Cyprus

Gala Dinner

St Barnabas Monastery, Famagusta

Hello Everyone,

It is good to be back after a wonderful holiday in Cyprus despite the weather and the 5 day bus strike in Pafos.

First, I would like to thank Sofia and Donald for holding the fort and keeping you entertained during my absence. I hope you enjoyed their informative articles on dominoes, darts, February and last week's quiz. As promised the answers are now available. As you know Sofia was extremely excited at the prospects of being available on Kindle, Nook and Apple i Store and she, Donald and the rest of the happy gang are now available on all of these. Today, for the first time, I found them on Kindle and can see why they are so excited.... this new technology!

Anyway, enough about them. Cyprus! As you see form the two photos above, "I was there!" I enjoyed a gala dinner and I visited the Monastery near Famagusta where St Barnabas coffin lies and was able to go down into the crypt and actually see it. But, to the beginning, my journey to Larnaca was delayed by 3 hours due to a strike by Cyprus Air Traffic Controllers. After a 4.00 am start, to get to Luton airport, I was not pleased. However, these things are set to try us,  eventually we hit the skies and landed at Larnaca just after 6.00pm local time. Then came that exciting experience and moment of relief when reunited with my luggage. I am all smiles as I head for arrivals and see Henry Phillips, the SAGA rep and an old friend of mine, waiting to welcome me. 2 hours later we arrive at the Alexander Hotel in Pafos and all the hassle at Luton airport is forgotten.

I am looking forward to days of sunshine and sunbathing. Maybe, I should have taken more notice of Noah building an Ark. Sadly, many of the holidaymakers are desperate to return home having had rain every day for about 3 weeks. But, this is Cyprus, the island that boasts sunshine. Climate change is definitely affecting the beautiful island. Not once did I wear a sarong because it rained every day. There were brief interludes of sunshine but it was still breezy.

I am a firm believer in the fact that if you do not enjoy a holiday it is your own fault and not the weathers. I still enjoyed the hotel and all that it had to offer, excellent cuisine and superb enteratinment. I  met up with old friends and visited places. This year I actually made it to Famagusta.This is the ghost town in the Turkish occupied area of Cyprus where much of the city is deserted and left in ruins after the Greek Cypriots fled during the 1974 invasion from Turkey. On the way, we drove along the Green Line and saw a deserted village on one side of the road and a new one on the other where the Greeks had moved to after the division of Cyprus. We also saw the ruins of Salamis on the coast after visiting the Monastery. It was an awesome day trip.

During the rest of the month, I had a ball, I loved visiting Omodhos and enjoyed having my morning coffee in the Square, even if it was inside the coffee shop! I shopped in the old town of Pafos, I had fun with my old friend, the artist, Boris. I found a new craft fair in Coral Bay and even managed to sunny Saturday morning visits to the beautiful Coral Bay. I strolled along the beach path and then sat just watching the sea. Another awesome Cyprus experience. There were a couple of Sunday morning concerts at the harbour which were delightful (in between the storms!)

Well, now I am back in the UK and intend starting work on my next book, next week!
Until then, I leave you with this thought for the week.

Life is what you make it!