MEDITERRANEAN MEANDERINGS
31ST DECEMBER 2009
It is New Year’s Eve and it is a momentous day in Cyprus. As of midnight the smoking ban comes into force. I have to admit I’ll believe it when I see it. It has been law here for three years apparently (you could have fooled me) but they are actually going to enforce it from tonight. This is not going to be an easy task as I think that I am the only person on the whole island who is a non-smoker. If the police forget to put out their fags as they come into a bar to prosecute smokers, will they have to fine themselves? I will watch with interest to see how this unfolds.
There is also a partial lunar eclipse due this evening. It is said that this should be worth watching as it is occurring within hours of the lunar perigee (I had to look this up – apparently it is the period in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to the earth). So I will get myself out on the balcony to watch that. Tonight’s full moon is also a Blue Moon (second full moon in a calendar month) – so something exciting has to happen surely. If not, I’m suing!
This week all my attention has gone to Scruffy and indeed, as I write this, her paw keeps reaching out to swipe the pen to make me stroke her or scratch behind her ears instead. Luckily the weather has been fabulous this week and we have been able to wander all over the place – although this tends to wear me out more than it does her! The sky is so clear at the moment that the hills of Northern Cyprus are more vivid than they have been since I came here. They are a beautiful dark purple nestling against the azure of the sea and the cyan of the sky. There are occasional bright white patches on the coastline, which I assume are hotels. This looks wonderful from this distance, but I am sure it is not nearly so pretty close up.
Scruffy and I managed to completely ignore Christmas Day. The sun called to us and we headed to Agia Triada beach. It is by no means hot here at the moment, but it is lovely and temperate. The sun itself is very warming, but when it is not on you the air has a distinct chill. So, not warm enough for sunbathing, but perfect for walking and mooching about.
There was a lone fisherman on the beach. He had clearly had the same idea that I had and removed himself from society for the day to enjoy himself in peace. The only hint that it was Christmas came as we walked home by Fireman’s Cove. We passed some huge villas and out of one came the distant sound of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Frank Sinatra dueting on ‘The Christmas Song’ – but we were soon past!
The days all seem to be merging into one with Scruffy here. Lovely as she is, I am going stir crazy as I can’t get out to do the things I need to do. You are not allowed to take dogs on buses. To get to Paralimni I have to walk along main roads where there are very few pavements. I am not risking her running in front of cars. For a start Cypriots rarely look where they are going, they are normally too busy chatting into their mobiles whilst driving absent-mindedly with one hand; and they would be unlikely to stop for a dog anyway. It is also not safe to leave her tied up in the main street while I go off and do what I need to. Without a car it takes me a whole day to get out and get things done and it is unfair to leave her alone for that long in the flat and I wouldn’t have the energy to then take her for a walk too.
Each walk is a hazard in itself. She finds so many dodgy things to eat and I have to wrest them from her mouth. I didn’t manage to do this before she swallowed whatever it was a few days ago and then spent the next 24 hours being frantic in case she had poisoned herself. It didn’t help that I had just been reading a book on Rodrigo Borgia – Pope Alexander VI – and his lingering death by poison.
Poor old Scruffy, I don’t mean to malign her, she is beautiful, affectionate and fun. We had a wonderful dance around the kitchen to ‘The Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin yesterday – although she is not so keen on Elgar! My trouble is that it takes all my concentration to look after myself, let alone another creature, and she deserves looking after well, not in a second rate fashion.
Having her with me does mean I am getting to know Kapparis so much better. I have found short cuts to all sorts of places just by letting her lead me. Yesterday we came out near the border. Unfortunately it was getting dark and we didn’t have time to explore any further, so we are going to do the same walk in the next few days, but this time earlier in the day. I hadn’t realised quite how close I was living to the frontier. I am now wondering if there is a checkpoint within walking distance and if I can just walk across. I will have to investigate further at some point.
It is amazing taking her out for a brief wander just before bed. I have never lived outside of urban lighting before – despite having lived at the foot of the South Downs and on the edge of Dartmoor. I have been noticing just how much light the moon actually reflects. When Scruffy first arrived I took a torch with us, but, as stated earlier it is a blue moon tonight and it has been getting brighter each evening, so that I have no need of the torch. The stars are ridiculously clear when there are no lights to get in the way. There are still so many things that are new to me every day. I am glad I believe that we all live many lifetimes as there would never be enough time in one to experience it all.
I am going to stop wittering on now and it only remains for me to wish you all a fantabulous and marvellistic 2010 – may it bring you everything you desire and much much more.
31ST DECEMBER 2009
It is New Year’s Eve and it is a momentous day in Cyprus. As of midnight the smoking ban comes into force. I have to admit I’ll believe it when I see it. It has been law here for three years apparently (you could have fooled me) but they are actually going to enforce it from tonight. This is not going to be an easy task as I think that I am the only person on the whole island who is a non-smoker. If the police forget to put out their fags as they come into a bar to prosecute smokers, will they have to fine themselves? I will watch with interest to see how this unfolds.
There is also a partial lunar eclipse due this evening. It is said that this should be worth watching as it is occurring within hours of the lunar perigee (I had to look this up – apparently it is the period in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to the earth). So I will get myself out on the balcony to watch that. Tonight’s full moon is also a Blue Moon (second full moon in a calendar month) – so something exciting has to happen surely. If not, I’m suing!
This week all my attention has gone to Scruffy and indeed, as I write this, her paw keeps reaching out to swipe the pen to make me stroke her or scratch behind her ears instead. Luckily the weather has been fabulous this week and we have been able to wander all over the place – although this tends to wear me out more than it does her! The sky is so clear at the moment that the hills of Northern Cyprus are more vivid than they have been since I came here. They are a beautiful dark purple nestling against the azure of the sea and the cyan of the sky. There are occasional bright white patches on the coastline, which I assume are hotels. This looks wonderful from this distance, but I am sure it is not nearly so pretty close up.
Scruffy and I managed to completely ignore Christmas Day. The sun called to us and we headed to Agia Triada beach. It is by no means hot here at the moment, but it is lovely and temperate. The sun itself is very warming, but when it is not on you the air has a distinct chill. So, not warm enough for sunbathing, but perfect for walking and mooching about.
There was a lone fisherman on the beach. He had clearly had the same idea that I had and removed himself from society for the day to enjoy himself in peace. The only hint that it was Christmas came as we walked home by Fireman’s Cove. We passed some huge villas and out of one came the distant sound of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Frank Sinatra dueting on ‘The Christmas Song’ – but we were soon past!
The days all seem to be merging into one with Scruffy here. Lovely as she is, I am going stir crazy as I can’t get out to do the things I need to do. You are not allowed to take dogs on buses. To get to Paralimni I have to walk along main roads where there are very few pavements. I am not risking her running in front of cars. For a start Cypriots rarely look where they are going, they are normally too busy chatting into their mobiles whilst driving absent-mindedly with one hand; and they would be unlikely to stop for a dog anyway. It is also not safe to leave her tied up in the main street while I go off and do what I need to. Without a car it takes me a whole day to get out and get things done and it is unfair to leave her alone for that long in the flat and I wouldn’t have the energy to then take her for a walk too.
Each walk is a hazard in itself. She finds so many dodgy things to eat and I have to wrest them from her mouth. I didn’t manage to do this before she swallowed whatever it was a few days ago and then spent the next 24 hours being frantic in case she had poisoned herself. It didn’t help that I had just been reading a book on Rodrigo Borgia – Pope Alexander VI – and his lingering death by poison.
Poor old Scruffy, I don’t mean to malign her, she is beautiful, affectionate and fun. We had a wonderful dance around the kitchen to ‘The Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin yesterday – although she is not so keen on Elgar! My trouble is that it takes all my concentration to look after myself, let alone another creature, and she deserves looking after well, not in a second rate fashion.
Having her with me does mean I am getting to know Kapparis so much better. I have found short cuts to all sorts of places just by letting her lead me. Yesterday we came out near the border. Unfortunately it was getting dark and we didn’t have time to explore any further, so we are going to do the same walk in the next few days, but this time earlier in the day. I hadn’t realised quite how close I was living to the frontier. I am now wondering if there is a checkpoint within walking distance and if I can just walk across. I will have to investigate further at some point.
It is amazing taking her out for a brief wander just before bed. I have never lived outside of urban lighting before – despite having lived at the foot of the South Downs and on the edge of Dartmoor. I have been noticing just how much light the moon actually reflects. When Scruffy first arrived I took a torch with us, but, as stated earlier it is a blue moon tonight and it has been getting brighter each evening, so that I have no need of the torch. The stars are ridiculously clear when there are no lights to get in the way. There are still so many things that are new to me every day. I am glad I believe that we all live many lifetimes as there would never be enough time in one to experience it all.
I am going to stop wittering on now and it only remains for me to wish you all a fantabulous and marvellistic 2010 – may it bring you everything you desire and much much more.
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