In the mountains there is plenty of water....& too many mountains to go up, down & around for hours...there are all sorts of wild flowers, blackberries (that havent grown much due to the lack of rain even there), pine cones galore, & everything else nature entails...including the lack of internet.
So forgive me if my memories seem scattered (& forgive the typos as well, I`m on a tiny computer!)..the days are so full & passing so quickly!
We spent the last week in the mountains. I took a few good long hikes to walk off all this delicious home cooking- Yiayia didn`t believe Cyprus had waterfalls so I needed photographic proof! We stayed with her friend from childhood, Nita, who is a sweet woman with lots of memories of Greek dances, a father who used to tease my grandmother & traditions that are beyond what you'd imagine. Her & her husband took us to visit some of the oldest churches in Cyprus. One dating back at least 500 years. Few are no longer left unlocked due to theft, but I was told not to worry- we stopped into the village Butches Shop across the street to get the church key!!! I found it comical...legs of lamb & a key about 6-inches long. The design work in the churches is unbelievable..especially knowing how long ago it was done. We also took a drive up, down & around all those mountains to visit Kykkos Monastery- which was founded by a Byzantine Emperor & is now one of the richest monastery's in the world. The entire alter is covered in GOLD, & outside the walls are covered in mossaics of the most beautiful color combinations. It really is a sight to see.
The hikes to the waterfalls were nice...the first I did alone- after taking a few wrong paths I found the correct one & made my way down. I learned that my favorite purple mountain flowers are prickly!! The second, Nita walked partway with me & I continued on my own. It was a bit tough but well worth it. It trickled all the way down so you were walking along & sometimes crossing the water.
I attempted a walk around the village before the mountains but was being called from across the way by the old Turkish men in the coffeeshop, so the village walks will need some re-routing! I was told if I was with someone who was obviously Cypriot they wouldn^t have said anything, but that wasn^t the case...& it was midday. Only tourists take walks in the midday sun! The Cypriot-Turkish mix here isn´t so much a spoken thing amongst the two..but something always feels a little off.
What else...we had RAIN in Pyla!!! It wasnt much, but is unheard of in the summer. After all the rain in New York who would think I would be SO happy to see more!! Yonas ((the 2 year old)) & I played in it.
We also have new baby chicks! They are yellow & fluffy & make the sweetest chirping noises....they were a day old when the arrived & have probably grown to twice the size while we were in the mountains.
Theo Naki took us to his trees recently as well!! Figs, pistactios, grapes, & funny shapped squash type things that I have been drawing on....all right from the trees. I had the most delicious fig Ive ever tasted...then I had one that was better.. & well...it went on. We all drove down in his charming two person truck that is the littlest thing....Yiayia & I sat on each others laps...
The 15th of August was quite a specktacle. The church was packed, inside & out. The bishop of Cyprus was there...! How he wore that hat & cothing in the heat I don't know. It is the day of the Virgin Mary...at the end of the service they carried the icon around the outside of the hurch & everyone walked underneath. The icon is always drapped with layers of lace, for you never see her face. Afterwards Yiayia & I took walk through the cemetary...we were looking for her sister but ended up saying hello from afar, as the hot heat of the sun & bumpy rocks didnt make for an easy route. Everyone was at Thea Maroulla's house after for lunch- so so so much food all cooked in the big stone oven outside.
The days are hot....hotter than what it is in Boston/New York (so Im told), but we're hanging in there. The mountains were refreshing- a ittle cooler, I even wore jeans & a sweater in the evening (it was exciting to be cold, but more thrilling to know that my jeans still fit the same way!!).
I finally did the 6.15am wakeup again this morning to go to the beach (I had been slacking..) with Yonas. I walked quite a ways & saw the old man I had gone swimming with the other mornings over a week ago. He kept asking my uncle when I would come again, & today he brought fresh figs off his tree for me in case I was there! Maria, Paraskeva, Myrianthi & Marina met me at the beach & now we´re back for a shower before doing some shopping in Larnaka.
In less than two weeks I will be back to my crazy life in New York & this will all feel like a dream....
In the meantime, I hope you are all well & dreaming of your own vacations......
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