in Pissouri.
Ben and Mark take a last swim on Sunday morning
Ben at the Vineleaf - he loved this. After that, Mark, Debbie, Ben, Malcolm and
Pat departed on Sunday afternoon, and Roger and Winn on Sunday evening, leaving
just the two of us for a week. Being with the family was good, but it was nice
to be able to chill out and do what we wanted without having to think of others.
The view from villa Kambos
The swimming pool
On Friday, we went for a drive. After lunch in Omodos, we made our way towards
Ayios Nikolaos. Here we look north towards Mount Olympus, the high point of the
Troodos mountains.
The Paphos Forest
The mosque in Ayios Nikolaos.
As we descend from Ayios Nikolaos towards the Diarizos valley, there is quite a
lot of water in the reservoir, despite reports of water shortages.
Kelefos Bridge, one of several mediaeval Venetian bridges along this valley.
A winding stream cascades over stones through the trees. Not perhaps what most
tourists associate with Cyprus in summer.
The ford across the river
Lucy captures an informal shot of Stephen - the only way to get a half-decent
smile.
The second bridge is Elia Bridge, here with Lucy on top.
Stephen scrambling around on the bed of the stream.
A beautiful day out in the forest.
We missed the dirt road marked on the map from Elia Bridge towards Foini, but
then managed to find a tarmacked road that wasn't on the map, running from
Kaminaria through Treis Elies to Agios Dimitrios, the last mentioned being
centre picture. Thus, despite the map, we found that the dirt road we had
expected to travel along turned out to be a tarmacked road all the way from
Agios Nikolaos to Kaminaria.
Agios Dimitrios
On the final morning, a walk to the end of Pissouri Beach
Pissouri Beach from the eastern end. It is only half past ten, but there is
hardly a soul to be seen.
|