A Trip to Omodos

Today we were on our misery tour - we were off to Omodos by way of a change and as it was an exceptionally hot day (34 outside) we took it slowly and stopped on the way up at the Extreme View Cafe for a cold drink en route.

The satnav in the Qashqai decided to take us on a scenic route and at one point we had to cross the Trozena Bridge which was possibly a step too far for John's Mum who isn't a great passenger at the best of times.   This is a Bailey Iron Bridge which spans a deep canyon and looks rather rickety.  It is a steel construction with wooden floor and no arches for support but can still function for loads up to 8T.  This was of no comfort to Janet!

We made it to the carpark in Omodos safe and sound and took our visitors on a meander around the pretty little streets with the handicraft shops.  I think there are less there now, certainly several were closed or closed up but it was a nice change and interesting for the Clan as they had not been before.

One of the stalwart artisans is still there - Dempsi with his glass shop.  As we walked into the courtyard a resident mummy cat was asleep in a dish with one of her offspring - the others were playing around underneath.  I love his stuff but it is too expensive for me because it is exactly that, stuff and stuff needs a home and needs dusting!

We did not go into the church (Janet, Jackie and I had our arms uncovered) but chose to visit the Struggle Museum instead.  The national liberation struggle of Cyprus against the British colonial administration, known as the EOKA struggle, started on 1st April 1955 and ended with the Zurich/London agreements in February 1959.  The Struggle of EOKA is the culmination of long-standing struggles on behalf of the People of Cyprus.  The contribution of Omodos was great and the price that was paid was heavy.  It is a very sobering display and a gruesome reminder of the horrors of warfare.  The stark black and white photographs, personal effects and small write up on each person were sad and shocking.  I felt very moved by every entry, these were, after all, peoples' sons, fathers and brothers and even more shocking there was one woman featured who had been pregnant at the time of her death.  Sad, sad, sad.

We sought a cool spot to collect our thoughts and rest our feet and chose one of the restaurants on the main cobbled street for a late lunch.  It was traditional and so we chose traditional Cypriot food, afelia, keftedes and stifado.  We were grateful for the shade and the fan and a nice cold drink as it had been very hot in the network of little lanes and in the museum.

We made our way slowly home taking the scenic route which took us by Archimandrita where you get a goof view of the wind park and its massive wind turbines.  We chose to stop at the Sunset Viewing Point but were too early for sunset.  

It all went swimmingly until we got to Kouklia where the road we needed to take to Paphos was shut but the diversion wasn't signposted so we circumnavigated the centre on several occasions before finding our way out.

Another lovely day!