Cyprus, 2nd Winter II
A visit from Pino and Giovanna January 21- 28th
Pino and Giovanna are the Servas hosts we met in Sicily. We have made arrangements for them to come to visit us for a week. They have flown into the south end of the island and we are to meet them at Hertz at an appointed time. There they are! Well, we are late, got the time mixed up and Giovanna is pacing! So we pack them into the van and off we go to settle them in at Samandira, eager to show them our part of Cyprus. I tell Giovanna about Susan and the Girne tailors. The next day we are in the fabric shop. Giovanna orders two pairs of pants and a jacket...I get a gift for bringing her in! The two of them wander the Girne harbor castle while we do some errands and then we meet at George's Cafe in the town square. Did I tell you about George's? This is the restaurant the British have chosen to 'call their own'. This is often where we meet our friends. So we introduce the Italians to our British haunt for a bite of lunch.
Giovanna wants to cook for us. We want to share the cooking but I give up. She's the cook for sure. She and Pino buy fresh fish and for dinner we have a fabulous meal, two types of fish cooked whole under the top grill element in the oven. Add garlic, lemon, cilentro, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes on each side. Delicious. Then we settle in for more of Downton Abbey as Giovanna needs to start at series three!
Oh, oh. Our showers dribble and stop. Brrrrrr. Must fix that. ????
The cooks are at it again. Here is our dinner the following evening (Pino is cooking in Giovanna's pink sweater and matching crocks):
Pino's Artichokes
~ 4 artichokes (for four people)
~ To begin preparation, smash the leafy tops to open, then open further and wash. Cut and peel the stems to cook also.
~ Chop green onions and cube a cheese of your choosing. Add both of these to the center of the artichoke and between its leaves.
~ Put in pot, leaves up, and place four potatoes in with them holding up the artichokes. Steam in a little water with a lid cover until done...not overdone.
Pino's Salad
Toss together green onions and orange pieces. At the last minute add salt and olive oil.
Both of these were served with Giovanna's tomato sauce over pasta. Those Italians. Their dishes are simple and fresh and so tasty!
While our friends are with us we must renew our car visa at the Girne police department...Go here, go there, oh no, you must go down the hall...three officials discuss. Another lady official comes in....Oh no, you must go to the post office first. Ask for a 2 cent stamp and affix it to this yellow document, then come back to the police station....which we do and is a pain in the butt as it means driving and parking and walking. Back to the police station. “Do you speak Turkish?” “Sorry, no.” “Sit.” (bark bark grrrr) “Oh no, this is to renew your car visa! You must go to the Nicosea Customs office.” Arrrrrrrg! Nicosia is 40 minutes away and where is the customs office? We find it. “No this is not the right place for you. You have an American license plate. I have never seen this before. You must go down the road to this building.” After four false tries to find the right building, we are too late and the offices are all closed. To heck with it. We don't need a car visa that much!
January 24
We choose Buffavento Castle as our late outing for today. The sun is setting in its usual pink display. The mountain shapes are gorgeous in this light. Even the slightly evident army presence is pretty. Dinner at the pass at the Buffavento Restaurant. We talk with the young Cypriot man whose family owns this establishment. We always are looking for insight into the remaining reprecussions of the Turk/Greek squabble. His answer is that the problem of holding hate and grudges keeps both sides from moving forward.
We are given a wonderful table, at the window, looking at Five Fingers mountain. Delicious shish and Adana with mese. Too much food. Our waiter has come from Pakistan and has been four years here at school and this job. His wife will join him soon. He has memories and stories of friends and families bombed and killed. He is hoping to make a better life.
January 25 & 26
We pack up a picnic and head out. Pino and Giovanna are singing opera arias in the back seat. Nice voices. They know their music.
St. Barnabus, an old monestary turned museum, holds an amazing selection of artifacts starting from 7,000 years BC. One would not think such a collection would be here. It is my all time favorite museum and I take many photos of the drawings and paintings on the pottery vessels and plates. Then to Salamas, an old Roman town that we can wander in without breaking rules. So much is still here, but then I told you about this when we visited last year, so I won't go into depth. We want our guests to experience the site also. Here Pino picks wild dill. What will he do with it?We meet Anna and Machi from Poland. They are here for the weekend! We drive them back to Girne where they have booked a hostel. The fresh dill is terrific on pasta. You must try it!
The next day, with picnic packed again, we drive the north coast road finding spots off to the old road to drive on along the way. We watch for beach spots that we have camped on and point them out to Pino and Giovanna. We go to a basilica site that we were not able to see last year but again the gate is closed. There are still mosaic floors to see here.
We eat our lunch by the road looking over a long sand coastal beach. Our next plan is to find some cave tombs which we have not visited so we head east, then south mid-island. It is uncommonly beautiful here. Valleys green with early wheat, rock cliffs and hills on both sides...the road leads us through gently, while we gawk at the awesome view. Here is the little town we are looking for. We drive slowly up the main street, past a group of men telling tall tales of days gone by on the cafe-bar board walk. David hopes to get information from them. He is gone quite a long time as one of these men speaks English well...learned in New York city. Another of the men says,“I will show you. Come with me.”
He leads us out of the village, down a precarious sandstone path to large caves carved into the sandstone. High ceilings, six spaces carved opposite each other with a wide hall between and another larger space off to the side. A big 'window' is carved out and we go through it a short distance to see the view...the valley and a flat mountain directly across. A king was buried here. He and his queen watched out this window as all their belongings were stolen away from this mountain, by a raiding enemy.
Quite impressive. Another intrigueing story.
Our friend points to an upper trail which is ancient also. Still used to get water, donkeys are lead to the well. The area from this vantage point is breathtaking and unspoiled with only agriculture added to its original terraine. Olive trees and wheat. It seems a secret mid-island space. I could certainly linger longer in a place like this.
Our new friend invites us to his home for tea. How fortunate we are to be asked into a Cypriot village home.
As we walk toward the front door, we are surprised at a painting that covers an entire outside wall. It is his mother and father on camels in their younger days. There were many camels here then. None now. His little wife comes to meet us. She bustles around the open plan kitchen to make us tea or coffee to order and brings us biscuits. The room is warm and welcoming. A huge piece of olive trunk is in the fireplace. This handsome couple are probably in their sixties. In his working days he had been a truck driver, so he is well traveled. He is in a sport coat and she in a white polka dot on navy background dress. Cute as can be. She has put on a little white lace bonnet since we first arrived. She must cover her head with company in the house? Out of respect? This is an old Greek household. Greeks that chose to stay in their small villages during the times of Turkish-Greek strife, supported by their Turkish neighbors. At one point their modern grandson comes to the door and greets us with a big smile. We are shown about. A lovely porch off the living room hangs above the valley and the same flat top mountain.
The wife sits down beside me on one of the couches next to the fire. We chat as best we can, giggling at our ineptness to speak to one another, hugging when the urge comes up. She is a very warm and charming woman. There is a painting of her above the fireplace. It is hard to say goodbye. We find a bottle of wine in the van, to leave as a thank you gift.
Homeward bound. More opera singing in the back seat. Giovanna is fixing dinner. At dinner we are in stitches as Giovanna translates Pino's jokes, one after another. She stands to act them out also. He helps her through them. He is a very funny man...she a good actor. How on earth can you remember so many jokes? Thunder and lightening all through the night.
January 27 & 28
Giovanna picks up her new clothes. Pretty good turn-around. Today we explore Nicosea but we are back home early as tomorrow we must drive them to Pafos to catch their plane. How did that happen? Such a short week!
At 9:50 the next morning we are on our way. A lovely sunny day full of beauty and joy...through agricultural land on a narrow road. Vineyards, artichokes, strawberries and wild asparagus. Blooming cherry trees. We have a picnic ala Giovanna. Baked spaghetti. Fields are so green. The sea is so blue with big frothy waves to watch. Back on the road. Carob trees with patches of brown leaves (caused by tree rats!), wind flowers in the ditch canals. Scotch broom. We say our goodbyes at the airport and wish our Italian friends a good journey. We have not been by ourselves for two months! What will we do?
Not to worry. We are soon in a beautiful southern Cyprus bay, Pissouri Bay. Quiet comfy sound of surf.
THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS:
> Around these parts it is best to use the term, “What would Ataturk do?”
> There are so many dogs around here, some with parents and some without. One starts barking and they all join in, all in their differently pitched voices. They can't see each other. Wolves calling out.
>
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