Cyprus has kept us busy …

So we are now ‘solo’ on this our 5th ‘assignment’. We have got a good routine going and all is well with our ‘menagerie’. We are going for a short walk in the morning, then heading off to explore before being ‘home’ for feeding time at the zoo – I include us in that!! 😂. Then another short walk in the afternoon. Bailey our wee disabled dog just loves being in her cradle and exploring the world. Then we all have some time for rest and relaxation!

We visited the Archaeological Park and Mosaics which are the most incredible ‘pictures’ of the past. This is the legendary birth place of Aphrodite in 12BC – I just can’t get my head around this history. Here at the Mosaics are tombs, fortresses and a glimpse of a world that is beyond my imagination. We spent hours exploring around here and viewing the astonishing ‘mosaics’. They are so detailed and when you look at them along a corridor they look like the most beautiful carpets. I cannot even believe how they made it to this day – what with all the wars, earthquakes and scaring of the earth that we humans do, it is extraordinary they have survived.

The pieces of ’tile’ in these pictures are about the size of your little finger nail !!

The weather was glorious, which meant we were able to get some great photos. We truly had a great time exploring the houses of Dionysos, Orpheus, Aion and Theseus. These ruins was ‘found’ by a farmer ploughing his fields! The small cubes of ’tiles’ are made from glass paste and depict scenes of Greek Methodology. Did I say they were amazing!

A day later we visited the ‘Tombs of the Kings’ with more phenomenal history. The tombs [carved into the rocks] do not really hold remains of Kings, but more of notable people [aristocracy]. They are underground and the layout almost represents houses. A central chamber for burial preparations [welcome] and then tunnels leading to [rooms] with crypts. They are huge and it’s staggering to view these underground cemeteries. As you head down into each of the 7 unearthed tombs, you can see the magical blue sky and hear the sea, and wonder what the location in this desert-like landscape would have been like in the distant past. I read in our guide book, that a lot of the treasures in these tombs were stolen by grave-robbers!

I took sooooooo many photos here! It was just fascinating, and every tomb/chamber you went into had a different feel about it. This is because they are from different eras. My guide book tells me that they are from the Hellenistic/Roman periods back in the 3AD!! The work involved by carving all these out of the stone without a digger is mind boggling! You can see all the ‘carving marks’ on the walls.

So with enough history here to clutter my mind for a lifetime, we had an easy couple of days and just soaked up the ambience of our village and talked to other dog-walkers while out with our three.

This ‘assignment’ has it challenges with ‘our’ wee Bailey. She is such a sweet wee dog and is so patient with us while we get the hang of expressing her bladder, carrying her to and from the car, and of course getting her ‘wheels’ on. I tell you that this wee dog can get herself around on the tiled floor with alarming speed! She is into the cat food or out the door in a blink and we have sure learnt fast, not to feel to sorry for her [apart from her having to put up with us!]. It certainly is a dedication to have a disabled dog like this, and I hope her owners enjoy their break over Christmas.

Oh and just before I go, we were told that the snakes sort of hibernate in ‘winter’ as it is a bit cold for them! Well it mustn’t be quite cold enough yet because we saw this ‘black whip snake’ 🐍 😮

“Make today an adventure …”

Ps: Colin needed a haircut, so we found this barber in town … he spoke no English but seemed to make my husband handsome, so I though I would get a trim as well [I was having a bad hair day!]. Well you know what comes next, I get a bit more of a shorter hair cut than I bargained for and he tried in earnest to blow dry/style it for me. I came out looking [according to Colin] like Linda Ronstant or Sharon O’Neil 😂 AND NO, THERE ARE NO PHOTOS OF THIS!! So now I have the the shortest hair cut I think I ever have had!! Colin laughed and just kept saying … when you wash it, it might be okay!