Our second week in Europe

 

Ice Cream for all of us, except Sheila.

Helen, me, Rob, Katie, Elisabeth

    Sunday, September 15, we spent the afternoon playing board games. Sheila, Helen and Elisabeth and I also went back to the mall with the bicycle tire that had been fixed on Friday, but was flat when we brought it home. A different technician fixed it this time and discovered that the original patch had been placed several inches from the hole in the tube. 

    Sunday evening the three girls, Rob and I  walked to the sea front for ice cream - a regular occurrence when we are here. After the ice cream Rob, Katie and Elisabeth returned to the house and Helen and I walked all the way to the Fishing Harbor. The evening air was relatively cool.

Helen and me with the moon and sea, and lights of the fishing harbor behind us.

    As we walked along the promenade we heard a parade coming down the street and discovered dancers representing various countries. We were both surprised to see dancers from Costa Rica, a country Sheila's family has a deep connection with through her summer time exchange program there while she was in high school. We learned later that the parade of dancers were part of a Mediterranean Folklore Dance Festival happening in Larnaka September 12-17.

Costa Rican dancers.

Slovakia

Bulgaria

Armenia

Egypt

These Sufi dancers were twirling down the street - don't know how they didn't fall over from dizziness.

Me and Sheila swimming in the sea at sunrise on Monday morning.

    Rob and I walked to the post office after breakfast on Monday and discovered an interesting entrance to a cafe and gallery. The glass floor was suspended a few inches above rocks arranged in different ways. It was a little unnerving to walk across the suspended glass, but we did and viewed some rock art inside the courtyard.

The glass floor.

Beautiful rock art.

More rock art.

Kamares Aqueduct, built 1747 to 1750.

Consists of 75 arches, and was in operation until 1939.

    This aqueduct is at one end of the Salt Lake Nature Trail where I again walked with Sheila and Sue on Tuesday morning. The Salt Lake Nature trail is 4 kilometers long, the mid point of which is very close to where Sheila and family used to live, and near where Sue lives. Now it's about a mile from Sheila's home, and when she walks with Sue they meet on Sheila's way to the trail. Last Thursday we walked to the opposite end where I took the picture across the currently dry salt lake. We have walked along the Salt Lake every time we've been to Cyprus. Once the rains start in September or October flamingos arrive. I am hoping for rain and flamingos before we leave here on October 1, but it's kind of doubtful that rain will arrive before we leave.

Elisabeth at Papa Johns Pizza as we wait for the pizza we had ordered.

    The sidewalks of Larnaka: There is a certain randomness to the sidewalks in this city. Some are quite even and wide, but then there may be abrupt changes in the walking surface, narrowing to nothing in some areas, and multiple obstacles in ones path - including cars, trees and other objects. 

A lovely wide sidewalk with cars parked on it.

This is a very nice promenade not far from Sheila's home.

    Rob and I even stopped to sit on the bench for a bit while we went for a walk to mail a postcard and pick up things at a grocery store.

See the stoop ahead, making it impossible for a stroller or wheel chair.

A relatively smooth dent in this sidewalk.

The often uneven surfaces means it behooves one to watch where their feet are going.

A tree planted in the sidewalk.

More trees.

A pole.

Another car.

And another car forcing Sue to walk in the street.

Sheila went to the left of this pole, and I went to the right.

    While Sheila and I were walking back from our walk with Sue on Tuesday morning, I was looking down to watch for uneven surfaces and because we were walking directly into the sun. When we encountered this pole Sheila walked left onto the main sidewalk and I walked to the right of the posts, but I didn't get far. I came to an abrupt stop, and fell backwards.

This sign was at the top of the posts!

Fortunately I only bumped an elbow, but I'll spend more time looking up, 

and down, on the sidewalks of Larnaka.

Setting moon, Wednesday morning, September 18.

From the MacKenzie Beach parking lot just before Sheila and I went swimming.

Catherine, spelled liked my grandmother's middle name, for whom I was named.

One of the many babies that came to All4Aid's Baby Group on Wednesday morning.

Seven year old from Afghanistan who skipped school to come to Baby Group.

This young boy invited me to play a game of cards.

I'm not sure what game we were playing, but we had fun.

    As part of Sheila's responsibilities for All4Aid she leads a Mother and Baby Group on Wednesday mornings. The week before we came there were five mothers and eight children present, but this week there were 16 mothers and about 20 children - lots of activity!

Helen at the net at a practice Volleyball game.

    Helen is the first of Sheila's children to participate in a team sport other than casual basketball games at youth group. The season of regular play does not begin until after we leave, but we were lucky to catch this practice game, and there may be another before we leave.

Moon over Stavrovouni Mountain.

Thursday morning at the end of the Salt Lake Trail.

Rob and I hiked to the top of this mountain with Jacob 5 1/2 years ago.

    I have gotten into a routine of walking or swimming each morning with Sheila, then coming home for breakfast, writing cards or notes, updating the blog, and then Rob and I walk to the post office to mail what I have written. The girls find it quite amusing that I walk to the Post Office each day. In this age of electronic communication folks of all ages use the Post Office less and less! If you'd like to get a post card from me, let me know. Usually we have walked the same route, but Rob chose to vary it on Thursday, and we walked by a couple of monuments.

Archbishop Makarios, first president of Cyprus, 1960.

Memorial to four who were killed during the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Walking down the street.

The police headquarters we pass often.

The Post Office. very close to the Police Headquarters.

Our regular destination.

That's the side of the police headquarters on the right.

A street view on our way home from the Post Office.

Lots of construction around town!

The Rise Hotel.

When I see this from a distance I know how to find my way home!

Katie cooking lunch on Thursday.

Rob and Helen thinking hard playing Alhambra.

Walking down a narrow street to the book store.

Katie's book!

    Katie published a wonderful book of poetry this past year. If you want a copy you can find it at Academic and General Bookshop in downtown Larnaka, or on Amazon of course! The Fairy Stars and Other Poems, by Katie Margaret Lange.

Cyprus Tavern

Rob and I ate here on Friday night when we were the only ones home.

    Saturday, September 21, I walked in the early morning with Sheila and Sue and then went to a women's breakfast with Helen and Elisabeth while Sheila went to a birthday party for a 7 year old she teaches English to. The breakfast is organized by one of the English speaking churches here in Larnaka, and as luck would have it I sat across from a woman on holiday from Scotland. Sandra had met one of the regular attendees on a previous visit to Cyprus and was invited by her. I very much enjoyed visiting with Sandra who has been coming to Larnaka for 35 years on vacation. I was interested in the perspective of the many tourists who come here from Great Britain. I have to say it very much changed my perspective of the many beach hotels and tourists, and what it means to take a relaxing vacation. Sandra likened it to a retreat.

Looking at the hotels on the beach, about 1 kilometer from Sheila's home.

Everything seemed especially clear and crisp - perhaps due to 5 minutes of rain yesterday? 

Sunday morning Sheila jogs, so I took a solo walk along the water front.

And this is the view when I turned around after taking the last picture this morning.

Greetings from Roseville:

What is Elsie saying?

And here is Daphne.

    It seems appropriate for cats to have the last appearance in this blog about Cyprus, even though these two are from the other side of the world from the many, many cats of Cyprus.