Roberts Travel Blog

We left Villa Marissa in Chloraka at 10.30 am and arrived here at Villa Verdi at Agios Georgios by 11am. Third time here. Location for the Akamas and Agios Georgios is what keeps bringing us back. Very much a homely villa and lovely and light indoors!

Random encounter with a donkey close to Pikni Forest on the ridge above Paphos.. not sure if it was wild, semi wild or domestic but looked well fed !

Absolutely stunning views today as I drove the 35km across from Paphos to Drouseia to meet with Stephen Haughan. Views so many people never sea from their sun beds 😂😂

Not a bad view from the car - between Drouseia and Paphos

This morning I drove the 35km over the hill to have coffee and a chat with Stephen Haughan, who is a renowned author of many books who relocated from the UK and lives in Cyprus. Stephen makes videos of his interactions with local people and explores the natural world around him, showing people, the Cyprus beach goers will rarely, if ever see. He isn’t your archetypal Ex-pat abroad.

He took me on a walking tour of the village pointing out significant buildings and regaling me with tales of village life.

Whilst many buildings in the village look abandoned, behind the closed doors and shutters there is life. Buildings are being re-purposed and perched up on the hill, Drouseia has commanding views over Akamas Bay and over the hills towards the Troodos and Mount Olympus. In the humid hot Cypriot summers the village is a “go to” place where temperatures are 25-30 degrees as opposed to 40 plus with a relieving sea breeze!

It was enthralling and I’m hoping to go out with Stephen in the coming weeks to watch him in action.

Ο φίλος του κέντρου για πολύ καιρό, ο επαγγελματίας φωτογράφος Mike Kirkup (στα δεξιά) πέρασε για να πει ένα γεια ενώ βρισκόταν σε μια περιοδεία στην ύπαιθρο. Ο συνάδελφός του λάτρης της κάμερας σκοπεύει να επιστρέψει σύντομα με τη σύζυγό του για να κάνουν μαζί την περιοδεία. Το περιμένουμε με ανυπομονησία. Πάντα χαιρόμαστε που σε βλέπω!

Long time Friend of the Centre, pro photographer Mike Kirkup (on the right) passed by to say hello while on a tour through the countryside. His fellow camera enthusiast intends to return with his wife soon so that they can take the tour together. We look forward to it. Always great to see you!

Well a quiet day today as I had some work to do back at Head Office-the Villa ! After my morning swim at the King Evelthon I also booked a “sports massage” for later in the day, as I somehow did my back in. Just as I went to leave it absolutely tipped it down with rain for a good 20 mins and then it stopped! As soon as it had started.

I have to say, the pool area is a bit dull and the spa area sits just outside. Well - a lovely surprise - ultra modern treatment rooms, with soft lighting and the right volume background music.

The upshot of my sports massage is I am no longer crippled and can bend and twist after 75 minutes of being stretched and manipulated. So back there next Tuesday for a proper massage!

As I came out, storm clouds were once again gathering !

Here are some photos from todays visit with the Paphos Cat Lady, Gaynor with visits to the “AlpaMega Campus”, the “Bus Stop feeding station”, “Lower Mary’s Bus Stop” and “Cafe Nero”.

Quite unbelievable the time Gaynor devotes to her Paphos cats. Ultimately all the photos will be wending there way to Suzanne in the UK to use on the Paphos Cat Lady website. And hopefully inspire more donations.

So today I spent another couple of hours with Gaynor, the Paphos Cat Lady and Suzanne who is UK based, but currently in Paphos and runs the “Paphos Cat Lady” page. There are loads of charities helping cats and dogs in Cyprus but a lady called Gail Patterson messaged me asking if I could do something to help Gaynor and the vounteers with raising their profile. So I said why not? And it so happened Suzanne was also in Paphos.

For some bizarre reason, people on the “We Love Cyprus” (WLC) FB page read what I write and some even follow me ! My thoughts are spread the word on a site with 141,000 followers can’t be a bad thing. As a result of a piece I did on WLC they have had a number of new donations. I’ve just submitted another piece to WLC so would be interested in your views. The “Paphos Chat” FB page haven’t shared my post for reasons only they know.

I’m going to be writing pieces for the PCL FB page going forward and there are going to be a lot of cat photos, as that page is directly for cat lovers.

Here are some cat pics from today.

Paphos harbour was a lot quieter today after yesterday’s epiphany celebrations. It was still 22 degrees and when the wind dropped it was all very pleasant. It’s pretty special bay and the colour of the water was beautiful as well.

I think the law in Cyprus specifically states I have to stop and stroke every cat I come across. All looking pretty healthy and well fed too !

Popped into the Kings Avenue Mall in Paphos today - last chance to see the Xmas decorations. Sales on everywhere and the car park was chaotic - parking or should I properly describe it as “vehicle abandonment” was in full evidence!

Once again couldn’t bring myself to go into Jumbo’s store - a hybrid between B&M and Wilkins- though from posts on other pages, Jumbos is clearly a day out for many holidaymakers!

Always liked and admired this statue of the fishing boy in Paphos Harbour.

The Little Fisherman” is a bronze sculpture of a young boy and a large fish and is the second sculpture to be placed in the area by Yiota Ioannidou, as part of the “Signs in Time and Space,” project, where six participating artists were selected from an open call to create twelve works of site-specific art.

Got photobombed by this cat earlier today whilst promenading along the Paphos boardwalk !

Sunday brunch - been and gone ! Like to start the day with a healthy fry up !

Views across the Esouza Valley. Not a view that most tourists to Cyprus ever get to see.

Our next stop was to visit what Mike described as a “pagan church” built into the bottom of the cliff, that happened to be next to the coffee shop.

The ruins of the “temple” that are in this area, as well as the cave, located at the entrance of the village, were part of the church of Agios Hilarion , built as a type of vaulted basilica and probably dates between the Middle and Late Byzantine period, in the late 12th or early 13th century.

Perched high up overlooking the Ezousa Valley is “Saint Illarion the Great Church”.

Saint Hilarion was found in Cyprus at the age of 63 years and chose a rock in Episkopi to isolate himself and to asceticism which I had took up and means “severe self-discipline and avoiding of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons”. When at the age of 80 years he slept in peace the cave below the church became a chapel and there are remains to this day.

Two reasons for going . One is for the view but secondly because of a sheer cliff face where many birds normally roost.

Anyone observing myself and Mike that morning must have thought we were slightly mad. Whilst I crept round one side of the church, Mike went the other way in a typical “pincer movement” in total silence. Our mission was to see if anything was still there. I think it was too late in the morning and we saw no birds !

On the other side of Kallepia village is a smaller chapel also dedicated to good old St George, built on the ruins of an older church/temple.

It is neatly kept and the grave markers evenly spaced out, though some were in need of a bit of TLC.

Unfortunately the church was locked so I couldn’t go in. Something I’ve noticed on this side of the island more than once the other where I don’t think I found any locked churches. Sadly a sign of the times, as many churches in the UK ate also locked.

When visiting Mike Kirkup in Kallepia we met by the main church of Agios Georgios. But just above there sits this ruin which appears on first sight to be a chapel but closer inspection suggests it may have been some sort of fortification with thick walls and arrow thin windows. Despite looking, Dr Google has no information about it☹️. However it stands proud overlooking a rather magnificent view across the valley.

However that said, there is lots of info about the main church. Between 1915-1930 the villagers built a new church for themselves as the village was growing rapidly. However in 1943 the church imploded leaving just the outside walls standing - pretty spectacular engineering disaster.

The new church was started in 1955 and Archbishop Makarios the Third is said to have rolled up his sleeves and put a shift in.

6/1/24 sunset

Once at the harbour, a few words were said and upto 30 men leapt into the harbour. A wooden cross attached to a rope was cast into the harbour and retrieved by a swimmer. I think this was done three times.

The church service over run a bit ..but was well attended after which the procession, led by a band made its way to the harbour.

It’s Saturday 6/1/24 - happy Epiphany! Lovely sunrise this morning.

Today is the day back in days gone by, three wise men (Iranian Maji I believe, but they could have been Arab or Ethiopian kings) showed up bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, when nappies, baby milk and a nanny might have been more useful.

This morning heading down to Paphos to watch a ceremony of a cross being taken from the church, paraded through the streets of Paphos, to be eventually tossed into the harbour where apparently a band of hearty folk are going to retrieve it from.

Happy weekend everyone!

Today I went to visit the Paphos Cat Lady who has been looking after some of the many Paphos cats for over 30 years. Gaynor is totally and utterly bonkers for the 150 or so cats in the 8 colonies, scattered around Paphos Old Town, she cares for. I visited the “Mosque Central” gang in Old Paphos Town. You’ll find Gaynor there most days from 12 noon. Don’t forget to take your purse or wallet though !

Helped by a small number of volunteers she distributes at least 50 cans of cat food a day, plus biscuits, in a battered old car that would probably fail an MoT. After each feeding, Gaynor is diligent in tidying up and making sure the area is clean and tidy.

Where a cat is hurt or injured she’ll make sure it gets treated at the vets. All “her” cats have been neutered as part of the “Trap, Neuter, Release” programme. Any new cats joining one of her colonies, is quickly caught and taken to the vets. An un-neutered cat can have as many as 280 kittens in a lifetime. Multiply that up and you get a measure of the problem.

Gaynor relies on donations and often uses her own money to fund vet bills. I had a lovely lunch time talking to her and one of the volunteers who is over from the UK to help out for a week or so, and of course photographing the cats. I’m going to see how I can help Gaynor to raise more funds. Ultimately the cat problem in Cyprus will only get resolved as more cats are neutered.

For those of you who feel bad about forgetting my birthday or not getting me a Christmas present (ignorance of either is not a defence) - you can make a donation on the Paphos Cat Lady website (https://thepaphoscatlady.com/) or check out her page “Paphos Cat Lady”.

Forgot to send the lunch invites out today - for steak, leeks, mushrooms and salad . Lunch on the patio with the mercury topping 23 degrees!

Wish me luck - going to try and use the new Paphos Parking App today as going to Kato Paphos to meet the Pafos Cat Lady at lunchtime.