Anogyra, Cyprus - walk and taverna lunch

As arranged I was at Jimmy and Kay's at 9:30 today and we set off into the hills inland from Pissouri. As we wound our way up, luckily Jimmy was not driving fast, we did not see a single car but came across this;

They definitely thought they had the right of way

and we agreed with them.

There were 100's, a real mixture of colours and of ear type; long lops, short lops, ears that stuck out sideways and cute little stand up ears. Some with beards, some with horns, all with very large udders so we figured they were on their way to being milked.

They spilled down the hill from the right, walked along the road towards us and then headed down the hill next to us.

Not a shepherd or sheepdog in sight.

We reached Anogyra after only one wrong turn and all met in the parking lot of the supermarket (just a little one). It was a lovely little village, everything stone and cobblestone roads. I will have to come back to explore as there is also a Carob Museum here.

We walked slightly uphill, out of the village. There were a number of these signs and it is because one of the walkers owns a Catery (Cat Hotel) in the village.

Within minutes we were up on the hill. The sky was clear and it was warm enough to take off one layer but a cool breeze kept my jacket on.

Between the Carob trees it looked as if the rocky ground had been roughly plowed but no indication of anything having been planted.

There were 13 of us and as we walked we chatted. I met an ex pilot with the RAF and Cathay Airlines (he had been based in Hong Kong), a couple who had lived in the middle east for many years, he working in the oil industry, a teacher who had worked mostly in Germany. They all had interesting stories about how they had ended up living in Cyprus.

We took a side trail to a look out

We could hear the river that had formed the gorge, way down there, chattering away. Even the panoramic shot doesn't do it justice.

There was a big signage board pointing out what crops were grown in different section of the valley. I made the comment that there was an effort being made and was told that "Truth be told, the Cypriots start things but don't finish them and don't look after them".

When I asked about the Anemones I had seen, two of the women made a point of finding wildflowers for me. These are wild Crocus, tiny.

This is a wild Orchid. I left the shoe in the photo so you could see how tiny it was.

The Carob trees up here looked old and twisted. I don't know if that is normal for Carobs or if it is a function of the windy location. I will find out more when I go to the Museum.

We walked past a goat farm,

some with impressive horns and hair do's.

There were a few sheep mixed in. A couple of very friendly "guard dogs" greeted us, mutts with way to much wag to be intimidating.

Mare and yearling, muddy from their muddy paddock.

A field of Rapeseed (Canola) grown for oil, protein and a biofuel additive.

A public water source, on the way back into the village. Opening the wooden door we could see that the stone building protected a large reservoir of water.

Back at the carpark we changed shoes and deposited sticks and backpacks and then walked through the village to the taverna.

It was difficult to determine where the public part of the taverna ended and the family's home began. That stone building had a bar and restaurant. Beside it was the outside patio where we sat today, walled by plastic like most of the patios at this time of year. This photo is of a covered lounge area between the bar and the house.

There was also a pool that you could hang out at for the day, in summer, for a fee.

We sat in the enclosed patio with the sun warming it and all ordered drinks. There was no menu, the proprietor came out and said "I can make you grilled pork, grilled chicken, omelette or a mini Meze." Some ordered specific plates but 9 of us had the mini Meze.
 Meze is an abbreviation of Mezedes, which means “little delicacies”. Some restaurants and tavernas offer their customers the choice of seafood Meze or meat Meze or mixed. The traditional Cypriot Meze could consist of as many as 30 small plates of savoury dips and vegetables and a wide range of fish and meat dishes. (from mosaica.com)
Meze is something I had been wanting to try but you have to have two to order it, so this was a great opportunity. Wow, there was no point in even trying to take pictures, it just kept coming, as the kitchen finished making it, it appeared on the table. I will try and remember it all; tahini dip, yogurt dip, toasted garlic and herb bread, greek salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, onions and feta), sausages, moussaka, spinach omelette, boiled eggs that tasted like they had been lightly sprinkled with vinegar, chips and grilled chicken. With a little bit of everything I was stuffed and this was a "MINI Meze".
Jimmy and I left the group still socializing and drove back down the hills and stopped at Papantoniou's. I took advantage of the drive up the hill and stocked up on the heavy stuff; bottles, jars and cans as well as things I was running out of like yogurt and bananas.

I was glad to see a Damascus goat on the yogurt I have been buying. I also bought yogurt in a jar labelled "Village Yogurt" with the ingredients listed as sheep, goat and cows milk and yogurt culture".