Pissouri Beach, Cyprus

Finally, it stopped raining.
Last night the gas fire went out and after consulting with Mick I tried to relight it, thinking there might have been air in the line. No luck, so decided to wait until this morning to deal with it.

I wrestled with trying to connect the cylinder on the left, assuming the one on the right was empty after using the fire place for 2 days. In the end, Colin, who looks after the house for Mick and Anne when they are not here, came over and attached it and relit the fireplace. He also showed me how to work the TV.

Breakfast on the balcony. It faces southeast so there is sun on it until about 11:30 at this point. It may be sunny longer when the sun is higher in the sky.

It is amazingly quiet here. I am in a row of 6 houses. At this point none of the others are occupied. There are rows down the hill in front of me and few of them seem to be occupied. I have heard a dog barking once. I heard someone sweeping this morning - its that quiet. I realized that in both places in Mallorca I was right in the village so there was some traffic and always people walking by. In Madeira I was in Funchal so there was the constant noise of the buses, people dropping their children off at the daycare down the street and the horns of the cruise ships coming in and out of the harbour. Here I am not even in the village. I am sure as the months progress more people will occupy the houses around me and I will welcome that but right now I am loving the peace.

The weather was lovely, 15, sunny and 0% chance of rain in the forecast so I decided to walk down to the beach. Initially it was through more development, some quite large with balconies, patios, palm trees,

flowers and swimming pools

Soon I was into countryside. Fields of grass (looks like they are just used for hay) with irrigation pipes leading to them.

Every now and then, a bench, at the side of the road, under a tree. I figured I would need these on the way back. Pissouri Village is 500 ft above sea level and 3 km from Pissouri Beach. The walk down was no trouble at all!

Cactus and olive trees.

There were some vestiges of terraces on the hillsides but they weren't being farmed so had fallen into disrepair.

Olive trees, the only thing missing was grape vines but I know there are some not far as the wine I am drinking is local.

Closer to the coast the hills got more rugged

and there was evidence that mudslides had been cleared off the road.

Pissouri Beach community came into sight.

Pissouri Beach looking east-ish.

Pissouri Beach looking west-ish.

I treated myself to my first meal out, sitting on the patio of The Captains Table, right beside the beach.

The breeze off the ocean was too cool so I moved to a table out of the wind but still in the sun.

I was told that the Moussaka, that I ordered first, would take half an hour and I was too hungry to wait for it, so settled on Kalamari. When asked "fries or a jacket?", I took the jacket.

After lunch I wandered the village a bit, not much open but I suspect that the same as other places I have visited in the off season, they will open up as the tourists come back. Starting back up the hill I was greeted

by this and the first sprinkles of rain.

A kind young Cypriot couple stopped and offered me a ride up the hill shortly after and dropped me in the village. So just a short walk back down to the house and I didn't get very wet. Memo to self - in January, in Cyprus, always take a raincoat!

Opened this wine tonight, Loucas' recommendation.

Its a bit too sweet for me but probably the nicest sweet wine I have ever had.