Mobile phones in Cyprus

Until 2007, I didn't own a mobile phone. The rest of the family each had one, and used them extensively, but I find them intrusive, and many of them feel uncomfortable in my hands if I hold them for more than a minute or two.

However, I was almost the last person in Cyprus without one, or so it seemed. And there were a couple of occasions in the spring of 2007 when it would have been very useful to have one. Slowly, my resistance was broken down. Richard's mother was staying here for my birthday that year, and wanted me to spend my birthday money. So I thought about a phone. We went to a local shop, resisted all the blandishments of the assistants to buy a highly expensive phone with inbuilt phones, databases and (probably) coffee-makers, and chose a nice, neat-looking simple Sony Ericson model:

It wasn't worth getting a contract, even though they're as little as about one euro per month for low usage, so I opted for a pay-as-you go Sim Card. There were only two mobile phone providers in Cyprus, and we decided, for no particular reason, to opt for Areeba rather than CYTA. I had, as far as I remember, a five pound (in old Cyprus money) card initially, and they told me that my first top-up would be worth twice as much as I paid for it. So I also bought an eight pound top-up card, worth sixteen pounds with the doubling, for a total of twenty-one pounds of credit.

Since I only used the phone about once a month, and phone calls are very cheap in Cyprus, I still had about twenty pounds of credit by the end of 2007 when Cyprus joined the Euro-zone. So it transferred itself to about thirty-four euros.

By the end of April, I started receiving text messages reminding me that my credit would expire unless I bought another top-up card, since they only last a year. I still had about thirty-two euros of credit, so I didn't want to lose that.

I was slightly confused that I could not find Areeba cards advertised anywhere, until someone kindly explained that they are now under MTN.

So I bought a five euro MTN card, the smallest available, and topped up my phone. Unfortunately, I hadn't realised that a five euro topup only lasts 30 days, so around the end of May I started getting more messages... and had to buy a ten euro card to extend my credit by another year. So by the end of May 2008, I had about 47 euros on my phone.

During the rest of 2008, I did use the phone significantly more. When I was in the UK, I sent texts to Richard. When we returned to Cyprus, I sent texts to Tim in the UK. And when Richard travelled to Australia earlier this year, we had several text conversations, all of which cost a great deal more than the Cyprus texts that are just two or three cents each.

And about a week ago, I had a text message on my phone informing me that I needed to buy another top-up card, or I would lose my credit... which stood at €29. My goodness... I had actually used €18 worth of calls and texts in a year.

So, a couple of days ago, I popped into a local periptero and shelled out another ten euros for another top-up card:


Apparently I get 44 free text messages with this.

So I now have €39 on my phone. Even if I use up another €18 in the next 12 months, I'll still be well in credit.

In a little lightbulb moment, it occurred to me that when I phone Richard's mobile to remind him to come home for a meal, it would be better to use my mobile to call rather than the house phone. The cost won't be any different, and I might as well try and see if I can use up at least half of my outstanding phone credit...

Sunset over Larnaka Salt Lake

On Wednesday evening, our visitors had to be at the airport by about quarter to eight. It had been a lovely day - as is expected at this time of year in Cyprus - but by the evening, there were quite a few fluffy clouds in the sky.

As we drove past the Salt Lake, which (after our extensive rains this spring) is still fairly full, we saw the most glorious view of the sun beginning to set over the lake, with the clouds glowing red and orange, and amazing reflections.

There was no way to stop on the way to the airport. But ten minutes later we were on our way home, and able to pull into a little lay-by. The sun was a lot lower - sunsets happen pretty quickly in Cyprus, without much dusk - but the clouds made the sky look very attractive. I took about ten photos in quick succession, of which the better ones were this one:

.. and, just a couple of minutes later, when the sun had almost vanished, this one:

Afternoon in Lefkara

Last night, we said goodbye to some visitors who had been staying in our guest flat for the past ten days.

Today is a public holiday, for Ascension Day (in the Eastern calendar). Richard has gone sailing, so I have a day all to myself, and am trying to catch up with various things. Including this slightly neglected blog.

So here, without further delay, are a series of photos from last Friday, when we took our visitors on a trip to the village of Lefkara, part-way up the mountains.

As usual, we parked at the start of the main village of Pano (upper) Lefkara. A few years ago, this shop was thriving - full of the traditional lace, and other items, with friendly owners who loved to entice visitors in and ply them with lemonade, and hope they would buy there rather than venturing further into the village where prices were often less.

But for the last few years, this shop has been closed, with no signs of re-opening:


As we started to walk into Lefkara, we were surprised to see that several other shops appeared to be closed too:


Perhaps the global recession has hit Cyprus this way, in that there are fewer tourists, and thus many of the Lefkara shops - which appeal mainly to foreign visitors - are not able to continue.


However, when we reached the main part of the village, we were relieved to see that many of the traditional shops were open as usual, displaying their wares on the walls outside:


As well as the traditional tablecloths and other linen, there is, of course, a large amount of 'tat' designed to appeal, no doubt, to those wanting souvenirs with the word 'Cyprus' rather than traditional (and often expensive) Cypriot handicrafts.


One of our visitors collects small elephants. We had never really looked at the small ornaments before, and I was quite surprised to see just how many there were on display, some of them beautifully made (although others were far too ornate for my tastes)



After the purchase of two small elephants - one silver, one gold-plated and ornate - and a bracelet, our visitors treated us all to ice creams at a corner cafe.

It was a pleasant afternoon in an attractive village. We just hope the entire village doesn't end up as a ghost town within the next few years.

Saturday sailing in Cyprus

I don't go sailing. Not that I have anything against boats - I'm quite happy to be on a ferry, and more than happy to visit Daniel on the MV Doulos. But I don't do at all well in sunshine. Just half an hour outside in the summer without shade would give me a migraine. On Richard's boat, there is no shade at all.

So, most Saturdays he goes out sailing with other people, which he loves to do, and I enjoy a peaceful day at home on my own.

But last Saturday, he agreed to take a family who live nearby who have become good friends in recent months. There are five children, one of whom is only eight months old, and thus too young to be taken on a dinghy. So since Richard and Neil, another sailing friend, hoped to take all the rest of the family out at the same time (two adults and two children in each boat) I agreed to go to the sailing club with them, and look after the baby. She's a lovely little girl who knows me quite well so I didn't anticipate any problems.

The day was warm, but not unpleasantly hot. The conditions were perfect for teaching beginners, with calm sea and very light winds. Between them, Richard and Neil managed to find sufficient life jackets (technically buoyancy aids) for everyone, including three-year-old Katie.

Even better, Neil rigged up an ingenious shade on the beach using the cover of his boat, an old broken trolley, some rope and some tyres.

Here are the first group getting into Neil's boat:

.. and here are the second group, getting into Richard's. You can see how calm the sea was!

They sailed in formation out into the bay:

... and then, after about forty-five minutes, back again.

Helen, I'm happy to say, was absolutely fine with me. I did have to stop her from eating small stones, but she was fairly amenable, and didn't seem to mind being offered large stones, or keys, or even a toy instead.

They went out several more times, in various combinations. The older children enjoyed the sailing more than the younger ones, and the parents both enjoyed it too! Here they are, towards the end of the day, bringing Neil's boat in:


Unfortunately for me, Neil and his family had to leave before Richard had finished his last trip. So they had to dismantle the shade cover in order to put their boat away, and I ended up with about 45 minutes in the sun. It wasn't too hot; it was about 3pm by then and there was quite a breeze. But the sun was too much for me. By the time we got home I felt utterly exhausted, and had a migraine Sunday morning. Still, Richard knows now to leave me in peace when I feel that way. After a few hours by myself I was able to sort out a few things for the guest flat and go to the airport with him to meet our next guests who arrived around 9.30pm last night.

Richard also wrote about this day out, with more photos of the actual sailing and also a map showing exactly the tracks of the boats in and out of the bay.

Playing Scrabble

I've always enjoyed board games. Well, some of them. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Monopoly. Or games of pure luck such as Ludo or Snakes and Ladders. Nor do I really enjoy two-player thinking games like Chess or Mastermind, although I used to play them from time to time. I was even in charge of the Chess Club at my high school for a while, MANY years ago, though I'm not entirely sure how that happened.

I used to play board games with my siblings, and then when we had children of our own we played games with them, too. The word game Probe was popular for a while; in their later teens we played Mah-jong from time to time, and Rummikub fairly often. One year we had an ongoing Rummikub tournament to see if one of us really was the best player, or if it evened out over time. (In case you are interested, it was Daniel. Without any shadow of doubt. I still have the score sheets! In 2002, we played forty games in total. Daniel was first, with 633 points. I was in second place, with minus 74...)

Now our boys are grown up and have left home, you might think we play fewer board games. This is far from so. We have learned some new games in recent years (Settlers of Catan being a current favourite) and we have also found some Scrabble-playing enthusiasts. This in addition to playing extensive games of both Scrabble and Lexulous on Facebook with various people.

On Friday evening, our friends Mark and Joan (from the USA) came over for a meal and a couple of games. Joan also plays on Facebook, but our husbands don't. While there is, evidently, some luck in the tile distribution, there's also a great deal of skill in word placement. We play in a fairly co-operative kind of way, with a full two-letter word list printed out for all to access, and allowing each other to look up words before playing them in the Official Scrabble Words book. We also sometimes point out better placements to each other, if someone could make a much better move, and then allow them.

Online, it's quite common to score 'bingos' - the Facebook word used for using up all seven tiles in one move. But then on Facebook we have plenty of time. Sometimes I only make one move in a day. Not that I spend the rest of the day thinking about it.. but there's no time pressure. Playing 'live' is more difficult, even though we don't enforce any time limits as such. By the last round of the game, there had not been any seven-letter words. I had the word 'polite' in my hand, plus an N. I noticed a U and wondered whether UNPOLITE was a word. I didn't suppose it was (the reverse of 'polite', after all, is 'impolite'. But I looked it up anyway. To my surprise, it existed. Even more surprising, nobody took the space I wanted to use.

So I played a 'bingo' and also ended the game, as there were no tiles left, with UNPOLITE. And then took a photo since I don't think I can ever remember finishing the game with a bingo:


Since nobody exepcted me to go out, there were a few high-scoring tiles in hands, too, which counted against them.

Then we played another game, and Tessie decided to advise Mark on his moves:

It seemed to be successful, since he achieved his ambition of scoring 100. I was lucky enough to have another bingo: 'SMOKILY'. And then we had quite a discussion on how on earth one would use that word in a sentence. Other than something like 'I scored a bingo by playing the word "smokily" ' of course. Perhaps, 'He emerged smokily from the blazing room'?

I won that game, too, thanks to the bingo (using all seven letters in one turn gives a bonus of fifty). Joan decided I had scored an A grade, and then set to work to figure out how everyone else would be graded, if using the American system of percentages. It got very complicated, so Richard pulled out the calculator on his phone to enable exact calculations...


Yes, we still have the kinds of bizarre discussions we used to have with other home educating families when there were teenagers at home...

May hurries by in Cyprus, and Summer approaches...

I'm not quite sure what happened to the first couple of weeks of May. It's a transition month, weather-wise. I'm still wearing jeans in the daytime, but no sweatshirt. For the past few days, I haven't even added an extra layer in the evenings. We're still using the thin duvet on the bed.. but I don't suppose it will be for very much longer.

Richard has started using water from the fridge to dilute lemonade rather than water at room temperature. Today I found our frappé maker, deep within a cupboard, and gave it a wipe, finding a place on the kitchen counter-top again. We had our first frappés of the year after lunch.

And, you might ask, what has been going on in our household in the past fortnight? I find that question hard to answer, but here are a few random highlights:

- a family from the USA stayed in our guest flat for just over a week. They found a place to rent very quickly, as well as some used furniture to buy, and yesterday Richard helped them to move. The husband will be working with Richard's organisation in a technical role. The rest of the family will be home educating - that's yet another home ed family in Larnaka.

- I looked after a three-year-old for one morning while the rest of her family were at a conference in another town. It was both enjoyable and tiring. I find three-year-olds delightful, and am always happy to read a story again.. and again... and again... On the other hand, I really do like my own space and time alone, and was not at all upset when, after staying for lunch, her family took her home again.

- We enjoyed a Sunday lunch gathering with Richard's colleagues and their families, where people could meet the new folk and we could relax together.

- We attended an independent Christian house group starting with a meal, rather like the one that used to meet at our house which (sadly) has now stopped. A big advantage of this newer one is that it is not affiliated to any one church congregation; another plus point is that children are involved too. It meets fortnightly rather than weekly, which may also be a good thing.

In addition, life has continued as usual... I've started trying to work out what to do with our family web site which has been at Geocities for the past nine or ten years. Geocities is closing later in the year, so if the site is to continue it will need to be moved and probably redesigned. This blog continued where the site left off.

Last night we went to play 'Settlers of Catan' with some local friends. Tonight some other local friends are coming for a meal, and to play 'Scrabble'. On Saturday Richard's taking a family sailing; I shall probably go along too, and sit on the beach with whoever is not sailing at the time. Soon it will be too hot for me to be out in the daytime at all, so I might as well make the most of this ideal weather where the seashore breezes make the temperature perfect.

On Sunday evening some relatives are coming to stay in the guest flat, so I'll be organising meals for them for the next ten days. We then - currently - actually have two weeks where the guest flat is empty, the longest gap so far this year. There are still a few gaps over the Summer months too, although we're having more visitors in July and August than ever before.

Life in Cyprus is - on the whole - very good.

Day out in Limassol including Kurium and Kolossi

The only times we tend to see much of Cyprus outside our local area are when we have guests. Even then, it rather depends on how busy Richard is.

A friend from the UK came out recently, and spent a fortnight with us. It was a working holiday: she left her family behind, and spent most of her days in the office, doing some accounting and working on assets and doing other clever and complicated finance-related things with numbers.

On the Saturday before she returned home, we went out for the day. First of all, we went to Kurium (or Curium or Kourium or Kourion... depending on how people feel like spelling it). This is the site of the ancient amphitheatre a little beyond Limassol where there are annual Shakespeare productions, and where Richard filmed the Esther musical a couple of years ago.

The day was gorgeous. Sunny, with a light breeze, around 24C in the shade. There were some tourists at the site, including a couple of coaches doing guided tours, but it wasn't too busy.

After wandering around the amphitheatre and enjoying the views, we went to the covered area and looked at the huge house, now mostly in ruins, and some of the amazing mosaics that still survive:

Then on to the temple and cathedral on another part of the site:

Despite the day being pleasant, I had had more than enough sunshine by the time we got there, so I found a shady area and sat down, while Richard and our friend explored the site more thoroughly. I was entertained by a couple of hang-gliders who were flying to and fro not far away:

All that for €1.70 per person. Before Cyprus became a euro-zone, it must have been one Cyprus pound each, and they actually rounded down by a penny (since the exact conversion would have been £1.71). Even better, the price has clearly not increased for over a year.

After we had explored Kurium fully, we found a bakery and bought some olive and cheese pastries for lunch. Then we drove to the nearby Kolossi Castle, somewhere we had never actually visited before. Outside was a most unprepossessing café with red painted signs and high tourist prices:


So we didn't go in. Instead we went to the castle - another €1.70 each, much less expensive than the equivalent UK prices for such attractions - which didn't look very big from outside:

. but was surprisingly spacious inside, and very well preserved.

We all made it up to the top, despite my not being very keen on the stone spiral staircase!

Then, having seen the entire castle, we drove to Limassol sea-front, where our friend bought us some ice creams at a van which was conveniently parked in the car park.

Then we burned off a few of the calories by taking a stroll along the promenade, which has a sculpture park with some displays almost reminiscent of a Middle Eastern corniche:

Some of the displays were just strange:

.. and others distinctly bizarre:

All in all, it was a very pleasant day out. We left the house about 9.45am and were back in Larnaka by about 4.30pm, time for a rest before our friend took us out to eat at a nearby restaurant in the evening.