MEDITERRANEAN MEANDERINGS
16TH DECEMBER 2009

To risk sounding somewhat Arkwrightian: it’s been a funny old week. It never ceases to amaze me that what we write about becomes manifest in our lives in order that we can learn the lesson properly. One of the themes of my writing this week (as those of you who read my Tao Te Ching blog will know) has been about how it is not possible to understand the concept of light without also understanding the concept of dark. This week has been a striking example of this – not so much for me, but for those close to me.

There has been some sad family news coming hot on the heels of my mother taking a flying leap from the top of a stepladder and breaking her arm just below the shoulder. It is hard being so far away and being of no use whatsoever – although it is probably safer with me out of the way! However, this darkness only serves to magnify the light of my life out here. If in the dark – spiritual, mental and actual – days of December last year anyone had told me that I would be ‘living my dream’ in the sunshine one year hence, I would have laughed in their face. I do feel guilty at having such light in my life whilst those I love are struggling, but that is my own issue, not something that they would ever ‘make’ me feel.

It is so lovely here at this time of year – even the intermittent storms and flooding that we have been having (along with the rest of the world) are beautiful in their very violence. There are scant Christmas decorations around – the season is by no means ignored here, but neither is it pushed in your face. It is still a religious celebration here rather than the commercial quagmire we are ‘forced’ to enjoy in the UK. I was able to deny that it was Christmas right up until yesterday evening, as I have a rule that it is not Christmas until Noddy sings – some years this means that Christmas starts in August, once I got as far as Christmas Eve! Unfortunately, Wizzard came on in the pub last night and I thought – oh no it’s only a matter of time now – and true enough Slade followed, so I am now admitting it is Christmas. I had ventured into this pub, which is not my local, as a friend of mine had said that they had a bingo snowball of €1700 and so I went along. Amazingly she won it! Unfortunately my cards were all duds.

Last Thursday I was invited to go along to the coffee morning that the ex-pat ladies hold each week. Although this is very far from my usual comfort zone I am trying to be open to anything that happens across my path – for we never know where it will take us. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed in my life by turning my nose up at things? That said, I wasn’t terribly comfortable there, but I made some nice contacts and advertised my Reiki, so we will have to wait and see if anything comes from it. I will pop along to it every now and then and say hello to the ladies. I was quite relieved to meet a woman of about my age from Bexley Heath, as I was beginning to think I was the only Southerner!

Our meeting in Nicosia was called off this week due to flu and so I found myself at an unexpected loose end on Sunday. I took a walk down to the fishing shelter at Ayia Triada. On the walk back along the beach I had the most bizarre sensation. It was raining on my right side, whilst my left side was bathed in warm sunshine. The wind was in just the right direction to blow the rain that was out at sea, directly at me. There was a rainbow very briefly as the two met. I felt like I should be dressed differently on both sides of my body – just like Terry Jones as he sets out on ‘La Marche Futile’.

To celebrate my first month in Cyprus I thought I would treat myself to Sunday lunch on the way back. I carefully walked past the pubs advertising ‘Sunday Roast’ and went to Karas Village Tavern. I felt my choice vindicated when I walked in and it was full of Cypriot families with not an English person in sight. Now I am sure that all of you are aware that I am not the most child-friendly person in the world, but it has to be said that the Mediterranean peoples deal with children much more naturally and easily than the British. As a result, although there were children wandering around the restaurant, they did not seem to feel the need to misbehave in the blatant search for attention that seems to be the bane of British pubs and restaurants. On the contrary they knew they were accepted and loved and consequently were very pleasant to be around.

I had the most delicious meal I had eaten in ages. I chose kleftiko (I am sure most of you know what this is but just in case you don’t I will explain). This is lamb that has been cooked in a slow oven for six hours and it just melts in your mouth. This was accompanied by a fresh village salad, the most amazing potatoes and a glass of local wine. I had my notebook and pen with me and I spent a couple of fabulous hours actually feeling part of Cyprus. I very rarely eat meat these days, so it was a wonderful rare treat for me.

Apart from anything else the pleasure was exacerbated by being sitting down again! The day before I had braved the mop and bucket to clean the floor of my flat. It had taken me ages to negotiate it anyway – and it still didn’t seem as though I had achieved anything after what seemed like hours of effort. Obviously you will know where this story is going – with me slipping over and ending up prone on my faux-marble floor! So, all in all, I was very relieved to be sitting somewhere that was someone else’s responsibility.

On Monday a couple of friends kindly drove me over to Dherinia to the €2 Shop. Sounds hideous, but it is much cheaper to buy cleaning products there. Unfortunately, you won’t be surprised to hear, it is not on a bus route. It does highlight how necessary it is for me to get transport of some kind if I am going to be here for any length of time. Without even taking the shops into consideration, there is so much here for me to explore and see, but no way of getting there – very frustrating.

The sun was still out when we got back and, as I knew that rain had been forecast for the end of the week, I wanted to make the most of it. When I got to Agia Napa Harbour it was about 2.30 pm, so it wasn’t warm enough to sit outside and read or write, but it was far too nice to sit inside anywhere. So, I had one of my bright ideas, I would walk along the coastal path until I got to a bus stop on the way back.

It was an absolutely gorgeous walk. It winds along the cliff edge between Agia Napa Harbour and Cape Grecko, occasionally taking you back down to the beaches and natural coves. There are palms and aloes all along the path and butterflies flitted back and forth in front of me. The wild cats, desperate for food and affection, came to say hello and, in one of the rock pools, a beautiful white heron (which I assume is an egret) was fishing. As amazing as this was it was a good 7km before I met up with the road and a bus stop again. In fact I was very nearly at Cape Grecko! This may not seem like far to many of you, but to me this is a huge hike. When I got back to Kapparis I had to get off at a different bus stop due to roadworks, so I thought I would cut through the back streets. It was dusk and this brings, to me anyway, a greater sense of unease than the enveloping blackness, as it is neither one nor the other, but a strange half-world. I got ridiculously lost, as there are so many roads that haven’t yet been completed and wasteland everywhere that you don’t know in advance of crossing it whether you will be able to get out the other side. It was really interesting walking through the semi-darkness as the town seemed to come to life. Lights were going on and I could hear Cypriots calling to each other in their apartments. Children were playing on the street and the smells of cooking were coming at me from everywhere. However, it is very hard to find anything by which to get your bearings and I wandered on, coming out eventually on the main road near the greenhouses of the farm in front of my apartment block. It wasn’t that this was scary, indeed I enjoyed it, but it is the uncertainty of all the foreign sights and smells in the encroaching darkness that cause the unease as you wend your way through the streets – together with the exhaustion that was creeping up on me.

I know that this day of ramblings will cost me one or two days on the sofa this week, but this brings us back to the darkness and the light. I could live my life at a constant level and not experience anything but survival and indifference, or I can have a fabulous day like this and accept the ‘down time’ it brings with it. This ‘down time’ will give me the opportunity to digest a few books anyway, which is never a bad thing. In point of fact I am trying to not experience either as good or bad, but just to take the experience that both bring.

Although I do have these energy blips (as is to be expected), it is so apparent to me the difference the light and the sun make to my life. I am existing at what would be a June level in England and this is a first for me at this time of year.

I also feel it is important to get as much exploring done as I can off-season. The temperature is fabulous for walking about and there are relatively few tourists getting in the way of the scenery. I also know that when it hits 40° I am not going to be able, or indeed want, to walk far at all without melting into a huge puddle, like the Wicked Witch of the West that I indubitably am. I am also hoping that I will have built up a client base by that time and so will have less time to just wander and write. Still, as I am learning, we never know what is just around the corner, so I don’t want to predict what I will be doing next week, let alone in six months time.

So all my wishes for a lovely holiday season to you, whether you are celebrating Christmas, Yule, Hanukah, or any other that I have forgotten. Take great care of yourselves in the dark of the Solstice my chums – and remember that only by embracing the darkness will we truly see the light.