Wednesday, February 11/2026

Warm enough but we wear our windbreakers down to the little supermarket not because it’s raining, though it may shower later, but because it’s really windy. Oranges, bread, onions, mushrooms, pasta and wine. No need to buy rosemary - ever - because across the road from us is an enormous rosemary bush covered with little blue flowers. Technically on the orchard side of the fence but it has sprawled well onto the road side and in any case is producing enough fragrant rosemary to satisfy the whole neighbourhood. 

Showers for enough days that it’s hard to believe that the island is much too dry, but it is after four years of drought. In the South reservoirs are at less than fourteen percent of capacity and little rain can be expected after February. The South relies on desalination for seventy percent of its drinking water, but there are still severe shortages looming.

Rainfall amounts have probably been similar in the North but here there is an 80 kilometre undersea pipe that brings water from Türkiye to the TRNC.