Thursday, March 26/2015

Jane and Bill and Ailsa and Harry to dinner, pushing the limits of our two burner plus microwave kitchen to its limits. Nice to be able to visit with the dynamics of the living room for a change, though. Conversation circle rather than a long restaurant table and quieter. Sad to see the time here coming to an end. Though I feel that way about each place we leave, like the child being taken off to bed while the party is still on.

"No matter what, nobody can take away the dances you've already had" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Wednesday, March 25/2015

J coming back from his morning walk on the beach as preparations are being made for the day's festivities. It's a national holiday - shops closed and all - in honour of Greek Independence Day. Yes, Greek and not Cypriot. Greek flags much in evidence. Unfortunately one suspects that part of the appeal is in getting to celebrate an anti-Turkish day, the freedom being celebrated consisting of freedom from the Ottoman Empire.

Tuesday, March 24/2015

All other news takes a back seat to the crash in the mountains of southern France of a Germanwings plane. Understandably, although hours of coverage unaccompanied by new info, there being none available yet, is tedious. Can't help suspecting that the reason is that all networks must send their own reporters and crews to the disaster site to avoid being scooped, and that once there they feel that the presence must be justified by frequent reports as all other news and analysis is put on hold.

Monday, March 23/2015

Bill over with his bag of tools so he and J can replace our suitcase wheels which are beginning to disintegrate. Hacksaw required, but the good news is that the best place for replacement wheels is just around the corner. An excellent hardware store complete with everything one might want, including wheels that fit perfectly and should last forever and new axles.

Sunday, March 22/2015

Ailsa and I out to Cessac at the British base up the road at Dhekelia. Stunning day and right by the sea, so coffee on the veranda and then a stroll along to look at the little fishing harbour. Cessac is not actually part of the base, which is just as well, as security at the base is now so high that it's almost impossible to go in.

Then Maggi over for a drink and nibbles. Just back from visiting her American relatives so full of accounts of her visit to California. And even a little packet of sweets as a gift.

Saturday, March 21/2015

Off to the Larnaca Saturday market with Bill and Jane. We haven't been for ages, nor have they. Largely because the produce is at least as good at Prinos greengrocer round the corner and much shorter carrying distance in our case. But the market is a feast for the eyes. It's always bustling and the colours are gem tones. Coffee at Jimmy's round the corner and then back to our flat for lunch.

Friday, March 20/2015

The day of the solar eclipse. Hardly worth messing with pinhole cameras this far south in order to see - possibly - a 15% bite out of the sun. So we go for coffee and forget about it until the sky darkens, but only with rain and, briefly, hail, interrupting our walk home. Stop for bread at our favourite bakery on the way and discover, courtesy of the owner, that our favourite dense rye is actually a yeastless sourdough, as is the white village loaf which he insists on giving us as a present. Want to ask about the rye but can't remember the name in Greek. Do remember the French, but that's not much help.

Thursday, March 19/2015

Once more the Cypriot legislature.extends its refusal to foreclose on mortgages that are not being paid - though this means the country won't get its bailout money.

Wednesday, March 19/2015

Museum attack by terrorists at a Tunisian museum and 25 people, almost all tourists, killed. We've actually been looking to go back to Tunisia, but flights from the UK pretty thin on the ground. British Airways stopped flying to Tunis in the autumn of 2013 and closed its office, permanently it says, citing lack of profitability. And of course lack of access adds to the lack of tourists, for which there are other causes as well, naturally. We were in Tunisia the month before the jasmine revolution began in 2010. A poor and frustrated country. There is a high rate of university graduation but over half of university graduates are unemployed, and poverty and unemployment have not improved with democracy. And this act of terrorism will do nothing to improve tourism or the economy.

Tuesday, March 17/2015

St Patrick's Day as well as the Israeli election. Just across the water from Cyprus. Geographically Cyprus is part of the Middle East although it is an EU state. The culture is mixes - food definitely Middle East plus pork. Be interesting to follow the DNA.

Monday, March 16/2015

Early start with Jane and Bill as we go to the village of Kakopetria in the Troodos Mountains. Larnaca to Nicosia and then turn left inti the mountains, the farthest reaches of which are snowcapped and nearly 2000 metres above sea level. We don't go that high, but we do start encountering a different Cyprus, with clear air and more forests than fields. 

Kakopetria, when we reach it, is charming and many of the houses in the old village have been lovingly restored. The oldest are supposed to date back as far as the 14th century. The village name is a compound meaning bad rock, a reference to one or more of the huge boulders that have rolled down the mountain side. Much of the charm is in the way the traditional stone and wood houses nestle in narrow lanes on slopes that are forested and cut by rushing streams crashing over the rocks. There are also house sized museums with olive and wine presses as well as a small church intriguingly named metamorphosis sotiros, meaning transfiguration salvation.

There was a traditional mill, dating back to the 17th century but the island stopped producing enough wheat and the mill fell into disuse. But there has been quite a bit of restoration and is now a wooden hotel and restaurant next to the mill. We explore the village and take photos of the lane in Jane's painting. Artistic licence has let her happily leave out the overhead wiring, as we can't do. Then a lovely lunch of grilled melt in the mouth trout from the mountain stream and south over the mountains and through little villages until we reach Limassol and head back to Larnaca. Super day.

Sunday, March 15/2015

No way of watching the season's opening F1 race, the Australian Grand Prix, but we do get to listen, thanks to the British base nearby which rebroadcasts quite a bit of BBC Radio 4 and Radio 5. More or less obvious from the start that Hamilton would win, but an exciting race farther back in the pack.

Lazy day after that - sun and brunch and books.

Saturday, March 14/2015

Sunny spring. Snapdragons in the flower beds. Plenty of pruning going on. Surrounding fields the greenest we've seen them, thanks to the excessive February rains.

Unemployment in Cyprus is running at 16%. Begging is rare but not completely unknown. There is, in theory at least a guaranteed minimum income.

Friday, March 13/2015

Beach with mountains of seaweed before removal

The beach has now been pretty well cleaned up, and there were mountains of seaweed to clean up. We don't linger, though, but go round to Harry's in front of St Lazarus Church for our coffee, and are rewarded with small slices of chocolate cake to accompany the Greek coffee, not that either of us are much in need of feeding up. Then stop at the cancer charity shop, and are unable to resist two books, an Ian Rankin and Brick Lane, a book set in London's Asian east end, boasting very impressive reviews. And three blues CDs. It's in a good cause.

Thursday, March 12/2015

J returns after his beach walk and says it's sunny and warm. And so it is - until we head out to Lidl, at which point the sky turns black and it occurs to us, belatedly, that we do have umbrellas, but back at the flat. Luck is with us though. Huge drops of rain begin just as we reach the store and by the time we're finished shopping the thunder and rain are all finished.

Forming a quiet friendship, despite language difficulties, with Mr Walid, a refugee living in the building. Actually he's a double refugee, first from Palestine, most probably expelled during Israeli expansions, and then from Iraq, source of so many refugees. He lives in a small room at the back of the ground floor. Kiki tells us there is no heater, and in a concrete structure this means not only no heat on chilly winter nights but also no cooling in the terribly hot and humid summers. Our age, perhaps - it's hard to tell - he lives a quiet, humble life, centred around his attendance at the mosque. It's just past the end of the beach, about two kilometres away, and he goes three times a day, the first time before dawn. This means that he is there for four of the five prayer times, as he returns after the first two but stays after third prayers to wait for the fourth. At first he made the trip on an old bicycle, but he's been having some medical problems and has been told not to ride, leaving quite a bit of walking. In theory medical treatment is free in Cyprus, but in practice those who don't go to private doctors can wait an unconscionably long time for surgery or specialist treatment. He also attends Greek classes, presumably designed for refugees. A gentle and cheerful soul. If we express hopes for the next day, such as saying the weather should be good, his answer is always a smiling inshallah - God willing. So I look up the Arabic for peace be with you - salaam alaikum (very similar to the Hebrew) 

We're forming a quiet friendship, despite language difficulties, with Mr Walid, a refugee living in the building. Actually he's a double refugee, first from Palestine, most probably expelled during Israeli expansion, and then from Iraq, source of so many refugees. He lives in a small room at the back of the ground floor. Kiki tells us there is no heater, and in a room of concrete walls this means not only no heat on chilly winter nights but also no cooling in the terribly hot and humid summers. Our age, perhaps - it's hard to tell - he lives a quiet, humble life, centred around his attendance at the mosque. It's just past the end of the beach, about two kilometres away, and he goes three times a day, the first time before dawn. This means that he is there for four of the five prayer times, as he returns after the first two but stays after third prayers to wait for the fourth. At first he made the trip on an old bicycle, but he's been having some medical problems and has been told not to ride, leaving quite a bit of walking. In theory medical treatment is free in Cyprus, but in practice those who don't go to private doctors can wait an unconscionably long time for surgery or specialist treatment. He also attends Greek classes, presumably designed for refugees. A gentle and cheerful soul. If we express hopes for the next day, such as saying the weather should be good, his answer is always a smiling inshallah - God willing. So I look up the Arabic for peace be with you - salaam alaikum (very similar to the Hebrew) - to greet him and am rewarded with a wreath of smiles and the response wa alaikum salaam, meaning and also unto you.

Wednesday, March 11/2015

Rain day, so we stay in and read. Hear late in the day that England has beateb Canada by an unembarrassing 1-0 to win the Cyprus Cup here in Larnaca. Could in theory have gone, though rain wouldn't have been a pleasure.

Tuesday, March 10/2015

The Cyprus government has plans to require medical certificates of fitness to drive annually from everyone over 75. Complaints are varied, and many, unsurprisingly, refer to the standard of driving exhibited by the young. And a certain amount of cynicism is appropriate. When Bill went to get a certificate the doctor asked him what his blood pressure was and wrote down what Bill (no doubt accurately) told him on the form.

Monday, March 9/2015

Poised as it is between Africa and Europe, Cyprus is a half way spot for migrating birds, most notably the flamingos that stop and feed in the shallow salt lakes, particularly the one near the Larnaca airport. The latest news about Cyprus's bird population is much less pleasant, though. Stories broke first in the British press and are now being taken up by the local media, describing the killing of up to two million songbirds, last fall, many of them in the British sovereign base area - though no one suspects the British. Cypriots are not naturally attuned to environmental protection, and the birds are a delicacy still served secretly at many Cypriot restaurants. Illegal, of course, as are the methods of trapping them - namely sticks covered with lime and fine nets.

Sunday, March 8/2015

Jane calls at nine, just as I'm getting the eggs out to warm in the sun for brunch, and suggests Sunday lunch at Cambanella's on the Dhekelia Road. Beautiful sunny day and the carvery excellent as usual. Three course meal, with Very nice lamb - or pork, or beef, or turkey, or all of them for that matter - and roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and veg. Nice bottle of Merlot. Choice of desserts. And good company. Back afterward to Jane and Bill's for coffee. Admire their flowers and herbs and also the park next to them. The municipality has provided park land as legally required but B and J have planted trees and flowers and kept it tidy so that it really is a park. And the lemon tree Bill planted in front of the house is heavily laden.

Saturday, March 7/2015

Collect J's new glasses. He's not completely happy with the left varifocal lens but thinks he'll adjust to it. Gorgeous day, so coffee in the sun at Harry's by St Lazarus Church. Actually, more than coffee. Also the local ice cream. J opts for cheesecake flavour and I have mastic. When we first saw mastic gum listed as a flavour it sounded like an unpleasant dental diagnosis, and I was reluctant to risk disappointment on one of my two or three ice cream cones per year. But curiosity wins, and in fact it is a pleasure, resinous but sweet and almost minty. It's derived from the gum of Mediterranean pistachio trees and has been used for more than two thousand years as chewing gum and also is said to have medical properties, particularly anti- bacterial. Disputed claims re the helicobacter bacteria associated with ulcers.

Friday, March 6/2015

Complaints that Cyprus has the highest food and utility prices in the EU. Almost certainly not true in most cases, and certainly not true overall when compared with Canada. Having said which, comparisons are difficult. Many grocery items are difficult to buy in quantity. In Canada I would buy flour in 20 kilo bags, which seem rare to unobtainable in Europe - not that I'd want them in Cyprus. Vegetables and local fruit are cheaper here than in Canada or London, of course. Cheese, pork and chicken are cheaper here, though not eggs or milk. Bread is cheaper in both London and Cyprus. Must be Canada's lack of wheat fields and pasture land. Variety of cheese and fresh fish notably better in both Cyprus and UK. Anything sweet much cheaper in the UK, though here Canada comes second. Always a surprise to go to a supermarket and find that a single iced doughnut is €1.40 (£1, $1.91 CAD) while a litre carton of Spanish wine - admittedly vin très ordinaire - is on sale for €1.25 (£0.90, $1.71 CAD). And quite drinkable wines for about twice that.

Thursday, March 5/2015

It's official. Rainfall in February in Cyprus was the highest in 20 years! Figures, in a winter where someone else came to Cyprus on our recommendation. Definitely spring now, though.

Wednesday, March 4/2015

Huge piles of seaweed on the beach, ugly and stinky. Looking like miles and mountains of tangled brown audio tape. The blame is being placed on the weather, although that seems a little vague. Apparently it amounts to ten times the usual amount and will come to a thousand truckloads, to be taken off and mulched for fertilizer.

J stops to use the public facilities on the beach and reports that one cubicle is occupied by a man, feet clearly visible beneath the door, singing loudly in a good baritone, audible before he reached the building.

Tuesday, March 3/2015

J, who walks lengths of the beach most mornings, says there are many fewer beach walkers than in previous years. The government is mostly pretty positive about numbers of tourists, but we're curious about how they know - and conclude that they don't. There is nothing to tell immigration whether someone arriving on a plane from Heathrow with a UK passport is a tourist, an ex-pat, a visiting relative, or a UK businessman. They certainly don't take long enough to ask, and in fact if our experience is anything to go by they could hire only the deaf and dumb as immigration officers and nobody would ever notice.

Hotels do record passports, so maybe that's how it's done. Although a tourist who stayed in several hotels while touring could only be tracked by name or passport number, and it seems unlikely that the Cyprus government could do this accurately even in response to a request by Interpol. And maybe that's what it boils down to. We're just cynical about the Cypriot bureaucracy's competence. After all, all countries do have tourist stats, presumably some of them fairly reliable.

Monday, March 2/2015

Unfortunately back to the optical shop as the left lens in J's new glasses is still problematic. Awkward, as the cheerful "come back if there is any problem" is like "drop in for a drink if you're passing" - not necessarily said with any expectation of having to make good. Also awkward because it's quite obvious that the optician, while not intending to renege on his promise to replace the lens if necessary, thinks that the actual problem is defects in J's eye. While admittedly J's eyes are imperfect, we're convinced that the difficulty in focusing is down to the lens as a) the glasses left in Rome were fine, b) there is no problem with his reading glasses, c) he can see quite well with his left eye through the right lens, and d) he can see better with his left eye without any lens than with the new one. So, fingers crossed once again.

Multi complaints in the newspaper about the high cost of internet in Cyprus compared with other European countries. It looks to us like the Cypriots pay less than Canadians, but a comment by one reader shows that both lag well behind some other countries: "I pay in France 39 Euro [£28, $54.47 CAD] per mont [sic]  for internet, 200 TV chanels, unlimited call to 80 country with tel line ..." Unmatched by anything in Canada.

Sunday, March 1/2015

St David's Day. Did spot someone yesterday returning from Saturday market with a bag of leeks, but thought only of lovely vegetable, not national flower. (In any case have never seen leeks flowering, despite obvious similarity to daffodils).

Make borsch. The Dutch - and quite possibly other countries, but the product from the Netherlands is what we see in the stores - sell a four pack of peeled and cooked beets, vacuum sealed with each beet a little smaller than a tennis ball. Not usually a fan of processed foods, but these aren't very processed. Inexpensive and very handy, with none of the disadvantages of the spongy, peel-wasting, red-handed mess of the supermarkets excuse for "fresh" beets. And beautiful soup.

Incredibly prolonged period of violent coughing from one of the flats near us. Torn between desire to turn up the music to block out the distressing sounds and fear that more morally responsible people than I would provide some kind of assistance, if only calling for medical help. Comfort myself with the thought that choking to death is usually a nearly silent enterprise, so Heimlich manoeuvre (learned many years ago but never practised in operational circumstances) most probably not needed. Eventually coughing becames fainter and less persistent. Recovery? Exhaustion and death?

Saturday, February 28/2015

Gloriously sunny. Actually too hot in the sun, though the official high is 20, but nobody is complaining. We join the Norwegians down at the Fort Pub, between the old fort at the beach end and the mosque. The Norwegians say they meet there every Saturday for a drink and the cake baked for the occasion by the pub's cook, Androula. There are in the end about 30 of us, pretty much the same as the crowd on Green Monday, and Tore has brought his accordion again. Have a good laugh when the proprietor takes my money and says "takk" - Norwegian for thank you. A Greek speaker talking to an anglophone.

Then down the new seaside walkway to the Flamingo, about another to km, to get the painting of Jane's we've been planning to acquire. The art group she belongs to meets at the Flamingo and their paintings decorate the walls until sold. It's very Cyprus and light enough to bring back. 

Friday, February 27/2015

Mr Andreas seems to have vanished since the advent of our new bedroom non-reading lamps a few days ago, just as I've decided to be truthful in response to his (possibly insincere) "tell me what you think."

Mr A: (proudly) We have put new lamps in your bedroom

Me:  Will I still be able to see to read?

Mr A: (slightly deflated) Tell me what you think

But no sign of him since. The lamps in question are designed to cast a dim glow on the ceiling and replace perfectly satisfactory ones that provided adequate reading lights with flexible direction. Absolutely maddening, considering the number of genuine improvements he might have undertaken and the fact that the sitting room lights are dim wall fixtures unsuitable for evening reading. Even buying a lamp is not a real possibility as there is only one ill-placed outlet in the sitting room.

Thursday, February 26/2015

Dental appointments for cleaning, which, happily, appears to be all that needs doing. Same three National Geographics that have been there for years are all the English reading material, although I have an electronic library book with me. Actually the NGs are quite good, but we've covered them pretty thoroughly over the last decade.