A new week begins - Monday is a Noneday

The beginning of this new week was particularly uneventful.  It was just a Monday at home doing 'stuff' although there was so much dust in the atmosphere we didn't spend an awful lot of time outside - and with the news that a breakaway European Super Football League was going to be created John spent a lot of the day listening to the news - apparently this signals the end of football as we know it.   On that sobering note I have decided to tag on Tuesday's news to the end of this post!!

TUESDAY

I was walking with Nicky today and mindful that her arm has still not healed from the fall she had a few weeks ago I try and find a route which isn't to off-piste.  I had a couple of walks mapped out which were in our area but necessitated a short drive to the starting point.  I had chosen Fasli and had a quick look at the map thinking we were going to walk in an anti-clockwise direction passing the old house and buildings in Fasli and come uphill towards the Radar and then back downhill to the starting point but I had in fact chosen a different route!!!

We started out at Fasli 

(Fasli is a village located near the Akamas peninsula, nine kilometers southwest of Polis and four kilometers northwest of Dhrousha. It is believed by many that the name Phasli or Fasli derives from fasla, meaning “plot of land.” The villagers of Androlikou and Fasli believe that after a land dispute in Androlikou, the agha of the village told one of the opponents that he was willing to give him one fasla if he agreed to move where the current village is situated. He apparently accepted the offer, and the village was founded and called Fasla. The Turkish Cypriots eventually slightly changed the name from Fasla to Faslı.)

but instead of turning left and walking uphill we turned right and walked hownhill, quite steeply hownhill and I must apologise to Nicky that the surface was loose and cinder-like and I know this makes her nervous but we took it slolwy.  I had expected that this walk might not be very scenic, expecting it to be quite barren but at this time of the year the landscape is green and lush although the sand filled grey skies (which looked like it could rain) meant that the coastline was quite obscured.

Once we had negotiated the downhill we found ourselves on a better surface underfoot and were surrounded by rolling hills and goat farms.  It was spectacular and in some ways reminiscent of Yorkshire!!!  We were passed by no-one and saw no-one as we carried on walking towards the coastline of Latchi.

Eventually we were told to turn right and started walking parallel to the coast and as we turned a corner I was amazed to see that we were approaching the picnic area John and I had found the other day although we had come up the hill from Neo Chorio and turned left and come along the bottom of the picnic site and this time Nicky and I had come downhill from Fasli and turned right and come along the top of the picnic site - I had no idea this is where we had been heading!!!

This meant that we got to walk through the strange settlement of Androlikou

Androlykou (Greek: Ανδρολύκου,Turkish: Gündoğdu) is a Turkish Cypriot village in the Paphos District of Cyprus, located 5 km southwest of Polis Chrysochous.

Before the invasion it had a population of 498.  At the first British census in 1881 it had a population of 255. 

In October 1974 most men of fighting age were arrested and sent to the Geroskipou POW camp, while other villagers left secretly to the Turkish controlled area. 248 people remaining in the village were escorted by UNFICYP in August 1975 to the Turkish sector. Apart from one Turkish Cypriot married to a Greek Cypriot woman, the whole village was evacuated. They were mainly resettled in Myrtou.

From here we started our long ascent back to the car.

Part way up the hill we stopped at the picnic table where I have always wanted to take a sandwich because on a clear day the views are glorious.  

Our ascent was by way of a tarmac road which Nicky was much happier on and although it was a long and slow route back she tackled it without too much moaning!!!!  We only stopped three times which was good because by the time we were on the uphill leg it was beginning to get extremely warm and there was little opportunity for shade so we had to take it while we could.

I was pleased that Nicky said she had enjoyed that walk - it was actually much nicer than I had expected and it is always nice to go on a track that we haven't been on before.  I shall have to investigate the anti-clockwise route for the next time we go out.

We had a quiet afternoon and it got warmer and stickier so late afternoon we decided to retreat to the Do-Jo for a quiet beer and sit in the shade joined by Boris.  Charlie has been off colour today - in fact he was sick earlier - we think it was a furball so we had to administer some fish oil to try and ease its passage - poor boy he came into the house crying which is not like him and then projectile vomited which is always my responsibility as John doesn't deal with that.

Our supper this evening was one of my favourites - salad with thai spiced strips of beef fillet and small new potatoes.  It was delicious!!!!  Tomorrow John is going to try and recreate the crispy chilli beef that he had at the Farmyard.