Kathicas, Cyprus - Saturday walk

We had walked at Kathicas before, when it was very foggy, so I was hoping to be able to see the magnificent views I had been told about. Unfortunately it was quite hot and humid so the visibility wasn't great and there were clouds obscuring The Troodos.

Vine pruning happening at this elevation now.

That's a lot of hand pruning!

There were more than 25 of us and the walk was mostly along gravel tracks

 between farmers fields.

Up here there were still Almond trees in blossom. When I am walking I end up talking to a variety of different people. At this point the woman I was walking with told me that there was more than one kind of Almond tree in Cyprus. This was the first I had heard of that ,so I googled it:

The taste of the almonds determines the usage of the different varieties. The sweet almonds are used as table dry nuts, in the making of sweets, in almond byproducts, in drinks, as well as in the extraction of edible oil. The bitter almonds are used in the pharmaceutical industry as palliatives for asthma and cough, as well as in perfumes.from limnati.org

With another walker we were talking about the geology. He had been to a lecture recently and learned that the two tectonic plates colliding resulted in rock forms from deep beneath the surface becoming visible in the Troodos. Had to google it ......

These mountains slowly rose from the sea due to the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, a process that eventually formed the island of Cyprus. The slowing and near-cessation of this process left the rock formations nearly intact, while subsequent erosion uncovered the magma chamber underneath the mountain, allowing a viewing of intact rocks and petrified pillow lava formed millions of years ago, an excellent example of ophiolite stratigraphy. from wiki

This is the end of the Avakas Gorge which can be walked down to reach the sea.

Walking back into the village of Kathicas was past this bright garden,

along cobblestone streets

and past

old stone houses.

Lunch was held in a lovely stone Taverna. I had avocado and prawn salad and tahini (didn't think it worth a photo)

Cyprus, the U.K. (which I fly through to get home) and Canada are all making decisions regarding travel, flights and airports. It is changing rapidly. At this point I am not sure whether I will be able to get home at the end of March, whether I should try and get home sooner or whether I am better off riding it out here. The choice may be taken out of my hands. Stay tuned.