Sunday 17 February 2013

Saturday February 9th - Not one of our better days...

I have not been sleeping well of late - I am waking around 4.00am every morning and then struggling to get back to sleep - this has taken its toll and so I am not my normal chirpy self - I don't know quite what is causing it to happen because it doesn't seem that anything specific is waking me except perhaps my internal thermostat on overdrive or I wonder if I am keeping half an ear open for Dad.  I was, therefore, hopeful that our pretty tiring shopping trip would have taken it out of me enough for me to sleep through the night but I was rudely awakened at around 3.00am by the weather and torrential rain mixed with hailstones that sounded like ball bearings bouncing off of the conservatory glass roof.  With weather like that there is nothing for it but to get straight out of bed and make sure that towels are in place to mop up any water that finds its way in, otherwise this is a bit like when you wake and think you ought to go to the loo and don't and then about and hour later wish you had gone to the loo straight away because all you have done for the last hour is think about it. Needless to say I never really got back to sleep again and had to be up early because I was taking Dad to Anarita.

Dad belongs to a walking group (average age probably about 75) and they meet every Saturday as and when the weather allows for it and definitely not in the Summer.  This Saturday it was Dad's walk and although he was in too much pain to walk round needed to be there and would sit in the sweeper up car for waifs and strays which I would drive.

It was another one of those days when you couldn't be sure what the weather was going to do and as we drove down to Tala to pick up Dad's friend Frank and his grandson Anton who is over staying with him for a week it was extremely grey.  Fortunately the closer to the coast we got the brighter the skies became so that by the time we had arrived at Anarita and assembled in the car park of the Taverna where we would be having lunch it was a very warm and bright morning.

A small and select group of walkers pitched up which included Wendy's little rescue dachshund which is a real character and obviously relishes the challenge of a good mornings walk.  We commented that Anton had probably halved the average age of the group by joining in!!


There was a very short stretch of walk at the beginning and the end which was on road but the rest was all on tracks up in the hills with fantastic views and the warm spring-like sunshine made it very pleasant indeed.  I drove carefully either just in front or just behind the group which meant that as the temperature began to rise they could discard unwanted layers.


The walk skirted along the periphery of the Asprokremnos reservoir which Dad thought was looking just about as full as he had ever seen it.  This is one of the major reservoirs and a place where the Cypriots will party as they wait for it to overflow!


The walk also passed through lush countryside where the goats and the sheep were taking full advantage of the fresh tender grass - good job too because if the weather keeps up like this it wont be too long before everything is brown and dusty once again.


It is early but lots of the Almond trees are out in blossom but it looks like they don't get picked anymore.  Not surprising as they are so difficult to get out of their shells - hence we broke our antique nut crackers.  Dad says he can remember when he and mum first lived here that you could walk through a village in the spring and here the tap tap tapping of small hammers being wielded by the village women extracting the almonds.

Everybody made it back safely from the walk which we reckoned was probably about 5 miles and had taken a leisurely two hours.  I only had to mop up Frank but at 92 and with a dodgy hip he was forgiven.  We all then took lunch at the Agios Epifanios taverna before heading back to Droushia.

En route I had a phone call from the Police looking for a Mr Alison - I guessed they meant me as Alison is my middle name and Cypriots don't seem to be able to work out what your name is so they tend to call you Mr John or Mrs Jill.  They were looking for whoever had been driving our blue CRV about an hour since which would have been John as he was taking Trevor and Running John to the Footie at Agia Marina.  I asked if there was a problem and the policeman said a small one but nothing to worry about and took John's number.


To cut a long story short apparently John took the wrong turning to the football and had to turn the car round at a farm where the guy said that John had dented his truck - which was an elderly truck with more dents than you can shake a big stick at.   The police told them to sort it between themselves and they agreed on a sum by way of recompense even though John reckons that he was stitched up a kipper.  After that the guy took John indoors for coffee and gave him a bag of freshly picked avocados!! 

Fortunately no real harm was done except to John's pride and his wallet so I wont be getting much for my birthday in March but combined with the lack of sleep and feeling a bit low it was the last straw so when I called in to Running Susan's after going food shopping in Paps in Polis I had a right old blub which was stupid I know!  Still I got Susan's printer working so that was at least one good thing that had gone right.

1 comment:

  1. We know the avacados were very expensive, but tasted deliciouse

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