With Jane and Bill on a trip up the Karpas peninsula. We drive north past mimosa bushes and fields with poppies and other wildflowers and past vineyards. Over the border to the north, passports in hand. Through Famagusta, with a quick glimpse of Othello's tower (so called because of a reference to Famagusta in Shakespeare's play) and we head northeast. Stop for coffee at the Blue Wave seaside restaurant. The area north of Famagusta is a little reminiscent of the Cornwall coast, with rough, steep cliffs alternating with long, deserted sandy beaches. The North is mostly Turkish but there are some mixed villages. We cut across to the east coast. House prices are often advertised in pounds sterling, but the winter population is pretty well local. Some intriguing cafés, including one identified by a sign saying it is located "10 metres backward".
We stop at a coastal restaurant for lunch. Nearly miss the meal, though not the restaurant, as there's a closed sign on the door when we arrive. But a man comes up from his seaside docks, smelling slightly of diesel, and turns the sign around. We're welcome . Did we want coffee? We'd hoped for lunch. Well, it's only him and his wife - he can do us cheese omelettes with salad and chips. We say that would be very nice, and wander through the large restaurant, fascinated by the eclectic decor, which ranges from kitsch to family photos to reproductions of famous paintings and sculptures to enormous millstones. And when I go to pay, he refuses a tip. Posturing? Not a bit of it - he pats my arm, folds the bill and tucks it back in my change purse, saying gently no, this is my home.
There's a monastery further up the road, and wild donkeys. How far? About ten minutes our restaurant host says. Turns out to be at least twice that, but the donkeys are there all right, and charmingly friendly - hardly seem wild at all. Though clearly the furry hope was that we'd thought to bring treats, and we're here without as much as a carrot.
Then back along the north coast and through the mountain pass. Through orchards and barley fields and home.