Sea Caves, Cyprus - walk, lunch and homemade liquor.

We ate so well at Hani's yesterday that we just had a "charcuterie board" for supper.

Jimmy told me I didn't need to follow him to the walk start, as I had been there before, and it was a "straight road", "dead easy". Needless to say, using the GPS, I still managed to get off track and have to double back. It was a good job we had left the house with time to spare.

We parked at the Paphos International Sailing Club parking lot. It's a pretty impressive name for a group of dinghy sailors, mostly Wayfarers and Lasers. The harbour is just below the St George Chapel, from a previous post.

Half of the walk was through banana plantations. Nicola commented that the trees looked pretty rough. They did. I don't know if that was a result of the cold weather or the masses of bananas in those blue bags. Most trees had metal poles holding up the branches with the bunches on.

According to the internet the Paphos area grows most of the bananas. Dwarf Cavendish variety. Locally bananas are available from September until May.

We were also walking through high end residential areas and could see that a lot of building was going on.

Down to the coast and we were in the Sea Caves area

The area is a Marine Protection Zone (no fishing allowed) as it is a Monk Seal Nursery.

The seals give birth to and raise their young in the caves along this part of the coast.

I found an article from a local newspaper that noted that 3 seals were born last year bringing the Cyprus population to 19. Monk Seals are the most endangered and rare seals in the world, total 600.

Cyprus has in recent years shown a devastating track record of choosing real estate developments over the protection of nature, threatening valuable local biodiversity, and contributing to the loss and degradation of monk seal habitats.
Cyprus even received a warning from the EU for its persistent failure to properly assess the implications of developments on protected Natura 2000 sites.
The most striking example in relation to the monk seal is the approval and construction of a hotel and villa residences in the Peyia sea caves area, skirting the boundaries of the Akamas national park, as well as other Natura sites, a main birthing habitat for the Mediterranean seal.
from  /knews.kathimerini.com.cy

We saw no seals. But, just like with the Roman ruins, could imagine them there.

Maybe out on that rocky island

or on those little ones

or those flat rocks. We certainly saw lots of building going on though.

Back to the parking lot, below the chapel.

Laser

Off to Phill's for lunch. The food is great and reasonably priced. I had the seafood salad (above), Nic, a seafood risotto and Dave, a Cypriot pizza.

Another walker had the Cheeseburger Pizza. Four square slices, each with a cheeseburger slider on it.

Two weeks ago when I walked with this group one of the men gave me his recipe for Lemonchello. This week he bought samples of his liquors to try. Nicky said "trust you to find the bootlegger". Lemonchello, Kumquat brandy and Pomegranate liquor.

Had to taste them all, as did others at the table. He said he had such an abundance of fruit on his trees he had to figure out things to do with it.

Yesterday as we drove home a large army helicopter flew over us and Dave thanked me for arranging the "fly by". On the walk today another helicopter flew over. On the drive home he asked if I had arranged for a fly by in the same area. I said "You've had your fly by for the day, no more"

But as we were driving past Kouklia two large troop transport helicopters circled and dropped multiple parachutists. Training exercise.

Drove back along the coast, past A's rock.

So photogenic.

This low lying shrub is now in flower along the top of the cliffs. Pink and white flowers on the same plant.

At home I was inspired to filter some of my Limoncello, to try and Nicola had the brilliant idea to pour it through one of the coffee filters. Came out nice and clear. Stored in the freezer. Wow, that's potent.

I have been told that the pork in Cyprus is exceptional so we had the butcher at Papa's cut one inch slices off a pork tenderloin, marinated in fresh squeezed orange juice, white wine and herbs and Dave cooked them the old fashioned way, over coals. They really were delicious.