Place: Outside on the porch at Tasmaria Hotel Apartments, Pafos.
Time: 20:20
Day 20
Today is our 11 month anniversary and as everyday in Cyprus so far, it started with a beautiful shuffle along the coast, a quick shower, breakfast and getting lost.
Craig and I had to return our car at 10:30am in Morfou Road, which so happens to be just off our street about 400m down the road, however Craig somehow (still being directionally challenged) went in the opposite direction and got us horribly lost. Never the less, we managed to ‘run’ into the Europcar down the road and walked back in the direction of our hotel on Tomb of the Kings Road and off to the supermarket where we would get supplies for the next few days.
Hummus, halloumi celery, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and fruit were just a few of the wonderful fresh goodies we intended to eat while on the Mediterranean.
We got back to the apartment and Craig decided to call Johan Grobbelaar, his boss from his days at Highpoint in Johannesburg, to let them know that we were in Pafos and were exited to meet up with him. Johan and his incredible wife, Maro are instrumental in our passageway into Cyprus as we had so many run-ins with the Cyprus Embassy and literally only picked up our passports with our VISA on the day that we flew to London. All this was only possible because Maro called the embassy and had a few Greek words, which obviously did the trick.
Anyways, back to our excellent day with The Grobbelaar’s.
The Johan and Maro are hosts of note, and would not take no for an answer so we arranged to meet them for a beer at their local (which happened to be right next door to our hotel) after which we would go for lunch and then watch the Sharks play the chiefs at their spot later.
We were absolutely spoiled by them as they took us to a typical Cypriot place where we ate and ate and ate some more. Greek Salad with Pita, grilled chicken, halloumi, chips and a beautiful thing they call the Sieftalies (this is similar to a pork sausage, but it has a fresh texture with the addition of lamb, parsley and mint inside mixed into the sausage). Now I am not a huge pork sausage fan, but this became a top favourite of mine. Once we could eat no more, our incredible hosts took us on a sightseeing tour of Pafos to Coral Bay and the harbor before heading to their apartment in Konia for the Rugby.
The Sharks unfortunately lost, but we felt like absolute winners being able to enjoy the wonderful view from their balcony ending an amazing day as we headed home for an early night as Maro and Johan had arranged to take us to the Mountains of Troodos to visit with Maro’s family at her village, Lysos.
P.s. We love it here so much that instead of leaving on Tuesday, we have booked 2 extra nights and will be here in paradise until Thursday.
Day 21
In great anticipation we waited outside of our hotel for Johan and Maro to pick us up and drive to the mountains of Troodos for the day.
We were greeted by their warm smiles, hugs and kisses as we set off ready for an exiting day ahead. On the way we met up with Maro’s cousin, Angelo and his stunning wife Dora who would join us up to the mountains. Angelo and Dora are young spirits with incredible energy and passion. We were so surprised to hear that they were 71 and 60 years of age as they firstly don’t look it and mostly don’t act like it. They are like young teenagers in love and have a vibrant presence, which adds such fun to our day. We arrive at a gorgeous little restaurant for lunch where the sieftalies catch my eye while Craig opts for the Sovlaki which is a grilled lamb done with flavorsome herbs. As always, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and we eat everything in sight, Craig even helps Maro with her Kleftiko which is a roasted lamb…needless to say we were so full but that didn’t stop our pallets watering as they spoke about stopping at a little place later for some Cyprus coffee and dessert.
The temperature changed as we climbed the mountains and so did the scenery. We were thrilled when snow started appearing in abundance. From small heaps to slopes of white surrounding the pine trees. This took Craig and I by complete surprise as never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that we would crunch our way through snow on our trip, nevermind the fact that it happened on the island of Cyprus. We were totally ‘gobsmacked’ and took every opportunity to take a picture. Around the mountain we went and saw the mist set in as we approached a small monastery on top of the hill. There was no one in sight except the tiny chapel and the colorful chestnut trees with their fusia colored blossoms.
It was time now to head to the village of Lysos where Maro’s family were awaiting us. As soon as we entered the village I felt incredibly privileged, as we were welcomed with love, warmth and more Cypriot foods.
As we arrived, Angelo took us for a short walk around the neighborhood talking about the history and taking us into an empty home, which he says belongs to his cousin. We feel as though we are breaking and entering, but still stroll through the house with its beautiful sandstone walls and wooden interior.
We then make our way to another cousin, Maro (not Grobbelaar). She owns the small coffee shop on a corner, which is filled with Cypriot men drinking coffee and playing cards. It is such a surreal feeling hanging out with the locals and experiencing what I thought only happened in movies. Maro has put on a delightful spread of walnut preserves soaked in Syrup and is like tasting a little piece of heaven each bite as the syrup oozes out. The next is a tart of sorts, made from boudoir biscuits topped with cream, vanilla and almonds. Two helpings later and it was time to visit Angelo’s house.
It is picturesque as the sun is setting and the light falls onto it. We begin to chat to the cousins and it being the small world that it is, we find out that Rhea, a fun filled woman who recognized Craig is in fact the Aunt of Mario, (Iriene’s husband) who’s wedding we attended last February – amazing isn’t it. She then took us to her humble home where she took us to the rooftops and showed us where Mario and Iriene would sleep when they visit. As we come down from the roof, Rhea has put on another spread of local and homemade dishes. The first being a citrus preserve and the other an eggplant preserve which we wash down with an ice cold cup of water.
It has been such a full day of wonderful sights and experiences and Craig and I couldn’t wait to get home and reminisce about the day we were so privileged to have had.
Nothing exiting planned for the next day or so, just absorbing every minute of the island and the captivating people.
xoxo
I am jealous!
ReplyDelete