March 23, 2023 – My Sister’s Birthday, Friends, and Rainbows

As I sit on a bed in a hotel listening to a Greek cartoon, I think about my sister, whose birthday is today. Other than when we were at each other’s throats when we were younger, she’s been a good big sister. Happy day to you, Debbie. I hope it is awesome!!

Now, to what we’ve been doing. The last time I wrote, we’d returned from Israel. We then spent several weeks relaxing on Seahike at the marina. That included breaking in our new dinghy motor. I was very excited:

Michael did a fine job driving while I adopted the role of hood ornament so I could read my book, take pictures, and stare at the clouds.

I tried some octopus at the marina’s restaurant. It was very good!

We spent a wonderful afternoon with six 20-somethings. We met the three women on the cab ride home from Israel. We’d invited them to meet us for coffee at Coffee Berry and go for a sail with us. We were SO happy when they contacted us the next day. They asked if they could bring three of their friends. “Of course!”

There ended up being no wind that day, but we had a nice time chatting at the coffee shop, then took all of us out on Seahike (via motor). They were so much fun! It was a wonderful day!

Six wonderful young people . . . .and us.

We’ve had some rainy days in Ayia Napa. My umbrella reminds me to be safe:

Rains beget rainbows. Boy, did we see a beautiful one from Seahike! And it was followed by a fabulous sunset.

Meanwhile, our freezer was creating enough ice to chill dozens of beverages.

Good news! After trying and failing to purchase a larger anchor at Ayia Napa, we learned that a marine store in Limassol had one. It wasn’t exactly what we were looking for but still an upgrade. They agreed to hold it for us for one day. We’d already planned to have a car that day for my hair appointment (more on that later), so we were able to get there in time to check out the anchor.

But back to my hair. So, I’ve been following the same hairdresser from location to location for 20 years. When we left MN to start our sailing adventure, I’d shared my “hairdresser” concerns with Michael. I basically told him that I might have to (gasp!!!!) revert to my natural color since I wasn’t sure I would trust *anyone* else to foil my hair.

Well, we’d met “Trisha from Ireland” at the marina. This is serendipity at its finest. She was only there because they were expecting big winds and swells, so the marina folks contacted Trish to move her nine meter high performance RIB to a different slip in the marina. We met her and had a nice chat. A few days later, she sent me a WhatsApp message, asking me if I wanted to go for a run with her and a couple of friends. I didn’t at that time, but I took the opportunity to ask her if she could recommend a hairdresser to foil my hair. She could. I made an appointment.

So, back to the story. We’d planned to take another road trip in Cyprus, but we rented the car a day early so I could take it to my hair appointment. In the meantime, Michael had contacted the marine store in Limassol and learned that we needed to go there that day. I mentioned this to Lisa (the hairdresser), and she recommended that we stop at a winery on the way to or from Limassol.

So, I got my hair done (and was happy with it – whew!), we drove to Limassol and purchased the anchor, and we stopped at the winery on the way home. It turned out to be a very productive day!

I neglected to share some critical windshield wiper information with you. My bad. I’ve already mentioned that we rented a car again. So, the wheel is on the wrong side of the car but I was used to it from our first outing so it wasn’t a big deal. I was also quite comfortable with driving on the left (a.k.a. “wrong”) side of the road. But putting the control for the windshield wipers on the left side of the steering wheel and the turn signal on the right side of the steering wheel is just WAAAAY over the top wrong! 😉 I am pretty sure that I turned on the windshield wipers at least eight times on Monday, when I actually meant to engage the turn signal.

Okay, to the actual road trip.

First, I want you to know that I was usually engaging the turn signal correctly by Tuesday morning. Second, we went to the Pafos Zoo. It is a nice zoo, but I was primarily entertained by the birds. One of them wanted to mate, which was a tad awkward.

Very cool tree. I don’t remember what kind it is.

These were hysterical! They would all be quiet, then one would start honking and they all would start honking. But the best part is that they looked in a different direction every time they honked. It was like they were watching a tennis match and honking every time they turned their head. I was laughing out loud!

Shortly after I took this picture the other one also opened his tail.

Speaking of mating. . . These two weren’t, but they were ALL up in each other’s business cleaning each other. They appear to be very good friends. 🙂

These guys weren’t in a cage. This one sure looks like it is up to something. It was fun watching them climb trees and jump around. They are amazing leapers!!

I hate these guys. They eat dogs and small children. Although my daughter tells me that all big predators do. But still, I hate these guys. 🙂 🙂

Birds of Paradise. Yes, I know they are not real birds.

We then drove to a winery. Some of the scenery along the way:

This is part of the “museum” portion of the museum and winery.

This is the tasting area. You can see an entrance to a cave at the far end of the room.

They found this cave when they built the winery and use it to store/age (?) red wines.

We bought three bottles of wine – including a 2013 Maratheftiko, 13.5 percent alcohol, ancient cave aged, 2000 bottles made – and headed to our hotel. This is a picture from the Capital – Resort and Spa hotel towards the beach.

Michael thinks that boat out there might be stuck on a sandbar.

Okay, so that was Tuesday. Our agenda for Wednesday was to go to Avakus Gorge and take a hike, then head to Kolios Winery.

We didn’t know what to expect from the hike but Avakus Gorge is one of those “don’t miss” places in Cyprus so we decided not to miss it. Oh. My. Gosh. Am I ever glad we didn’t miss it! We did walk and additional 4.4 km (2.2 km each way) than we would have had the road to the trailhead been open. But we, along with several other hikers, decided it was worth it, so we did it.

I know I say this EVERY time, but the pictures aren’t sufficient. But that is okay because if you go here, you can see for yourself just how astoundingly wonderful this trail is. We didn’t even do the entire trail so I can’t tell you what was beyond, but we were told that it opens into a big area.

So, after we walked the road, we got to the trail. The “trail” (I use that term loosely) is quit varied. Part is a wide path, part is a narrow path, part is a stream with rocks for hopping, some is boulders, and some is very muddy. The scenery changes as you proceed and the views are simply eye candy! And the trail is A BLAST!! According to our sources, it is considered a moderately challenging route, so keep that in mind if you are considering this. Oh, you will probably get one or both of your feet wet.

Having said all that, here are some pics!

This was looking behind us as we walked the road to the trailhead.

The beach we saw in the distance as we walked to the trailhead.

This is an example of when the trail was a “standard” trail.

The rock formations get interesting right away.

I hopped across some rocks to get to the lovely staircase on the other side.

I think this was the start of the rock hopping part of the trail. There is never much water. The goal is simply to keep your feet dry.

Then the walls get closer and more amazing. The path includes more rock hopping.

Water was dripping from above in this spot. I felt like I was on another planet. Very cool!

You know they placed these rocks so it would be easy to cross. It was always easy, until the soles of your shoes were covered in mud. Then it was slippery. Luckily, there was water right there to clean your soles!

Yeah, this is still the path. Just with boulders.

Once you get through “the narrows,” it opens up a bit.

I think this was on the way back. I don’t remember anymore.

In the midst of the grandeur one finds tiny flowers if one takes the time to look down.

Big fan of the purple and white flowers!

I love this picture: Everything from the rock to the vertical tree branches to what looks like a wildcat (or something with an eye and a head) at the bottom.

It was time to visit a winery! I’d read about this one online, so we decided to visit. This turned into its own very special adventure.

Google maps does remarkably well. That said, you read about how it led us down a twisting lane to a dead end in Nazareth, Israel. Well, this time it took us on a very “interesting” path to the winery. The route started off normal enough:

The route got a bit more remote, but the narrow road was still in good shape.

Then the road got a little rougher and narrower.

The scenery was wonderful!

The road seemed more and more off the beaten path as we made our way along it.

And just like that. . . the road ended! 🙂 🙂 No, the dirt road didn’t lead to anything but a drop off. We turned around and took another route. So much for the first one. Ha ha!!

We made it!

The wine in Cyprus is so good. When I look at this “soil” I can’t figure out how anything grows. (I have since learned that the roots grow down very deep and the lime in the limestone is actually good for the plants.)

We enjoyed the wine. Actually, we enjoyed the wine at every winery we visited, and we bought wine everywhere we visited. I am afraid that we lost track of where we bought each wine. Some bottles have no label other than the name of the wine. I know we bought a shiraz-merlot blend from Kolios. Note to self: In the future, make a note of what we buy where!

I enjoyed the gender signs on the toilet doors at this particular winery.

This “patio” section of the winery wasn’t open but I bet it is a lovely place to sit in the summer!

Now it was time for dinner. It took us some time to find a place to eat along the route to our hotel, but we were happy with our choice. The woman who waited on us was from Romania. She sat us by the fireplace – the fire was out but it was still giving off a bit of heat from the coals. She also brought a mobile heater to keep us warm.