Well this has been a fabulous week. Besides nest building, we have the car all spruced up and most importantly, met some wonderful new people. A church couple linked us to Linda who lives in our village and is a Scottish Expat with a husband in Bahrain much of the time. She is a joy to hang out with and we have now met many of her friends including our neighbours across the street. Mike and Roz have lived here for close to 30 years and planted all of the trees in their yard and many more up the lane. Hosting our first pool party was fun, but last night our invite to Jed and Margaret’s for a Meze feast in their historic Cypriot garden home was a real delight. We are learning that there is so much to see and do and with the right attitude, you can get by very well – you just have to be on Cypriot time???
I want to share what we did yesterday afternoon as it is a classic example of what we hear so much about. Taking an adventurous drive to the northern village of Polis, we spotted a lovely café with a fantastic view of the valleys below. After touring about and seeing a Byzantine Museum and a water reservoir dam, we retraced our route to the café. Searching for a seat with a view, we entered a patio area where the sole patron suggested that we would enjoy sitting in this section as it had a nice cross breeze, a great view of the scenery and of the pretty ladies in the kitchen. We chatted with him and he told us of how everyone who comes to Cyprus, loves it here. He is a builder and he took 5 years to complete his own stone house atop a hill peak. It sounded intriguing and he made several offers for us to follow him home to his place to see the view and his work. We were delighted to oblige and after a winding 15-minute drive we were in awe of the beauty of his property, his work and the view, which looked out on several different valleys and 13 villages. The stone wall up the side of his drive rivaled the pyramids in size and shape. His warmth and hospitality were so – Cypriot, and we are invited back to meet his wife and children. Before leaving he asked if we would like some grapes. His vineyard looked bizarre. White dusty clay and vines that were scattered like potato mounds. But the fruit! Cyprus grapes, he explained needed no watering except in the early winter and as such are not only hardy but also more flavourful. He was right. We marveled at our day as we made our way home, devouring the white and red grapes that literally tasted like candy. So, in the short afternoon, we saw historic sites, diverse country sides, and met a local Cypriot that expressed the type of warm hospitality that we are coming to enjoy.
Back home for a splash in the pool and off to the dinner party, which we described earlier and today we are out for fish’n’chips then to a bridge club night with our neighbours, Mike and Roz.
We will likely be off the blog for a while, as we head home to Comox on Friday. We are really excited about seeing Joel in Vancouver, then our family and great friends on the other wonderful island that we have always loved. Hope this finds you all well and blessed and we look forward to talking to many of you in Comox next week!
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Sunday, 19 August 2007
19 August 2007 in Cyprus!
We have moved into our new home. Lovely as it is, we have much work to do. The fully furnished part is very bare bones, and we have had to do the shop til you drop stuff. Not great for two people who hate shopping. However, it will happen eventually, and it will be nice to come home to after our trip to Comox in a couple of weeks. We bought a car yesterday, a Honda HRV, and we pick it up Monday or Tuesday. We are so looking forward to getting it, since the loaner we have has no air conditioning, so we turn into puddles of sweat after a couple of hours. This is where the marvelous, glorious pool comes in very handy. It is a lovely temperature since it has been so hot here, and we are using it two or three times a day. (Hard to believe we are getting any work done.) Unfortunately, we won't have a phone line to the house for a month, so we have no internet, and the closest one is in Paphos, which is 18km away. We will be in town every few days, so keep writing, just be patient with us. I am hoping we get into the very laid back lifestyle here, especially since there is no changing it.
Now back to the Maisoneette for more cleaning and swimming!
Love Laurel
Now back to the Maisoneette for more cleaning and swimming!
Love Laurel
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
August 15, 2007
We are in Cyprus! And already one of the neatest coincidences is that the hotel we are staying at is being used as the decompression center for the Canadian troops going home from Afghanistan. They only get four days here, but the staff are here for two months to help each new group make the transition. The ones we have met seem to be doing real well, and Susan knew Andrew Eyekelenboom. What a small world.
Tomorrow we are moving in to our new place. We will have lots to do before returning to Comox on September 5th (give or take a couple of days); find a car (preferably a RAV4), get a post office box, get a telephone/internet, get the street fixed so we can access our garage, get groceries and the myriad of other things we 'need' to make it home.
It is lovely here. Our pool looks sooooo inviting. We'll send pictures as soon as we can.
Love,
Laurel
Tomorrow we are moving in to our new place. We will have lots to do before returning to Comox on September 5th (give or take a couple of days); find a car (preferably a RAV4), get a post office box, get a telephone/internet, get the street fixed so we can access our garage, get groceries and the myriad of other things we 'need' to make it home.
It is lovely here. Our pool looks sooooo inviting. We'll send pictures as soon as we can.
Love,
Laurel
Monday, 13 August 2007
August 13, 2007
Our last day in Egypt. So what better to do than go to Dahshur to see the bent pyramid – and the black pyramid, and the red pyramid, and King Sneferu's wife Hetepheres' pyramid, and another one off in the distance. It was fabulous. The bent pyramid has the most limestone covering left of all the pyramids, and we got to go down (way down) into the red pyramid, which is King Sneferu's second one. See the website at www.guardians.net/egypt
This evening we met up with Mary Jean and Neil Crouch, and their friend Terry from Comox, for a delicious picnic on a Felucca (sailboat). The winds were favourable and we sailed up and down the Nile until past dark. What a glorious sunset. It was such a fun way to end our stay here. The time has gone far more quickly than I anticipated. Now here we are, saying farewell to the lovely people we have met. There is still so much to see and do, we'll have to come back; especially to do the Nile cruise, which we decided to postpone until the weather cools down a bit.
We are looking forward to getting to Cyprus tomorrow. We will let you know how the move goes.
Bye for now.
Love,
Laurel
p.s. pictures to come later with a better internet connection
This evening we met up with Mary Jean and Neil Crouch, and their friend Terry from Comox, for a delicious picnic on a Felucca (sailboat). The winds were favourable and we sailed up and down the Nile until past dark. What a glorious sunset. It was such a fun way to end our stay here. The time has gone far more quickly than I anticipated. Now here we are, saying farewell to the lovely people we have met. There is still so much to see and do, we'll have to come back; especially to do the Nile cruise, which we decided to postpone until the weather cools down a bit.
We are looking forward to getting to Cyprus tomorrow. We will let you know how the move goes.
Bye for now.
Love,
Laurel
p.s. pictures to come later with a better internet connection
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
August 7, 2007
Hi there,
I am sitting in an internet café with a cappuccino and lots to say. Have I finally caught up to the millennium? I even texted Joel since I felt so out of contact. Anyway, this is a great little spot, so I will try and get over here every couple of days to try and catch up. Meanwhile, here is just a bit of what I have been up to.
While still in Cannes, Wednesday August 1, Dale and I rented a scooter to see some sights. We drove along the shore as much as we could and enjoyed the scenery. It is a very beautiful area. In Antibes we came upon an old Fort – Le Fort Carre. It was built in the 1600’s to protect the French border which was then just outside of Nice. They only had to defend it once, so it is still in excellent shape. The design is an architectural masterpiece. Dale also amazed me when he suggested we look around the shops. What fun! I see Dale mentioned the marvelous fireworks! We had to pack up on Thursday as Dale and Adam had to go back to work. Natalie flew back to London to her Grampa’s, and I spent the night in Nice to catch a flight back to Cairo. Nice is nice, but the beaches are pebbles, not sand. You really need shoes or sandals to walk on it, so getting down and dipping my toes in the water was uncomfortable. It was a beautiful day though, so I did a long walk along the Promenade d’Anglaise (sea shore).
August 4 - 7, 2007
Back to Ma’adi. Rupa did more unpacking while I was in Cannes, and the kid’s rooms now look reasonable. The dining room, living room and office will have to wait for David and Jacqueline. The oven is not hooked up yet but at least I now have a stove top. Every day workmen come to do something around here. Yesterday they installed Roman Shades outside the bedrooms. That should really help, since the few air conditioning units we are able to use are working full time. They still only have temporary power to the building so we get lots of brown outs. Dale is getting to watch Adam Kite Surf in El Gouna for a couple of days. I guess he has picked up a few tips since Cowichan Lake (hopefully he’ll pass them on to Dale). I went out to the airport to visit with Dale and Adam for a couple of hours today ( Tuesday) on their way through. They will be in and out until Dale gets replaced for our move to Cyprus on the 15th. I am really looking forward to it, but I am trying not to have too high expectations. I have heard that Cypriot time is equivalent to Egyptian time!
Bye for now,
Love,
Laurel
I am sitting in an internet café with a cappuccino and lots to say. Have I finally caught up to the millennium? I even texted Joel since I felt so out of contact. Anyway, this is a great little spot, so I will try and get over here every couple of days to try and catch up. Meanwhile, here is just a bit of what I have been up to.
While still in Cannes, Wednesday August 1, Dale and I rented a scooter to see some sights. We drove along the shore as much as we could and enjoyed the scenery. It is a very beautiful area. In Antibes we came upon an old Fort – Le Fort Carre. It was built in the 1600’s to protect the French border which was then just outside of Nice. They only had to defend it once, so it is still in excellent shape. The design is an architectural masterpiece. Dale also amazed me when he suggested we look around the shops. What fun! I see Dale mentioned the marvelous fireworks! We had to pack up on Thursday as Dale and Adam had to go back to work. Natalie flew back to London to her Grampa’s, and I spent the night in Nice to catch a flight back to Cairo. Nice is nice, but the beaches are pebbles, not sand. You really need shoes or sandals to walk on it, so getting down and dipping my toes in the water was uncomfortable. It was a beautiful day though, so I did a long walk along the Promenade d’Anglaise (sea shore).
August 4 - 7, 2007
Back to Ma’adi. Rupa did more unpacking while I was in Cannes, and the kid’s rooms now look reasonable. The dining room, living room and office will have to wait for David and Jacqueline. The oven is not hooked up yet but at least I now have a stove top. Every day workmen come to do something around here. Yesterday they installed Roman Shades outside the bedrooms. That should really help, since the few air conditioning units we are able to use are working full time. They still only have temporary power to the building so we get lots of brown outs. Dale is getting to watch Adam Kite Surf in El Gouna for a couple of days. I guess he has picked up a few tips since Cowichan Lake (hopefully he’ll pass them on to Dale). I went out to the airport to visit with Dale and Adam for a couple of hours today ( Tuesday) on their way through. They will be in and out until Dale gets replaced for our move to Cyprus on the 15th. I am really looking forward to it, but I am trying not to have too high expectations. I have heard that Cypriot time is equivalent to Egyptian time!
Bye for now,
Love,
Laurel
Saturday, 4 August 2007
August 4th 2007 From Olbia to the Red Sea - Click Photos to Enlarge
Hello from the world of Dreams. After such a wonderful time in Cannes,capped off by an International Fireworks competition, Adam and I headed for Sardinia, and Laurel flew back to her duties of house transfers and cat sitting. She sends her regards as she is without internet for a bit.
On the
other hand, Adam and I have been ‘bonding’ as a Father Son flying team. We flew to the beautiful island of Sardinia and stayed at a most quaint and friendly country style hotel. The staff were very nice and the place had a gentle feel about it. This morning we flew empty from to Mykinos - a small Greek island. Our next stop was the Red Sea where we finished off the day renting a kite Kiteboarding. Hope all is well with you and enjoy the photos.
On the
other hand, Adam and I have been ‘bonding’ as a Father Son flying team. We flew to the beautiful island of Sardinia and stayed at a most quaint and friendly country style hotel. The staff were very nice and the place had a gentle feel about it. This morning we flew empty from to Mykinos - a small Greek island. Our next stop was the Red Sea where we finished off the day renting a kite Kiteboarding. Hope all is well with you and enjoy the photos.
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