Sunday 21st of August - Cyprus Travels

Today we are off to see more of Cyprus - we are going to be heading from Nicosia to Polis via Pafos on

the West coast of the island.

We left Nicosia and headed via the mountains to Polis where we will be staying for two nights.

On the drive Mary pointed out to us her home town of Morfou, which is now occupied by the Turks.

She was forced out of her home in 1974 during the war with the Turks and has not been able to go

back and live there since. You can still hear in her voice the passion of the times - can you begin to

imagine what it would have been like as a 21 year old female, fleeing your family home, with only the

clothes on your back, and leaving the sanctity of your home? Despite all of these years, Mary still

yearns for her home and her village - and with right cause!!!

The drive through the mountains of Cyprus was great, stopping at towns and parks along the way to

get an appreciation of life over here. The little village of Kakopetria was our first stop - amazing little

village in the mountains. If you ever want a true Greek feed, stop here and eat! One of the places we

stopped at had 18 rotisseries operating with various meats being cooked - very inviting, but

unfortunately for us, too early for lunch....Our next stop off was a park near Plateres where the locals

go on a Sunday to have a meal - you have never seen so many locally owned rotisseries operating in

the one place - each of them cooking up their own combination of meat delights - again a very

pleasant way of spending a Sunday afternoon - and a wake up call for us BBQ loving Aussies that these

Greeks might know a thing or two about how to enjoy a BBQ....

Continuing on, we travelled to Troodos which is basically the top of the mountain range - about 1900

metres - and headed down towards the coastal town of Pafos where we enjoyed lunch. It is a very

touristy spot, right on the water, with lots of restaurants to choose from, all on the waterfront. It

reminded me of a combination of a Geelong, St Kilda and Docklands sort of area. A nice meal was had

by us all and we continued onto the town of Polis, which is on the north side of the island.

We are here for two nights staying at a place called the Aphrodite Beach Hotel. It looks straight out

over the water and is popular with the locals. We will now have some time to relax and unwind as up

until now it has been travel, travel, so we are looking forward to a swim - and for a change, something

to eat and drink. We both feel that all we have done since we have arrived is eat and drink and it is

only day two....bring it on!!!

Chris has been a fantastic guide, driving us everywhere, and Mary a great host. They have kept us

informed every step of the way and both are very proud of their country and its history so we are

privileged to have them sharing that with us.

We have just had our first swim in the Mediterranean Sea - temperature in the water was about 28

degrees - beautiful clear water, and warm as can be The beach is not like Australian beaches - no

sand, more like pebbles however, very nice to say the least....I am beginning to like this place. After a

swim for about an hour, we adjourned to the local bar overlooking the beach and proceeded to drink a

few of the local beers - Keo - now back for a quick shower, a change of clothes and out for dinner.

We have met some friends of Chris and Mary's - Andy and Chloe - and have been invited around to

their place for dinner tomorrow night for a local Greek Cypriate BBQ - can't wait!

The weather is amazing - just clear blue skies and about 32 degrees everyday.....

Tonight, Chris, Mary, Andy, Chloe, Nadeen and myself went out to a local Greek Tavern for dinner - there is

something to be said about being with the locals, as this place was amazing. It was called Moustakallis

and we shared a meat meze - which basically meant a meat platter experience. It was typical greek

food - plenty of salads and meat - all tasted great and washed down with traditional ouzo - which was

carefully prepared for us by Andy. I must admit I was never an ouzo fan - after a bad experience in my

younger years....- however, the way in which this drink is prepared, I think it is back on the list -

basically, ice, ouzo and a dash of water - very refreshing!!!

Following dinner, even though we couldn't eat another thing, we were then driven to the local marina

via a vendors stall, where we had a local Cyprus treat which us Aussies would refer to as Honey Balls.

Even though we didn't need to eat anything, they were thoroughly enjoyed and it was great sitting

outside with the locals enjoying their traditional dish.

We then walked off our dinner with a walk around the local marina - I have never seen so many

luxurious vessles in one place - the marina was jammed pack with fleet of all shapes and sizes. I would

hate to think how much money was tied up in this marina - who said the economy over here is no

good?

A great way to finish our day.