Eight Days Away, Illustrated

[tamaranth]

1. ...took three days to arrive.
I didn't feel I was really there until I'd had a slow solitary wander along the beach, and sat and listened to the waves, and walked and thought. But see point 12.

2. ...was kept out of the house by wild bees.
The house in question being a reconstructed chalcolithic roundhouse, painted with authentic artwork: a colony of wild bees had taken up residence in the wall, and I was too unnerved by all the buzzing to go inside. (bees, artwork.)

3. ...found freshly-broken Samian ware. It was lying in two small pieces by the side of the path around the headland. There were potsherds everywhere, disregarded: impossible to date most of my finds, at least for me, and I elected not to smuggle any Archaeology home with me -- though I did wonder how small something had to be ground before it didn't count: my shoes were full of sand. Instead, I made Art. See point 17.

4. ...sat out a hailstorm on an unmade mountain road.
This was ladymoonray's idea: she preferred not to drive in Weather. (It was very English for the first couple of days.) swisstone declared that we were mad; he spoke as if receiving a Divine Revelation.

5. ...saw two secrets and some gold.
This was in the form of a flock of magpies -- at least 20 of 'em. I've never seen this many at once, though there's a gang of six in Greenwich Park.

6. ...failed to sample the local pink fizz, Bellapais Rosé.
Apparently the KEO brewery has stopped making it, but we only discovered this on the last night, after hunting it out on menus and asking for it at almost every meal.

7. ... swam, several times, in the unheated outdoor pool -- mostly without the distraction of other swimmers.
It was lovely. The first time was rather a shock, but once the weather warmed up the pool did too. And the indoor pool had people in it, sometimes as many as three. Crowds! Ewww!

8. ... switched off the White Stripes to listen to goat bells.
I'd never heard goat bells in the wild before. A whole herd of them, heading for their cave (why build a goat-shed when you're in limestone country?) in the rain. There were goats on the waste ground potential hotel next to our apartment, too, but I don't think they had bells. (Photo here.)

9. ... saw Achilles in a dress.
In winter (which it still technically was, despite blazing sunshine and glorious light) all the archaeological sites shut at 5pm. They wouldn't let us into Kourion: but when we headed back up the twisty mountain road, we found that the covered exhibit right next to the layby was the mosaic of Achilles in hiding, being discovered by Odysseus. (Photo didn't come out very well, though: but you can see it here.)

10. ... proved that my calcium / evening primrose / glucosamine cocktail works.
I left all this behind, taking only a one-a-day glucosamine supplement, and had near-crippling joint pain by the end of the trip. Cyprus is not really designed for anyone with bad knees.

11. ... ate walnut ice cream for breakfast.
Actually, that was the bottom layer: the top layer was rose. Not a combination that I'd recommend: but oh, the bliss of an Italian gelaterie and Paphos Harbour on a hot sunny morning, before the tourists get up!

12 ... attracted unwelcome attention.
What I hate about every Mediterranean country I've visited: if I'm alone, I'm fair game for the local males. Outright rudeness isn't enough. Violence might be the only solution -- and they might hit back. The first admirer (Alexios: mid-50s: painter/decorator) was polite and charming and spoke relatively good English: the second (Spiros: 30-something: pain in the neck) hardly spoke any English, but persisted in speaking to me anyway. After that, I limited my morning walks to the beach in front of the hotel.

13. ... passed up the chance to see my dream man's face.
Swim three times around Aphrodite's Rock -- which legend (possibly quite recent legend) says will entitle you to a Vision -- or browse the internet? I know which is more convenient. I
paddled, instead.

14. ... hunted lizards. There were some very fine iguanas, or similar, as well as skinks. I pursued one around the beach, armed with my camera. He (or perhaps she) got used to it eventually, and basked photogenically. (Photo here.)

15. ... read some books. (The Jane Austen Book Club, The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, Inkheart, A Thousand Days in Venice, and half of another.)

16. ... touched a goddess.
It said 'do not touch the exhibits'. But this was the black stone worshipped since prehistory at Kouklia -- later identified with Aphrodite (and featured in Peter Beagle's The Folk of the Air). A huge, conical black boulder, very smooth, very curved. Easy to imagine (or not imagine) that I felt something strange.

17. ... made mosaics, or collages, from beachcombed fragments.
Potsherds, driftglass, a Nokia number-pad, sea urchin shells and spines, shells (recent and fossilised), ring-pulls, packing beads, bones, stones, and ubiquitous scraps of coloured plastic. (See beach mosaics one and two)

18. ... saw a rainbow the wrong shape.
We sat on the balcony of a restaurant and watched a storm pass across the bay north of Polis. The rainbow that followed was a very gentle arc, much more like a bridge (as per mythology) than the half-circle rainbows I'm accustomed to seeing in Britain. Is this a recognised phenomenon? Does anyone have an explanation? (Photo here.)

19. ... mused on portable problems.
I left some behind (and some of those ran wild in my absence): others came along with me, uninvited. No matter where you go, there you are.

20. ... held firmly onto my new friend.
ladymoonray bought him for me (and christened him Zeus: we were not smitten with divine pique); swisstone instructed me not to let go. And I didn't. Poor Zeus was rather deflated by departure-day: we let him down, rather than letting him fly free. (Photo here.)

21. ... found mysterious markings.
We came across a stone that'd been marked or written on; the markings were in the form of little pits or nocks, and they looked very definitely Made. Tony didn't recognise it either. Any ideas? (Photo).

22. ... had a Bloody Mary.
I loved our hotel; well laid out, nice spacious apartment, two swimming pools and striking, simple architecture. But their barman insisted on putting maraschino cherries in my Bloody Mary. One would have been too many: two was ... very amusing.

23. ... observed Marine Life.
Actually, Marine Death. It was quite stormy for the first few days, and one morning there were a lot of dead jellyfish (best sort) on the beach: not only the typical, purplish ones, but tiny bright blue ones the size of my fingernail, that looked like flowers or eyeballs. They squished like eyeballs, too. Haven't been able to identify them in a quick scan of Google.

24. ... failed to buy and send Lewd Postcards.
It is well-known that classical art is full of Smut. The Cypriot postcard industry has cottoned on to the merchandising possibilities: in fact I was quite surprised not to be able to buy the traditional 'lump of salt and phallic object' (as bestowed on worshippers at Kouklia, apparently) in Paphos tat shops. They did have a splendid range of pornographic Artistic postcards: sadly, all the people I might've sent them to have small children, or menfolk, who just wouldn't understand ...

25. ... had a fab time. Could you tell?
But how lovely to come back to unseasonally gorgeous weather!

I edited down the 200+ photos I took to 50: they're here.

Comments

[zotz]

A rainbow is an arc centred on a spot directly away from the light being reflected (usually the sun). The angle between that centre and the colours will be the same as the angle between the light coming from the sun towards the water droplets and the light reflected back off them. The apparent radius of a rainbow should therefore always be the same.

If it's a lower, flatter arc, that's probably because you're seeing a smaller part of it due to the sun being higher in the sky than you're used to. Presumably in this case it's because you were nearer the equator than you're used to.

Sounds like a fantastic trip.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Thank you for explanation: that makes perfect sense! Your explanation's so clear that I may have to ask you about angle of crescent moon (why it differs at different latitudes) too -- something that I just cannot get my head around. Don't think I've got the hang of living on a planet yet.

A few points

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

1. That fort is an Ottoman rebuild of the original build by the Frankish Lusignans, and destroyed later by the Venetians to prevent it falling into Turkish hands.

2. The best information suggests that the castle with the arches is on the site of a Byzantine fort, but what we see now is again Frankish (thirteenth century).

3. That destroyed tomb by the sea looks much more tomb-like in that photo. In fact, I wonder if that isn't the base of something - the steps seem to lead up, not down.

4. I'd like it made clear that I did not think you were made for driving in Weather - I thought you were mad for being up in the mountains in the first place.

Re: A few points

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

did I get anything right?!

[ladymoonray.livejournal.com]

Yay! The photos are great. Thanks for sorting them all out and putting them up. I get bored very easily doing that sort of thing. And I'd have had to do it on Tony's laptop until I get a new one, which would have been impossible until he's finished the marking.

It was a lovely holiday wasn't it? Looking at the photos made me realise just how lovely it was.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

I like photo-sorting -- it reminds me of little details, like the snail shells, and brings back the whole holiday. Do you think you'll be able to get a CD of the photos from the disposables?

and thanks again for letting me use that camera -- it's so very nice! (Though I was less than overjoyed with the bright orange date stamps: suspect that can be turned off, though ...)

[ladymoonray.livejournal.com]

I'll try to get a CD from the disposables, but if not we can always scan them.

I'm v sorry about the date stamps. I don't know what happened there; they weren't on the test uploads we did. Must read the book and get them turned off.

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

sounds luvveryly but - porno art postcards OVER HERE PLEASE! ;-)

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Sorry, will try harder next time!

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

I've always liked the red Athenian krater design that they use on the yoghurt pots where they reporiduce it completely - except for the chap throwing up ;-)

[dalmeny]

Thank you very much for the description. It sounds like a marvellous holiday, apart from the knee pain.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

It was marvellous: the whole island is made up of ruins, wild flowers and sun-baked bones. (Well, probably it isn't, but that's how it felt at times, sifting sand on the beach.)

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

Nice pictures. Sounds like you had a great time (apart from the wild bees (were they wild? They were bloody furious!) and the lechy locals).

I really must have a go at this holidaying lark some time...!

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Had a great time, despite minor setbacks. Suspect I shall be in post-holiday slump for some time, though, given life's current hecticness!