Days 492-493, 17-18 Oct '15, Troodos (Troodos, Pedoulas, Kykkos Monastery, Omodos) and the Kourion Ruins just outside Limassol.

Does that sound like a huge day out? That's because it was! The Troodos Mountains are billed as "The Green Heart of Cyprus" and we were itching to see some green. We loaded up the car and took off at 7.30 am to enjoy the cool of the morning for the winding (really winding - switchbacks on hairpins on curves!) road up to the mountain village of Troodos. Believe it or not, in a country that is usually in the 40s over Summer (110F+), there is actually skiing from Jan-March. We were lucky to arrive at the same time as a tour bus (and you know I don't say that often!) One of the many shops selling Cyprus sweets and nuts had massive sample platters out for the coach group and we blended in... like ants at a picnic. We tried the local sweet wine and fire water spirit and were both in good spirits when we departed for Pedoulas. A small mountain village where the residents must have mountain goat genes to survive. Pedoulas clings to the side of a mountain and the steeply pitched roofs are testament to how much snow will be here in just a few short months. James - the tour guide for the day - had sourced 3 wonderful (and free) attractions for us in Pedoulas. We enjoyed the astonishing art at the Byzantine Museum (pictured is St George - an icon painted in the 14th century and originally from the Church of St George, Pedoulas). We enjoy art in many forms - particularly in a sleepy little village setting where you can get nose to canvas and really see something close up. Down some stairs, up some stairs and round a corner we came to the Folkloric Museum. Basically everyday life over the years. Life was fairly hard, possibly short and quite demanding by the looks of the exhibits in this small museum. An unexpected highlight of the stop in Pedoulas was one of the traditional pitched roof churches which James had kept quiet about. The Church of the Archangel Michael was built in 1474 and features incredible frescoes. Rare because they were signed by the painter and because of the wealth of scenes and subjects from both the Old and New Testament. Quite overwhelming when you walk in not knowing what to expect. It's UNESCO listed... but in Cyprus that seems to be everywhere - we're spoiled for choice. From Pedoulas it was back onto the long and winding road and we made our way to the Kykkos Monastery. One of the wealthiest and most well known monasteries in Cyprus, it was founded in the 11th C though nothing remains of the original building. One of several special things about Kykkos is that it has an icon of the Virgin Mary painted by the Apostle Luke. It apparently has miraculous powers to heal the sick (amongst other things). It is even believed to have ended a locust plague in the area in 1760. It is said that anyone who looks at it will be blinded - so the icon is kept under cover and locked away. The last person to look was a pope in 1669. In recent years there has been a drought in Cyprus and it has been taken out and prayers of supplication were said whilst the monks looked away. With this sort of lineage, the monastery was phenomenally busy with pilgrims and tourists alike - especially since it's not even tourist season. We enjoyed the bling of the golden mosaics and a general walkabout and look inside the richly decorated church. There was a relic room off the church that we had a brief look in - but the labels were in Greek... so we weren't sure which bit of which saint we were looking at. With the true believers walking around, crossing themselves and touching and kissing the cabinets - we thought we'd leave them to it. Starving after the monastery we enjoyed our picnic with a vista of green laid out in front of us - even able to see as far as the occupied zone to the North. Coming down the hill from 1700 metres certainly made our ears pop and it was picturesque vineyards and trucks full of grapes all the way to the village of Omodos. Another one of James's excellent and well researched picks for our excursion. Omodos is sweet. It has a monastery (doesn't everywhere) and the village has grown around it. It's also a life-support system for tourists. Lots of cobbled streets, inexpensive cafes and tourist tat. But also some fabulous grapes for not much at all and a great bakery. We stopped for a coffee and juice and were going so well for time we decided to visit the Roman ruins of Kourion before calling it a day. Let it be said these are not the best Roman ruins in the world (that would be Jerash in Jordan), but they certainly made the most of what they had - lots of shelters, paths and signs explaining the sites. Which you'd think would be standard - but isn't always. Kourion has been occupied through various periods of history for 1000s of years. It reached its peak in the Classical period from around 300 BC to 400 AD and once once ruled over by Marc Antony and Cleopatra! Cyprus really is living history. It was eventually destroyed by one earthquake too many and abandoned. We officially did much more walking, looking and standing out in the sun than we'd planned - but had a super day out. Our "To See & Do" List is now reduced to Limassol & Kolossi Castle on Monday 19th. Cyprus. She is almost done.