The Last Castle, Akamas Peninsula

Another lovely venue for lunch in Cyprus. The Last Castle is only open from 10:30am to 5pm in the summer. There are three choices on the menu - chicken, pork or both! - with a salad and a choice of baked or roasted potatoes. You also get fresh watermelon at the end or whatever fruit is in season. It is worth the drive up just for the view and the cool breeze, so it is a bonus that it is delicious too. Linda and Mags are friends of ours from Kouklia.

On a much sadder note, our very dear friend Geraldine from here in Cyprus, passed away on Saturday. Geraldine moved here from South Africa and became a Cypriot citizen as soon as she was able. She was very active in the Church and the Hospice Society and was always looking after people - even if she didn't know them. Her three daughters are lovely people and they held a service on Wednesday that Geraldine would have thoroughly enjoyed. She was a wonderful lady and will be greatly missed. Rest in peace Geraldine.

Love,

Laurel

Millomeri Falls

Firstly, had a great time at Peter and Linda's housewarming party yesterday. Lots of good food and lovely people. And our group won the quiz - the best part being 'name the pub sign'. It was actually very easy as most of the signs were straight forward i.e. a picture of a red lion - my kind of quiz.

Saturday started off at +31C withpalpable humidity. So, off we went to the Troodos Mountains, which is a very Cypriot thing to do. Millomeri Falls is very beautiful, but you don't get the hike. We drove very close then walked just a few hundred metres. The temperature difference is phenomenal. It had to be at least 10C cooler and not nearly as humid even with the mist off the falls. Notice the sweater at lunch!

http://www.triptocyprus.com/blog/2008/04/millomeri-waterfalls-in-platres-near.html

We then drove the rest of the way to the Troodos Square for lunch. As the thunder started getting louder we meandered back to the car for the drive back down. And what a lovely drive in the torrential downpour! Apparently this has been the most unusual July as it has rained several times already and the reservoirs are still nice and full. It was a wonderful and very fresh trip.

And back home for a nap and a dip in the pool. Hard to take!

xx

Kalidonia Falls

We have made another discovery on this lovely little island of Cyprus. Up in the Troodos Mountains at Platres you can find Kalidonia Falls. It is a lovely 2km hike beside a fast running stream in the lush forest. Apparently you can go up another kilometre and get to the square in Troodos, but we only went to the top of the falls. Here are some websites to fill you in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troodos_Mountains

http://www.cyprustop10.com/platres.htm

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/scurle/cyprus_2005/1119014580/img_6808.jpg/tpod.html

Afterwards it was lunch at the restaurant Psilo Dentro, at the bottom. I highly recommend the trout!

Love,

Laurel

July 2010

First you don't hear anything as there is nothing going on. Then you don't hear anything as we are too busy to sit. Here is quick recap of the last couple of weeks.

Natalie was over for a visit on her way to see Adam, whose schedule kept changing - usually after Natalie arranged her flights. As it was, she had a few days here before heading off to Cannes. Here is a picture of Natalie coming with Dale on the motorcycle over to lunch at Barb and Peter's - and a couple photos at the windmills in the hills of Kouklia.

Then off to Cannes for what was supposed to be 10 days which kinda shortened to three nights. So we got to celebrate Natalie's Birthday here with her instead of Adam, but we had a lovely day. We went to the Ocean Basket with Peter and Linda for lunch, had a walk up to the top of the old castle in the harbour, then had a swim and did up our toes. We did manage to get an ice-cream cake here to top things off.

Natalie got to sleep in on Saturday as Dale and I left at 0730 for a walk with Linda and Mags and Jeff and Sue, with Geoff and Doris's walking group. We had a great walk and a tour and talk about the British Bloodhound Camp where they do a decompression camp for their soldiers returning from Afghanistan. There is quite a history to the camp.

Monday we were back to Larnaca with Natalie as she was going to try and meet up with Adam in Cairo this time. He ended up being about 26 hours late for that one but at least he made it. Hopefully things will settle down when they try again in September.

Meanwhile, Dale is still home for another week and after I get this out, I will fill you in on our little hike.

Love,

Laurel

A quiet week in Cyprus

Just to let you know that it has been a relatively quiet couple of weeks. Dale was here for a few extra days while the plane was in maintenance so I managed to drag him along to a few of my regular events. He really outdid himself at our Monday bridge group with us coming in first place. He hadn't played in so long, I am amazed that he even remembered how to. We also had Peter and Linda as well as Ken and Lesley over for lunch on Peter's birthday.

One of the Regimental Bands from the UK was here, so we went with John and Rosemary to seethem atthe Harbour. What a lovely venue - and the weather was perfect too; just brought along a light sweater for later.

We also went to the Village Inn in Chlorakas for a BBQ and an evening of Irish singing. Our friend Phil was the entertainment. I have also included a couple of pictures of Phil and Jim playing at the Beach Bar in Mandria.

We have our place up for sale now, so took a couple of pictures to go along with that. We have also listed with one realtor, but should do another one or two. It would certainly be nice if they had MLS here and then one wouldn't have to deal with more than one agency.

Dale has gone back to work and I have resumed my usual schedule with an added afternoon of Mahjong thrown in for good measure. We hope to get in a visit with Adam and Natalie in Cairo while they are there this month too. Other than that, just enjoying the sunshine and lovely temperature. Today is a bit humid, but the rest of the week should be fine - around +30C.

I was hoping to skip over my birthday unscathed, but got too many good wishes and kind thoughts to have it go unnoticed (thank you all). Linda took me out to 5th Floor, which is a really nice place with a great buffet. So it looks likeI will have to count this one after all.

Dale should be back at the end of the week, but he has such a bad cold that I think he will just have to sit around and take it easy. Poor guy, I know you will be thinking of him whilst he lounges around the pool recuperating.
Take care and ttys.
Love,
Laurel