It’s a Small World

The sun rose at 6:21am, but we had it beat. So much to see in such a short time, there’s no point in lolling around in bed. A local bakery overfilled our bellies, and off we went. Our plan was to drive along the South shore of the Island, stopping where interest was piqued and eventually ending up at Paphos. It was still pretty chilly out, so the beach wasn’t exactly calling.

It was green and beautiful, the sun shone brilliantly, and some loaded orange trees called our names, so we whipped over and had a small feast. Most of them were good, but there was one kind that caused such a dramatic and instant reaction in Heath, we could hardly stop laughing. It was truly terrible bitter and sour.

When something is named Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats, one really must stop and have a look see. It was very, well, catty. I guess its a bit of a wild cat sanctuary and the nuns are supposed to care for them. Obviously other people come and donated a bunch of stuff as well, as the cats had a veritable Ritz near the parking lot. Some little wooden houses, completely decked out with everything to make every type of cat happy.

The monastery itself looks rather neglected and tho the bones are good, it needs a little help. Speaking of bones, I was startled by a big dog that suddenly came ripping around a building with a large bone in its mouth. Every functional monastery I’ve visited has some sort of saintly bones resting in gilt cases, so it was slightly unsettling to see the dog with it’s hopefully unholy prize.

Lunch was Pork Souvlaki in a very local restaurant. The kind where the meat grinder is in the dining room, along with a crib and some wooden games. You stood in the kitchen to order, and the old man sitting and drinking tea built us a roaring fire in the wood stove. We were ever so grateful for its heat!

The afternoon was spent scrambling over rocks, leaping over streams and soaking up wildflowers and birdsongs on Avakas Gorge Nature Trail. It was warm and sunny out of the wind and we could even shed our jackets. Some places the canyon walls closed in till they almost touched overhead, other times it would open up into pretty green meadows. I found three big dead bats in the river and Heath discovered a pasture with six enormous pigs. There were trees with big hollows that behooved us to poke our heads in just in case we’d find treasure. Maybe next time. We got back in time to reach the beach to watch the waves splash again the rocks and do some beach combing before the sun set in a dazzling display.

All day I had some faint wonderings about our Sunny Hill Apartment that we had booked for night. The whole thing was only $56, and that can be good or bad, depending on the day. Our first impression was ok, as the lobby was toasty warm. Second impression, a little funny, as the young receptionist led us all over the property looking for apartment 206. Third impressions were all together amazed, as we watched some other patrons having quite a row on their front porch. She was yelling and making grabs at the phone in his hand, he was having none of it. Occasionally she would hit him, but that didn’t seem to have much of an impact either. All at once our cheerful Rwandan host sighed and said “I just don’t know how to help them. They want me to help and I don’t know how.” From there, he matter of factly explained the situation, telling us how the woman had invited the man to her room for a certain fee. Apparently the service wasn’t as good as expected, so he was demanding his money back and she was having none of it. So he swiped her phone, and refused to return it. They were currently at an impasse. It did seem like a bit of a conundrum. It also struck us as wildly funny and we snorted madly when we finally got into the apartment. Inappropriate laughter and all that. In reality it seemed very tragic. I peeked out the window a minute or two later and saw the receptionist had gathered his courage and was reluctantly marching toward the fight. A cat marched solemnly behind him, looking for all the world like a Great Emotional Support Cat.

It seemed very cold in the apartment, and in spite of cranking the thermostat up to 30* C, it never did get totally warm. But the closet held several extra blankets, and we didn’t suffer. The water also was very stingy when it came to warmth, and none of the power outlets worked in our bedroom, but all in all it was a seven star experience.

We weren’t going to eat supper, but we ended up at a bakery and suddenly we discovered we had appetites after all! Surprise! Who knew rows and rows of flaky, warm pastries could make one instantly forget the quantities of food we had consumed earlier. Cheese, chocolate, nutella, fruit, and even hamburger pastries sat there in their tantalizing beauty. And then some didn’t. They were eaten.