“
from the Kaledonia waterfall. There is
a great hike up past the falls from here
which is only a couple of miles but is very
steep in places and crosses the river
numerous times. Not one to tackle in flipflops! The pines in the mountain forest
give off an amazing fragrance and the
cooler air is refreshing too.
The country is full of surprises
and has a real mix of old and
new, barren landscapes and
mountain forests, beautiful
beaches and ski slopes
“
The road to the top of the mountain ends
in Troodos Square which has nothing
more to see than the usual array of
shops catering for souvenir hunters but
if you come back down and stop off in
Platres, you will find an Alpine-esque
village with some great places to grab a
leisurely lunch.
From a distance looking back up the
mountain there are two huge golf ball-like
structures that can be seen from the
coast. These buildings are British military
facilities that relay communications from
around the world.
Currium Amphitheatre
Paphos
Martyn taking it easy
Another memory is that of seeing the
huge American U2 spy plane which still
takes off from Akrotiri, painted black and
looking menacing. Obviously being a spy
plane it was supposed to be secret but
it was impossible to miss when it took to
the skies.
Cyprus has a large expat community and
it is easy to see why. In recent years there
has been an influx of other nationalities
and advertising signs can often be found
in Russian and Chinese as well as English
and Greek. To cater for this market it is
not unusual to see shops like Next, M&S,
Debenhams and even Sports Direct in
the shopping malls. There is even a huge
IKEA store near the capital.
“
Cyprus has a large expat
community and it is easy
to see why
“
One of my strongest memories of living
there as a kid was a visit to Paphos
harbour which was famed for its castle and
resident pelican. On this particular trip my
younger brother was of an age when he
was inconsolable without his dummy. As
we walked along the edge of the harbour
he managed to fling his dummy into the
clear waters below and so began to wail.
The drop to the sea was longer than my
Dad’s arm so he picked me up by ankles
and held me over the side to retrieve the
floating pacifier. I can still picture the little
fish inches from my face and that feeling
of fear that my Dad would drop me in
amongst them. In those days Paphos was
a sleepy little place but now it is a bustling
tourist centre which despite having one
of the countries two main airports it still
seems to have kept its charm.
Deefer
Paphos Castle
I love it there and would happily live in
Cyprus all year round which reminds me,
I need to see our Chief Exec and pitch
my idea for an MWB Cyprus office…
By Jason Edge
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