Cyprus is a small life
Frankly, I still can’t imagine how to combine into one storyline, so much so that you don’t tire, everything that happens to us and around us. During these 12 days, we left the house conditionally early (as far as it is possible for a mother owl with a preschool rag and baby) and returned most often after midnight, when the owl and baby were sleeping in the back seat without hind legs. “Mom, I know how not to bathe and brush my teeth, ” Tim said with a fox cunning in his eyes. -Need to fall asleep in the car! " I did that, and again and again our evening hygiene procedures boiled down to wiping the traveler who was sniffling in my father's arms with wet wipes - and transporting him to bed. We ourselves came back in a similar state, so don't expect a reasonable narrative from me this week. My head is full of stories and sensations, nature and sights, acquaintances and communication, sun and cacti, sea and rocks…
About Paphos
A city with that name, by definition, cannot be simple. And, indeed, Paphos was once the capital of Cyprus, and now it is an open-air museum. The rock monastery of St. Neophyte, the Archaeological Park with magnificent mosaics, the catacombs where the first Christians hid from the pagans, the ancient church where, according to legend, the Apostle Paul was beaten, the tombs of the kings, the amphitheater - almost all this heritage is concentrated in the city center, next to the embankment .
You can walk there, in the coolness of the ruins, for a long time. Or rather, it could have been for a long time if not for our preschooler, who always wanted to go to the sea and ice cream. Oh, ice cream is a separate topic, there are places in Paphos where it is simply divine. Smelling him nearby, Tim made the eyes of a cat from Shrek. As you understand, mom and dad had no chance to pass by.
Timokha began to ask for the beach from early morning. And, if on this day we had other plans like to ride, travel and swim in the evening, Tim reminded of his desire with enviable regularity, every quarter of an hour, dreamily sighing: “I wish I could plunge into some water now, if only my parents would take me to beach, I wish I could learn to swim... "And when we, already pierced by a sense of guilt that we were not taking the child to the sea, finally found ourselves on the shore, he sat down on the sand, picked it with a stick, dug trenches, and my husband and I took turns stomping around he was persuaded to go into the water. I went in for some 10 minutes, and then again sat down on the sand "not to like the waves. "
The sea, indeed, was almost always worried, so Timothy really managed to swim only in the first days. And finally, in the pool at the hotel, where we spent the night to wake up closer to the airport. “There are no waves in the pool, so this is my favorite sea, ” said the son.
The most favorite place for swimming was undoubtedly the Paphos water park.
It was impossible to pull a child out of a large pool with children's slides by the ears. And for adults, he decided to ride with us, he was delighted, but the second time he didn’t go - that’s all Tim))
We also took a dip in the pool of Adonis. The legend says that it was here that Aphrodite met her lover, and in the waters of a mountain lake, under the cool jets of a waterfall, the couple spent most of their time.
Timofey didn't get bored on the beaches either. He called them the coolest sandboxes and instead of the sea, he swam in the sand, looked for beautiful pebbles, sorted them, built pyramids, destroyed fortresses and buried pirate treasures...
We came across the most beautiful beaches. That Paphos Coral Bay, considered one of the best on the coast for families with children; then Lara Beach, located on the territory of the protected Akamas Peninsula, where the rarest green and hawk turtles still lay their eggs in the sand (sorry, we didn’t see the turtles - it’s not the season, but the place is already amazing). That is the Governor's Beach near Limassol, with unusual black sand, surrounded by snow-white chalk cliffs - a favorite place for photographers. And even the beach of Aphrodite herself, where, according to legend, the goddess of love and beauty was born from sea foam.
If you swim three times around the stone of Petra tou Romiou, you will find eternal youth. Timokha did not swim - there are big waves even for adults, and it’s too early for him to worry about eternal youth. But I found a pebble in the shape of a heart and gave it to Elsa. According to the legend, now their touching friendship is forever.
But we would not be us if we had enough beautiful views of the coast in the vicinity of Paphos and Limassol. No, of course, we rushed to the other end of Cyprus - to Ayia Napa, where 5 years ago we were with 3-month-old Timothy. Then we could not look at the sea caves - and now we have corrected this unfortunate misunderstanding.
This place is a must see if you are in Cyprus. Nature has created a miracle, blowing winds and washing waters over a rocky bay for thousands of years: cliffs and grottoes of bizarre shapes and emerald water make an amazing impression.
We experienced many adventures on the island. Starting with comic ones - like going through the labyrinth, when Timothy, like the brave hero Theseus, led us to the light on the map...
. . . and - to serious, real ones, when you need to climb stones, make your way through thickets and carefully look under your feet so as not to inadvertently step on a snake.
We are talking about a trip to the Avakas Gorge. Carved out of limestone, rising to a height of up to 30 meters and sharply narrowing towards the top, the gorge is quite difficult to overcome, as the path winds along the river, which formed this unique place more than a thousand years ago. Seeing his photo on the Internet, I could not resist, and we took a chance.
In some places it was creepy, slippery and uncomfortable.
Given the signs on the way, warning of a possible rockfall and that we roam here at our own peril and risk, this pebble at the top, overhead, looked especially cute.
But we were rewarded for courage (or recklessness - as you like) - incredible panoramas and unforgettable sensations.
I am proud of Timka: I overcame fear, crawled, climbed, didn’t whine, walked the whole distance - well done!
The plant life here excites the imagination: cypresses, junipers, wild fig trees, ferns and oaks, an abundance of colorful wild flowers - what you just didn’t see along the way!
We met a bunch of lizards - from small to meter high, multi-colored outlandish birds and mountain goats grazing a few steps from us.
In general, Cyprus is a huge botanical garden and a zoo in one bottle.
Tim was happy every time he saw his favorite pomegranates and tangerines in the trees. And when he found fallen fruits on the ground, happiness became double.
There are a lot of purring, fluffy, kind and warm cats in Paphos, which just went into the hands of Timokha, who wants to hug them all at once.
But, to our surprise, the fact that Cypriots love muroks turned out to be one of the most common myths. In fact, for most Greeks, cats and rats are somewhere nearby, and the true cat lovers on the island are the British. They even created a Cat Park, where there are houses, a pool, and even walking paths for mustachioed pets...
We also rode in the Troodos mountains to get acquainted with the national way of life in local villages.
The village of Lefkara is famous all over the world for its unique technique of weaving lace "lefkaritika", carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation. Craftswomen at work here can be found in almost every home.
Walking along the winding streets of Lefkara is a real pleasure: both shady and picturesque, you will not find new buildings here, all whitewashed stone houses with tiled roofs and blue, yellow, green shutters.
In nearby Kato Drys, we visited the wonderful Museum of beekeeping and embroidery. It is a typical Cypriot house, more than 300 years old, where the most interesting attributes of rural life of past centuries are collected with love. The hospitable host took us through all the rooms, showed us the bedroom, living room, workshop, his school notebooks, household items, kitchen utensils... Even silkworm caterpillars: the owners still grow silk themselves and all the clothes presented in the house are handmade.
A separate room is dedicated to the history of beekeeping: there are nest boxes, ancient honey extractors, and modern automatic devices.
We were also shown how wine is made and offered to taste excellent Muscat.
The house is home to the cutest cats who love cucumbers and fight for them with all the feline enthusiasm! Tim laughed until colic!
Since we have touched on the topic of food, I will mention Timka's culinary preferences: among the dishes of national cuisine, rose delight became his main delicacy. It's actually very tasty.
And our staunch connoisseur of the simplest and most familiar dishes, for once tasted seafood. He really liked the squids, although he stubbornly called them "mosquitoes. "
Well, it's already late in the evening, and I still haven't had time to list all our impressions. There are too many of them, Cyprus is too beautiful and diverse! It is not for nothing that the gods have chosen it. I know that we will return there more than once and each time we will discover something unknown for ourselves. See you soon, paradise island!
