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| Brief glimpse of a flying fish! |
At the same time that Woodsy was sailing the Elbe, I was holed up in the mediterrainean, on Cyprus. I spent ten days in Pegeia, just outside Paphos in a small villa. The weather in blighty had been hot, but I wasn't prepared for the 35 degree heat on the island. The humidity was high and every day was uniformly gorgeous. Apart from stuffing my face every day at the local restaurants and enjoying the local brew, the heat made doing anything more almost impossible.
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| Grounded Freighter near Coral Bay |
However, we did manage to squeeze in a boat trip around the coast, which was delightful, if a little choppy! I spent almost the entire day, clutching the rail with one hand and my camera with the other. As we left Paphos harbour, the sea changed from a deep green to a beautiful turquoise and ultimately, to a lustrous cobalt. As I was admiring the waves, a flying fish leapt out of the water, seven inches long and striped in blue and silver. It stretched out its improbable wings, fluttered and then glided effortlessly about fifty feet across the waves.
Due to the rocky coastline and sometimes difficult weather, there are two large wrecked freighters grounded just off the coast, rusting away into the sea.
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| View from the hills |
The scenery was spectactular, a mixture of cream, terracotta, olive and cobalt blue. The land is largely rocky and strewn with boulders, but everywhere fruit and olive trees abound and the evening air is always freighted with the scent of flowers.
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| Late night Bat-Cam! |
Evenings were always a trial, being 33 degrees almost all night. So I invariably ended up watching the local bats coursing for moths and flies around the lamp.
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| Drunken attempt at Astronomical photo |
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| El Gecko |
Wildlife was everywhere, with giant ants, dragonflies and lizards scuttling around the brush. On the beach, I saw spider crabs, fish and was even lucky enough to find a small crynoid fossil amongst the pebbles.
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| Spider Crab |
Probably the funniest moment was when I arrived in Polis, a small harbour town and saw 'Century 21' estates on a sign on an office!
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| Century 21 Lives! |
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| Aphrodites Rock |
But in true british fashion, I ended up complaining about the weather, even though it was absolutely paradisical every day, I was so relieved to step off the plane in Manchester to find it lashing down with rain!
sounds like you had a lot of fun Bill - even if it was a bit warm. You could always take a holiday in Wisconsin in January if you want a bit of coolness :-) Hey, they've got great cheese and sausage there, yummm
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