Anniversary trip to Platres

I'm a little shocked to see that it's almost a month since I wrote on this blog. And that it's nearly four weeks since the events of which I am about to write. But, I hope, better late than never...

Six years ago, we spent a couple of days in the mountains over our wedding anniversary. We went to the little village of Kakopetria, which was pleasantly cool and a great place to relax, away from the heat and humidity of Larnaka.

This year has been quite stressful in many ways, so Richard decided to find another village - since there wasn't exactly a whole lot to do in Kakopetria! - and take me into the mountains again, for this year's 33rd anniversary. He opted for Platres*, and checked reviews of several possible inns/hotels/b&bs in the neighbourhood. He rejected several which were apparently unfriendly or had smelly drains, and opted for the Semiramis Hotel, which most reviewers claimed was basic but friendly. The price was pretty good too...

It was a little complicated to find; we went to the wrong part of Platres at first, and then tried to set the address on Richard's phone app... it wasn't very accurate, but happily he spotted it just as we were about to drive past on the main road:

We were a bit tired and rather hungry by the time we got there, as it was around 1.00pm. We were checked in by a very friendly young woman, and informed that we had 'half board' - a slight surprise as we thought we only had bed and breakfast.  Our room was like one from a traditional Cyprus house of fifty or so years ago, dark wood and indeed fairly basic.  The only slight disappointment was that there were no coffee-making facilities - and that the drains were a little smelly! 

However we wanted to eat first of all, so walked a couple of kilometres into Platres village where we had some excellent rolls and then found a place for frappés. We then walked back to the hotel, and to my astonishment I lay down for a second to see how comfortable the bed was, and then fell asleep almost instantly.  I almost never take siestas... it must be something to do with the mountain air, and perhaps having just walked four kilometres.  Even having had caffeine did not keep me awake.

Our evening meal was not served at the hotel but at a taverna in the village, which was run by the husband of the lady who had greeted us when we arrived. Apparently his father is the owner of the hotel. It truly is an old-style family-run business, and very friendly indeed. Richard had a couple of long conversations with the owner, discussing the hotel's history and the economic crisis, and living in Cyprus in general. 

Although our room did not really have anywhere comfortable to sit, there were lounge areas downstairs, and after breakfast each morning - basic but good - we sat and read for a while:

I really like the lighting in this photo... not that I set anything up. It was one of those snaps that just happened to work:

Later on we walked back into the town - the hotel staff had told us of a rather shorter (albeit very steep) route, and looked at the shops. I'm not keen on shops in general, but it was quite interesting to see them and wander round a few. There were vast numbers of restaurants and tavernas; we chose one offering free wi-fi to have coffee, since the hotel did not offer wi-fi.

Here's a little area in the village where we sat briefly:

Having rather exhausted Platres we drove up to the summit of the mountains at Troodos - not far away - and had lunch there. Then we had some ice creams... this was mine:

No doubt highly calorific, but absolutely delicious. 

In the evening it was back to the family-run taverna: 

The options for 'half-board' customers of the hotel were a little limited, starting with an excellent Greek salad:

I passed the olives and beetroot to Richard but enjoyed the rest of it. 

Then we had the option of about eight different Cyprus specialities. Richard chose kleftiko the first night and afelia the second.  They were served as plates of meat - no veg at all; a dish of couscous accompanied the kleftiko, and some chips the afelia.  I had moussaka the first night which was okay, though not the best; the second night I made the mistake of having what I would call dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) although they were given a Cypriot name.  They were a bit bitter, and also just served with chips. I would have liked some vegeterian options.

However, since we had these evening meals included, we could hardly object - and they were certainly substantial and filling.  So much so that we didn't even think about dessert. 

We walked back to the hotel the long way round on our second evening, stopping to explore a few little detours, and were interested to see that although grape season was well underway on the island, the Platres grapes were evidently not yet ripe:

All in all, it was a very enjoyable couple of days away.

*Note that Platres is not pronounced 'Platters' or Platers' but something approximating to PLAT-rez

Of food and rings and party cakes...

Last Thursday, I wrote about Jacob's birthday evening. I showed a photo of his rather small birthday cake, and mentioned that there was another cake as well.

Here's a picture of that other cake:


You might notice that it's heart shaped. You can probably also make out the letters 'D' and 'B'. That's because although it was Jacob's birthday, he thought it would be rather nice to make a cake in honour of someone else. Or rather, two people.

One of them is my older son Daniel... and I shall direct you temporarily to his blog, where he made an important announcement.

Yes...

It's another milestone in the life of our family. Last Wednesday, Daniel and his girlfriend Becky went with some other people up to Troodos, to turn on water and check the campsite. Over lunch, Daniel - for whom Troodos is one of his favourite places in all the world - proposed to Becky, and she accepted. Just as well, since he had bought her a ring earlier in the week.

They told us in the evening, and spoke to Becky's parents too. The following day they wanted to let various other relatives, close friends and colleagues hear the news before it went viral on Facebook. So I didn't mention it to anyone, although I was smiling so much that I'm surprised nobody guessed.

Not that I saw many people on Thursday morning.

However, Richard did just happen to mention the good news to some friends at the office, one of whom is Jacob's father. And since he didn't say anything about it not being widely announced just yet, the whole family knew - and were thrilled - mid-afternoon. And although it was Jacob's birthday, he was generous enough to want the major cake to be for Daniel and Becky:


After eating, we played a game of Settlers, which Jacob won.


Richard and I wanted to do something to mark the occasion too, and suggested we might take Dan and Becky out for a meal. They're not very decisive, so we thought we might just go to the local meze house - but after much thought, Daniel said he'd like to go to Aztekas. That's a slightly up-market Mexican restaurant along the Dhekelia Road, where we've been to mark other special occasions. It was where we went for a last family meal before Daniel joined the Doulos, four and a half years ago, and where we went in the evening of my birthday, after a wonderful day out in Troodos, a little over two years ago when Daniel was home for his first furlough.


We decided to have one starter between four of us:


Then the food, as ever, was excellent. This is what both Daniel and Becky had: a meat version for Becky, and the veggie version for Dan:


This is what Richard had: his usual (if one can call it 'usual' at a place we visit about once every two years) chimichangas:


Daniel said he was a bit concerned that I was taking photos of so many things rather than simply enjoying life... but that's one of the great benefits of digital cameras.

We decided not to have a dessert at Aztekas; instead we thought we might go to the yogurt ice cream place in Larnaka.

But before we left, as usual, the waiter brought us some margharitas 'on the house':

Family newsletter 2008

According to the BBC news site, round robin letters are annoying. Personally, I enjoy getting them and I hope our friends and relatives don't find them too irritating, since we continue to send one out each year by post and/or email. Here, for the record, is this year's missive with a few minor omissions such as addresses, and a few link additions:

Dear Family and Friends,

The latest installment in the lives of our family, beginning with the boys:

... the rest of this newsletter can now be found on our family website. See 2008 Christmas newsletter

Day in Troodos Mountains

Yesterday - Sunday - was my birthday. It was also Daniel's last Sunday in Cyprus, as his furlough ends tomorrow. So we decided we would spend most of they day in the Troodos mountains, one of Dan's favourite places in Cyprus. He had wanted to go when he first got here, but time rushed by...

The boys and I went to church, since Dan needed to say goodbye to various people, and we left Larnaka around 11.30am. The roads were pretty clear, and the way through Limassol is very easy now the flyover system is working. A few years ago it could take half an hour or more to travel a few kilometres between the roundabouts, but now it's just five minutes or so.

We decided to have lunch on the road from Limassol to Troodos. I was sure I had seen several tavernas there, and sure enough we passed some. Unfortunately, most of them looked closed. I suppose they're mainly open during the summer - or perhaps it was too early, since it was only about 12.45 and Cypriots tend to eat lunch around 2pm. Or perhaps, as Tim said, because it's Palm Sunday in the Orthodox Church, people were starting to fast more seriously.

Still, we saw several signs for 'The Waterfall Restaurant' - not very well made, but there were so many of them we decided we might as well find it. And sure enough, we eventually got there. It looked pleasant enough, so we stopped for lunch.


The menu was fairly basic - sandwiches, omelettes, pies and chips - but we didn't want a big meal, so we opted for pies and chips. I thought they would come with salad, but they didn't... and the pastry was a little soggy, but they were pleasant enough, and certainly filled a gap. They were rather expensive for what they were, but then this place is probably meant for tourists.

We didn't go to see the advertised waterfalls next to the café since we'd have had to pay another five euros each, which seemed a little high - about as much as we spent seeing the pyramids last week! - and with the extreme water shortage, we didn't suppose they would be very exciting anyway.

As we drove on, up the winding road, we were a bit shocked to see that vast regions of the forest looked totally burnt:


Eventually we remembered hearing about serious fires in the Troodos district last summer. We had not realised there would be so much damage - there were miles of the roadside that looked like that, although we didn't see any damaged buildings. It was a relief to get to the more normal views, albeit not as green as usual:


When we finally reached Troodos village, we found it was only a degree or two cooler than Larnaka. But the air felt very pleasantly fresh, and there was a lovely breeze. We parked the car, and went to sit on a park bench.

I had not had time to open my cards and presents before leaving, so we took them with us. I started with Daniel's; he always takes more trouble than anyone I know over his wrapping paper, often creating it himself. This time he made rather geeky wrapping, using white paper and masking tape, with a few labels (click the image to see a bigger version if you can't read the print) :

Here's a bigger view of one of the side labels:

Inside was the newest book by Bill Bryson, which I hadn't even heard of: his biography - The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - in which Dan had written, 'Dear Mum, I couldn't remember if you liked Bill Bryson.'

I do indeed, and look forward to reading it!

There were a few other parcels that had arrived:


So I opened them, and found some books and a DVD from my wishlist, all of which I shall enjoy.


Richard gave me some earrings he bought in Lebanon, and Tim gave me some different coloured candles which he bought in a local craft shop, run by a friend.

Then I wondered aloud if the swings were suitable for adults... and saw some other adults on some of them. I love swings, so I decided as it was my birthday, I'd have a go:


They were very good swings indeed!

After that, we decided to take some family photos - something else we had been thinking of for Dan's entire furlough. I was pleased with this photo I took of the boys:

And we set up a tripod, with Daniel's camera on timer - and managed to get several good photos of the whole family, one of which I plan to order prints of:


After we'd done that - and Richard took some photos for some other tourists - we found a little café selling ice creams, again at rather high prices, but they were very good. Then Dan and Richard had some coffee, and we read for a while, then went to wander around the tourist shops, which sell a mixture of fairly nice things and tat. At least, three of us did. Tim, who had been out all day Saturday at an island-wide youth sports day, and didn't get back until after 11pm, was exhausted and went to sleep in the car.

Dan bought a few boxes of 'Cyprus delight' to take back to the Doulos, and eventually around 5pm we decided to get back.

In the evening we went out to Aztekas, which is probably our favourite restaurant in Larnaka - it's Mexican, with a good choice of authentic dishes, all offering either meat, chicken or beef filling.

All in all, a very nice day.

Slightly geeky postscript: I am now 48, which seems rather a tidy sort of number. Lots of divisors, and since the month and year are 04-08 it seems particularly appropriate. Oh, and it means I'm now 30 in hexadecimal.

Kakopetria break

On Thursday, it was our 27th wedding anniversary. Richard had been feeling a bit overwhelmed with work, and over-tired, and I had been feeling tired with the heat and humidity. So he decided it would be nice to go away for a couple of days, into the mountains. Many people in Cyprus go to the mountains for the summer; they aren't always cooler, but the humidity is considerably lower.

He booked us into the Mill Hotel in Kakopetria, a small village in the Troodos mountains, on the recommendation of some friends who had recently stayed there. It took about an hour and a quarter to get there, going towards Nicosia and then Troodos. Much nicer roads than going to Troodos out of Limassol!


It wasn't too hard to find, and turned out to be very pleasant, with enormous rooms and a stunning view over the valley from our balcony.


It wasn't actually any cooler than Larnaka - the temperature gauge in the village told us it was 36C - but it felt much nicer due to the dryness, and by evening it felt pleasantly cool. There was no air conditioning in the bedrooms, just a ceiling fan, and that was fine. We were a bit surprised to see that there were very few other visitors in the hotel - only six tables were set in the dining room for breakfast! - despite a huge staff, and excellent service.

We walked around the village - just a few shops and houses - and found the 'bad rock' after which the village of Kakopetria is named:


Not exactly a cheerful story: apparently Pagan customs mixed with Christianity in Cyprus, several hundred years ago. A newly-married couple were celebrating their marriage by dancing around a huge rock to Aphrodite, goddess of love, who (legend had it) was born in Cyprus. The rock fell and crushed them. The rock now takes a place of honour and has a village named after it...


We drove the 16km into Troodos on the morning of our anniversary, and were pleased to find that the road works of previous years had finally gone. Not that there's very much in the village: a small grocery store, a children's playground, and several tourist stalls selling souvenirs, sweets, and so on. Oh, and a couple of small restaurants. We had some cold drinks, and browsed the stalls but didn't buy anything. It was definitely cooler in Troodos, even though it's not much higher than Kakopetria.


It only gradually occurred to us that the general view didn't look very Cypriot. This is partly because it's so green - in the mountains there doesn't seem to be any lack of water - and partly because the houses don't have water tanks and solar panels on the rooftops:

All in all, it was a lovely break - although Larnaka felt all the more humid when we got back yesterday morning.