A Taste of Cyprus

My third post on Cyprus, featuring our delightful November jaunt and a blast of sun. Andy, of course, had ulterior motives with the mushroom season in it's prime but I managed to overlook and enjoy the scenic pines, junipers and cistus in the Troodos mountains whilst he was mesmerised by rare Amanitas and Fennell Oysters.

I loved the mountain villages, not quite as pituresque as some of the Greek Islands but attractive with their more rustic, fuctionality and streets big enough to accomodate a slim donkey as opposed to a car. A little less on the bougainvillea front and a little more on large rusty water canisters.....

Two highlights for me...

The first was a visit to a small monastry in the middle of nowhere when I was out for a solo drive, I was greeted by this wonderful monk who took my hand and led me to the breaktaking chapel....it was quite an emotional experience which made me glad he left me for a while. When I left the chapel he walked me through his humble garden and gave me sprigs of lavendar and lemon verbena. He even let me take his photo

 

 

 

My second thrill was the village of Odomos. Took forever to get to but way up in the Troodos it was a jewel and something that seems to have been unscathed by time. It has a wonderful little square nestled between countless passageways and was accessible through the church.....

 

 

This is a wine making village although the wine in Cyprus has a lot to answer for.....not good! That being said, August may be the most forgiving month as there is a wine festival every day and you get to sample the goods for free and after a while you can probably get used to the taste :)