Wednesday, November 1/2023

When we first started coming to Larnaca, over twenty years ago, you would often see small fields - really a bit more than vacant lots - in the middle of mixed residential and commercial neighbourhoods. Uncut grass, wildflowers, mustard. A touch of country. Gradually these have been disappearing as their financial value is realised in terms of high rise apartment buildings. So we walk over to Sklavenitis and Prinos as we continue to acquire a little basic food to set up and realise that in a walk of about four blocks we are passing several new apartment blocks. And only the tiniest bit of remaining “country”.

Prinos is a greengrocer’s that outgrew its humble origins in the city centre for classier quarters and prices beginning to match. Although most food prices have risen since the pandemic, as in the rest of the world. Some real bargains, though, like lovely Conference pears for €2.40 (£2.08, $3.50 CAD) a kilo. They won’t be from Cyprus - more probably Greece. We’re almost between two major fruit seasons, with the grapes just finishing and the citrus barely beginning. In fact what might at a distance be mistaken for limes turns out to be extremely underripe clementines.

Across the road at Sklavenitis supermarket we get olive oil, roasted peanuts, lovely small glossy aubergines - for €1.07 (£0.92, $1.56 CAD) a kilo. Interesting. Everything in Canada is in fact labelled in kilos but often the price in pounds appears much larger, presumably because the number is a reassuringly smaller one. Here everything is

in kilos only. The trick is to have. Sign on the shelf that says something like this: Not 

exactly deceitful, but the intent is to have you focus on the smaller number.