After the usual discrepancy in the fee charged (we complained and got it reduced), we left Port Tewfik yacht club on Friday 15th of April to begin our transit of the Suez canal. We motored 44 miles, along the canal to Ismailia, passing through the large, scenic Great Bitter Lake. Ismailia is a large town situated on lake Timsah and we spent the night here at anchor just off the yacht club. Apart from where it passes through the lakes much of the canal is a narrow channel, only wide enough for convoys of ships to pass in on direction at a time. Yachts are required to carry a pilot on board. He invariably wants to helm and go as fast as possible. He also expects the customary baksheesh. We completed the second half of our transit next day and after one final stop opposite the yacht club in Port Said to drop off our pilot and have a final inspection by the Egyptian navy, (they were very polite and did not want baksheesh but I have no idea what they think we could have picked up since their previous inspection before we left Suez), we popped out into the Mediterranean at about 4 pm.

We arrived in Pafos harbour in Cyprus two days later. Back in Europe again I feel we are nearly in our own back yard so to speak. Pafos itself is a booming resort town with a wealth of historic sites and ancient monuments, including the famous Pafos mosaics uncovered in the ruins of Roman villas. The harbour is lined with numerous restaurants and bars catering for the vast numbers of English tourists. It is strange to be back amongst so many English people again and in a way comforting to be just one among many tourists.

Mary and David flew out from the UK on Wednesday to join us and William hired a car for a tour round. The contrast with the Red Sea is startling, grass trees and flowers replacing barren desert. We visited the beautiful Troodos Mountains in the centre of the island, with their steep winding roads and picturesque villages perched on the slopes. We stopped at the monastery at Kykkos, famous for having Archbishop Makarios as one of its novices (he is buried on a hill overlooking it). More to my taste was Cedar valley where we walked amongst the indigenous cedar trees that cover the steep sided ravine. On our journey we caught a glimpse of the shy, wild Cypriot mountain sheep the moufflon. Sharp-eyed Mary spotted a ewe and lamb close to the road climbing a steep embankment.

Paul flies home from here on the 4th of May and Mary has to fly back early due to a family commitment but David is continuing on with us to Rhodes or Crete, depending on wind direction.