Pissouri, Cyprus - January vs March

March is the month that everyone should come to Cyprus. Not January. Not that I didn't enjoy January, I did. But there is a lot to be said for March.

January - most of the houses have no central heating so I was using the gas fire, electric heater or Heat/air conditioner units to take the chill off whichever room I was occupying.
March - the house has absorbed enough of the outside warmth to be comfortable most of the time. I just put the electric heater on in the living room some evenings. I don't use the gas fire, the bathroom heater or the bedroom heater.

January - I needed to put the electric water heater on for half an hour prior to a shower or bath and boiled the kettle to wash dishes.
March - the solar heating and warmer nights mean that I don't need to use the water heater (even in the mornings) or the kettle.

January - the fields and hills were getting greener and the gravel roads were getting washed out and rutted.
March - the foliage has "taken off" - shrubs are bursting with green and flowers, grass and weeds are hip deep, crops are growing, wild flowers are in bloom. The gravel roads still have to be repaired after the occasional torrential downpour but it is not a daily occurrence anymore.

January - it was amazingly quiet here. Many of the expats had extended stays in England, of the 6 row houses, I was the only occupant. There wasn't much birdsong and I would just see individual birds (except for a noisy flock of pigeons). It was cold and wet so people stayed inside.
March - there have been renters in #6, twice, and # 1, once.  The long term renter of #3 is back from holidays. Some of the bungalows around are now occupied by their permanent or part time residents. I hear the occasional dog bark and because people now have their windows open I can hear the murmur of conversations, TV, dishes ..... Flocks of sparrows and swallows have joined the pigeons and they are all looking for nesting material.

January - I was very glad to have bought jeans, long sleeved shirts, a jacket, a down vest, socks - and sometimes I wore all of that - in the house!
March - I pull the curtains aside from my bed and if the sky is blue (6 out of 7 days this week) I put on a pair of shorts, tank top and sandals. Sitting on the balcony or the front patio is warm though sometimes there is still a cool breeze that dictates warmer clothing.

January - just one of the restaurants in the village square was open and there were no chairs and tables set up outside. The restaurants that were open here or in other places tended to be only open for one meal (either just lunch, or just dinner)
March - All the restaurants are open in the square and tables and chairs are set up outside. The restaurants that are out of the village are opening (Kyrenia Beach Bar, Malenda Bay Restaurant) so there are many more eating out options.

Today was a blue sky day and I hung out laundry and read on the balcony and in the front patio. When it started to cloud over (rain was in the forecast for the afternoon) I bought in the dry laundry and did some painting. It never did rain.

Not happy with it but there are some parts that I am. I have another watercolour class next Tuesday so I will take it and see what suggestions Ros has.

I had been contemplating a trip to Egypt from here (its just over and hours flight) but I have decided against it. It was getting expensive to do it in a way that I felt safe (good hotel, pick up at airport, guided tours) and there is so much to do here, my calendar is filling up. So Egypt may or may not happen in the future, it was never a priority destination for me.