A walk to Larnaka Salt Lake

Late Sunday morning, I had a text from my friend Sheila, asking if I'd like to go for a 'walk-ish' by the Salt Lake. The '-ish' was because with small children, the walk was likely to be fairly slow and somewhat erratic. I thought that sounded a great idea - the sun was shining, there was just a hint of Spring in the air, and I knew the Salt Lake was nicely filled with water after the winter rains.

We don't live far from the Salt Lake at all - less than ten minutes' walk - so I'm not sure why I don't go there more often. It's a lovely place for a walk of just about any length. There's an official trail with a good path; those who like serious walking can go all the way around if they wish. But it's nice for a gentle stroll with small people too.

As soon as we arrived, we could see the flamingoes - hundreds, possibly thousands of them, in rows. Not that it's really possible to capture them on an ordinary camera, but this was the general impression:


.. and this is about as zoomed as I could manage. If you click the picture, it will take you to a slightly bigger version of the photo where it's very clear that they're pink flamingoes:


They're fascinating to watch. Quite noisy, too. And when they spread their wings, quite a deep red was showing.

I realised that it was several weeks since I last took a photo of my little friend Helen, who is now two-and-a-half. She was happy for me to photograph her with the two rather large rocks she wanted to adopt:


However, she was surprisingly tired, and when I said that no, I could't fit the rocks in my pocket, she decided to abandon them.

We walked only as far as the bird-viewing structure - steps up to a wooden viewing place, with seats, meaning the children (and adults) could have a rest. The birds weren't quite as close, but we did see someone sitting in the sand, with a high-quality camera, waiting for some good photos. And it was an attractive view over the lake.


While we were sitting there, another family came up, also speaking in English. After a little conversation they realised that they know me - slightly; I remembered them too. I do like bumping into acquaintances when out and about in Cyprus. It makes it feel more like 'home' - which it ought to, since I've lived here for more than a quarter of my life now.

One more photo, and then we began the - fairly slow - walk back.