Disruption in Drosia

I suppose it was a couple of weeks ago that we became aware of the extensive road-works in our neighbourhood. Or perhaps it was a bit longer ago. There are so many random diggers and other disruptions to the roads in Cyprus that we've almost stopped noticing them. But Richard mentioned that he was having to drive a little further to get home, due to diversions, and I could hardly help noticing that there were road-works which I had to skirt carefully while walking to the local shops:


The digger was creating a channel right through the tarmac on the road.

Then our mains water went off for a few hours, about ten days ago. We've got so used to having constant mains water that we no longer store lots of bottles, and I'd just run the washing machine. Thankfully it was on again by lunch-time, a reminder of the days gone by when we only had mains water two or three times per week.

However, it reminded me that, slowly, Cyprus is being converted from septic tanks to mains drainage. I believe it's funded by the EU and was one of the requirements of Cyprus joining the European Union seven years ago. There have been extensive road works in many districts, and apparently it's now our turn. Not that they've reached our street yet. But I continued to take photos when going to the shops - such as these slightly confusing diversion signs:


Or this machine, which our most intelligent cat, Sophia, appears to think is a cat-eating monster. Not that she's seen one for a while, but she was sitting on the balcony one day when a machine of this ilk was turning around, with the 'mouth' apparently opening and closing in her direction. She is not a nervous cat, in general, but I have never seen her so petrified. She hid under my desk for some hours. She will not be happy when the construction workers reach our street.


Here's a glimpse of the new pipes and drainage that are being installed:


The workers seem to be progressing rapidly, possibly hoping to have finished before it gets really hot and humid. They have started work before 7.30 each morning this week, and by today most of the holes had been filled in. The roads look scrappy and dusty - it's probably too much to hope that they'll be nicely re-surfaced, but at least the diversion signs seem to have gone.