Immersed within the birth waters of the goddess Aphrodite
It is not just the crystal birth waters of the goddess Aphrodite that kiss the soft pebble stones resting along the sunny shores of this beautiful east Mediterranean marvel.
“We don’t see things the way they are. We see them the way WE are.” – Talmud
And we thought the Portuguese were friendly …
Limited by our 90-day Schengen visa at the end of March and spoiled by our experience in Portugal, we followed our deep desire to remain in the sun and sought sanctuary on the warm European island of Cyprus rather than the cool early spring of the United Kingdom.
Welcome to an oasis of practically zero crime and no pressure. Couple that with warm days (growing hotter by the day) and a surprise find that held a desperately missed personal treasure, and you have a stay that keeps us content and happy.
We enjoy the surreal awareness that, while within the European Union, Cyprus is geographically located in the Middle East; directly north of Egypt, south of Turkey, with Syria, Lebanon, Israel and others laying across the water to the east. On this stepping-stone to three continents, we get to witness the slow march of the nation’s cultural and practical transition into European status with the joining of the European Union and we learn first hand from the Cypriots the ups and downs of the new infrastructure, standards and rules.
While we faired reasonably well sounding out French, Spanish and Portuguese signs, being confronted with Greek signs drove home the adage: “It’s Greek to me.” Wow, that was jarring. However, we are relaxed about it now as 85% of the population speaks conversational English and most road signs accommodate the Greek-speak challenged. I only wish we could speak with our many traveling comrades who are here in abundance but only seem to speak their Russian mother-tongue.
In Cyprus, family is everything. To quote a hospitable local, “Who needs friends when you have family.” Yet the people here treat us like family. Even more than France, Spain or Portugal, the proprietor hospitality in restaurants is so different, and welcome, relative to the standard North American experience. Their pride and generosity is reflected in these mom and pop restaurants that is lost with our progressive push towards the ubiquitous chains in North America, and it is sad.
We encounter countless traffic circles, loving the genius behind them, as we reclaim our position behind the wheel for the first time in over four months; but the wheel . . . and all the other drivers . . . are on the wrong side! This makes for an interesting journey, but what really adds to the excitement is a wayward GPS that happily navigates us to a “major shopping mall,” announcing our arrival as we find ourselves twenty minutes outside of the city, facing a mega-mart comprised of a butchery and small conveniences in a shack the size of a small trailer park bungalow, supported by sheet metal. Then there is the surprise visit to the middle of a wheat field (I’m not kidding), as well as other location surprises. “Turn left and drive three-hundred meters, then turn left,” through the cordoned off grocery store parking lot?! It can be a lot of fun when you are not encumbered by the busy weights of a normal life’s day-to-day.
Cyprus does come with its less adventurous challenges, though. Our commitment to healthy eating is more difficult here than we expected; and not for a lack of trying. Organics, especially produce, are hard to come by. Any push towards a healthier lifestyle needs to include a lot of elimination, especially additives, so this point is important.
Regardless of beauty, save for France so far, our surprise realization is that some of the key elements of our best life and desired lifestyle are a challenge to fulfill here. This helps set our future directions as we move forward and make our plans for our post-european travel this fall.
Still, there is an elemental magic to the warm winds, the whitened stone and orange earth, mythical waters and fiery sun that make Cyprus an island to remember.
First Cyprus Post – Coming soon …
We will be adding detailed posts of our varied adventures in Cyprus soon …
read moreWe Like These
