I'm trying to catch up with my Blog today as later this afternoon I am going to UK for a few days.

Saturday, 22 July
We did some shopping this morning in preparation for our first BBQ for the neighbours tomorrow. In the heat of the day, after lunch, I chose to stay indoors and began sorting out the books into some kind of chronological order. Very satisfying. Late afternoon Jeff decided to tackle erecting a B & Q gazebo we had brought out with us. He did pretty well, but I had a slight problem when asked to help him to move it into position as I could only just reach the overhead bar! Anyway we ended the day having successfully erected the frame.

Sunday, 23 July
Most of the day was spent in preparation for our BBQ. Our guests were due to arrive at 5pm. Creating sufficient shade with our sun umbrellas was our biggest problem. Eventually we plan to build a permenant shade area near the lounge door which will make sitting out there in the afternoon more comfortable.
I had marinated some olives and feta cheese in olive oil and herbs earlier in the week and roasted and tossed some nuts in a cayenne mixture. These would provide nibbles while everyone was assembling. Gazpacho Soup was to start the meal, not only is this so refreshing in this heat, but cheap and easy to do with the prolific amount of tomatoes and cucumbers we have. We made a variety of salad dishes, dips, pitta bread and we marinated chicken, lamb and tuna to cook on the BBQ.
On our recent visit to the south we had found a bottle of Pimms and our guests were greeted with a cool glass full of fruit, lemonade and Pimms. Patrick and Mary, Averil and Peter and Les and Jo were our guest and I forgot to take any pictures! All of us agreed that we do not eat as much here as we did in UK, so we never got around to serving the tuna - and we had plenty of leftovers. Everyone found room for dessert as I'd prepared stuffed peaches with mascarpone cream. We had a really good afternoon and we look forward to when they can come again.

Monday, 24 July

It was a big clear up first thing and then Jeff went into Girne to do some admin which was the start of a "bad" day for him. The Bank failed to produced the promised Bank Cards, money that a friend should have transferred hadn't arrived, the local car insurance office wasn't open and he forgot to pick up a battery for his watch! I think he took his frustration out on getting the roof on the gazebo, because the next time I looked out it was finished.

Julie and Bob, a couple we had met through the Quiz Nights, came round for a "sundowner". They do not live far away and had just installed the same Internet system as ours and got himself a Skype phone. I persuaded them to have some supper with us as I had all the tuna left from yesterday's BBQ. We had a really good evening together. They are about 7/8 years younger than us and decided to come over to Northern Cyprus when Bob was made redundant from his job at British Aerospace.

Tuesday, 25 July
Jeff decided to start proceedings towards getting our Temporary Residency permits today. He had to find our local Mukhtar and get his permission to stay in his town. I'd already done this when I was over last year sorting out the importation of our furniture.
We had invited Barbara and Michael to have lunch with us in order that they could see where we lived and what we lived in! No fuss this time, ham and tomatoe sarnies in the garden. The day was very still, hot and humid. Although we started in the garden it was not long before we moved indoors where it was a little cooler. We had a good time together and just as we were relaxing after they had left - the power went off! Now we have a generator this shouldn't be a problem but we had loaned it to Les and Jo because they had moved into their house a couple of weeks ago but they have no water or electricity connected. Their builder had provided them with a generator only for it to be stolen when they were away from the house one night! So we felt sorry for them and had loaned them ours while a replacement was sorted out. As it happened, the power was only off for a few hours and we spent plenty of time swimming in the pool as we could do little else.

Wednesday, 26 July
Jeff collected his permission from the Mukhtar and later in the morning we went into Girne for the market and then called into the Police Station to start the immigration procedure. However, we were too late as the office only opens until 12 noon. The Police Officer did tell Jeff what he needed to bring with him next time.


That afternoon we decided just where we would locate the lovely decorative tile that we were given by Roni and Mike, Jen and Ron on our 60th birthday. We have put it outside in an area where we spend most of our time sitting. The power went off again this afternoon, but did come back on again before it went dark.
If its Wednesday then it must be Quiz Night at the Chiswick. Michael and Barbara joined us this week but they didn't help us improve our score. Never mind, it is great fun, not to be taken seriously.

Thursday, 27 July
After breakfast we did a quick tidy round and set off for Girne to tackle the next stage in the Temporary Residency procedure. We started at the Police Station where we presented our Passports plus copies, Mukhtar's permission plus copies, copies of Contract of Sale for the bungalow and a bank statement but they still needed additional copies of the Contract of Sale and the bank statement. We were despatched off to a Clinic where we had blood taken from us along with a total of 500 YTL (£160), then on to a hospital to have chest xrays, to a photographers for passport photographs and enroute we got the extra photocopies they needed. Back to the Police with the receipt to show we had done this, oops! They needed a copy of this too, back to the photocopy shop and finally the Post Office for 6 x 1YTL stamps each to go onto the official documents. We just managed to get back to the Police Station with all these before the clock struck 12! We now have to wait 5/6 weeks before we go on to do the next stage in Lefkosa (Nicosia).
On the way home we called at the Kervan Cafe where I joined the Ladies group for half an hour's chat and Jeff cooled down with a cold drink.
Later that afternoon we went up to Babel Garden Centre to find some plants and soil for some planters we had bought over in the south last week and spent the cool of the evening doing a bit of gardening.

Friday, 28 July
Friday morning the British Residents Society meets at the Pegasus Bar, it is both a social gathering and they have a small market of books, clothes, veg and CDs and DVDs. The main purpose of the organisation is to assist Brits to assimilate into Cypriot society, to ensure rules and regulations are abided by and help those who encounter problems. We went along this morning in order to sign up as members. It may be that my SSAFA connections could be useful to them.
There is an American Car Wash located conveniently next door, so while we were signing up we left the car in the Car Wash where for 20 YTL (£6.50) the car is hand cleaned immaculately and thoroughly both inside and out. Money well spent in this heat.
On the way back we called in at the Friday Market located in the grounds of Carpenters Restaurant. There are a few Craft Stalls, home made produce, books, clothes and a pie maker. We stocked up on pies and I ordered a name plaque for the bungalow. A very talented lady paints designs on tiles and I have asked that we have one made showing a toy soldier in a sentry box. So the bungalow will be known as The Sentry Box - the reason being that as we are the first building on the lane and all visiting vehicles have to pass our gates, Jeff seldom misses any of the comings and goings. Considering our background we thought the name not only amusing but appropriate.
We have been experiencing some high winds during the last couple of days, which is lovely when it is so hot, but this afternoon the winds became so strong we couldn't put the umbrellas up and as evening came, black clouds began to build up. If we had been in UK we would have been certain to get rain. Although Jeff gathered up all the cushions from the chairs it blew itself out and nothing happened, but it was very strange.
Late evening we joined friends (the boat crowd) down at the Cabin for a drink or three. There was only our group there, so the wind must have driven the tourists inside!

Saturday, 29 July
Later today Jeff will be taking me to Larnaca for a late afternoon flight to Heathrow. I am so looking forward to seeing all the Kelseys again, but particularly little Joe. I am so excited at the prospect of bringing them all back here with me in a week's time (Andy will join them about a week later). Much as I am looking forward to seeing them along with my dear friends, the fact that this is now my home is making me want to stay here too. Once I get on that plane I shall be ok, but I feel as though I am a bit in denial about the journey at the moment.
So a few chores to do now and then I really must start packing.

Not only have we been busy over the last 10 days but we have been enjoying ourselves too. We are really enjoying being retired! But I know you want to hear what we have been up to so I will make this post a little diary issue.

Sunday 16 July was where I left off and after the morning service we decided to have lunch at Sirinyali, a small fish restaurant near to home. It is located in a little cove, there is no beach to speak of but we enjoyed the sea breeze to keep us cool. Although it has new owners now, we both enjoyed a couple of meze dishes to start and then a delicious plate each of calamari and salad, washed down with some cool white wine. A little doze when we got home rounded the afternoon off nicely.


We had noticed an unusual white bird sitting in the trees on a couple of previous evenings, but on Sunday evening it flew closer and sat on our electric cables. It was then we discovered it was a cockatoo! I had to come indoors to conceal my laughter when Jeff went out with a handful of nuts to try and tice it down! No idea where it belongs, but we have seen it in the neighbourhood since.


Monday 17 July
A day for chores around the house, and we had our garden railing finished. They made a good job of them and didn't throw the black paint about either.

Now the garden has been cleared of all the weeds, we have been gathering a few ideas together as to what we would like to do with all this space. We had a visit from one Garden Centre, but the quote we were given was extremely high. Another person had been recommended to us, so we invited him, Torgaug from the Chiswick Restaurant came to talk to us. Jeff got on with him very well, he appeared to know his subject and we learnt that his family have a farm over the mountain and he has been working with plants most of his life. His ideas were very acceptable and he went away saying he would work out the cost and organise a Diviner to come and tell us whether it is feasible to sink a well in the garden. Water is quite an issue out here, some areas have not had any mains water for 2 or 3 days, but Karsiyaka water is on every day albeit they switch it off for 3 or 4 hour periods. We are able to manage because we have a 2 ton water tank. Were we to have our own water supply for such things as topping up the pool and watering the garden we would be so much more independent.

It has become really hot again, fairly constant temperatures of 35º and from 2pm until around 5pm the heat seems really intense, infact even the local workmen have taken to wearing hats!

Tuesday
18 July
I finished making the curtains and tie-backs for the blue room and enjoyed organising the various craft projects I had brought with me. We are still waiting to hear from Alev (carpenter) to see how well he is getting on with making a wardrobe for this room.


The bookcase and wardrobe for the twin room were delivered late that afternoon. The Karsiyaka carpenter has made a really good job of these. The bookcase is in pine and looks very attractive filled with our books. We have put it in the hallway as there is so much empty space there.


We joined Barbara and Michael for a drink at the Cabin during the evening.

Wednesday 19 July
We set off fairly early this morning in order to visit Girne Weekly Market. We were to entertain some of our neighbours at the weekend and I needed copious quantities of various vegetables and salad items. It is a wonderful sight to see dozens of stalls loaded with all kinds of produce, some of them very unfamiliar. Everything is so fresh and exceedingly cheap. I'll try and remember to take my camera with me next time we go and show you how good it is.
We then went over to the south to buy an additional bookcase for the study to take my Egyptology books and some files. We had a good browse around the DIY shop and needless to say, we did come out with a few other things too! We then set off to try and locate a Marks & Spencer store. We found one but it was only a small branch and the one we were looking for was reputed to be a really big store. We got fresh directions but got a bit lost trying to find our way from a dual carriageway under the road and up again. We decided to give up and go to one of the hypermarkets we know of where we could get some lunch and a cold drink - we were melting. Those of you working in London will know what it's like trying to get around a city in this heat! Yuk! Anyway we have a general idea of where it is, so we will search again on our next trip. Loaded with goodies from the hypermarket we headed home and into the pool to cool off.

That evening we went to The Chiswick for the weekly Quiz Night. We are supposed to be teams of no more than 4 people, but there is usually a crowd of us so we sort of make two teams (and then confer!). We still only came second however!

Thursday 20 July
This morning Torgaug arrived with the Diviner and he really did wander the garden with two sticks in his hands. (Sorry, didn't get a photograph). Anyway with a big smile on his face he reported that we have 3 underground streams, two of which converge in one corner of our plot, "I am 100% certain you will find much water there." So that will be where the well will go.

Torgaug also gave Jeff a sensible quote for the garden work and he is to take on the responsibility for obtaining the legal 'Permissions' etc, for sinking the well and bringing the men and equipment in to do it. Interesting times ahead!
After this excitement I went and joined the Ladies Group at the Kervan Restaurant. Although the bay is very beautiful, there was not a whisp of a breeze, so it was good to be just sitting doing nothing.

Today is a very important day in the history of Northern Cyprus. It is known as Peace and Freedom Day and marks the date when mainland Turkey came to the assistance of the Turkish Cypriots in 1974. It is commemorated with parades and speeches in Lefkosa and Girne and the highlight is a performance by the Turkish Airforce's Red Stars over the harbour. They are equally as good as the Red Arrows.

In the evening we joined Barbara and Michael for a meal at The Saffron restaurant in Lapta. It is a relatively new place, (it opened last summer when it was called Cote d'Azur). The decor is very modern and the table settings very elegant, with nice linen and glassware. There is an extensive menu which meant a lot of reading to be done, which is difficult when nattering. Anyway after much deliberations we all finally chose our dinner, Jeff and I starting with a plate of delicious Whitebait each, then Jeff had a selection of lamb chops and fresh vegetables and I had Pork in a Madeira sauce. It was a lovely evening and the service was most attentive. We decided to call into The Cabin on the way home for a nightcap - bad mistake! There was the most awful kareoke evening taking place which just took the edge off a nice occasion.

Friday 21 July
This was to be a really lazy day. Frank and Joan had invited us to join them on a boat trip, they have visitors from Holland staying with them at the moment and a day on a boat was a good way of entertaining them. We set sail about 10am, but were somewhat delayed leaving the harbour as our anchor had become fouled up with one from another boat. Our party consisted of Frank, Joan, their visitors Ari, Samantha and Michael, Barbara and Michael, George and Susan, Pat and Brian and ourselves.




Once out at sea we had a lovely breeze and the captain decided to head west along the coast. As we all lived in that direction it was interesting to spot familiar places from a very unfamiliar viewpoint.


Our first anchorage was in a lovely bay near the Green Coast holiday resort. The water was warm and clear, we had a great time.




We were called back on board when lunch was ready. Loads of chicken, fresh tuna and a variety of salads to enjoy.

During the afternoon we sailed on towards Lapta and anchored just of Camelot Beach. Jeff and I had not been there before and it looked an ideal place for us to take the boys when they join us in a few weeks. It has a lovely sandy beach with plenty of umbrellas and loungers and once in the water it looks to be shallow for quite some distance out.


Around 4pm we headed back towards Girne harbour and all agreed that it had been a wonderful day and we must look for an excuse to do it again next month.





That evening we went Line Dancing!!!!!! I know you can't believe it but how it came about was our friends Brian and Renee (Brian from the Italy to Turkey ferry) were returning to UK on Saturday and we said we would spend their last evening with them. Renee likes to Line Dance and Brian goes to watch! They had discovered that Line Dancing was held on a Friday evening at the Acmenya, one of the local restaurants in Alsancak, so that is where we went. Well Renee, at age 74, looked to be the only one enjoying herself, the other participants were taking it very seriously. Anyway we had a pleasant evening in good company and they may be out again in October.

Last Monday we had planned a domestic day, but no sooner had we got started than we had a power cut! So the washing had to wait a day as it was off until 5pm. However, it gave us chance to decide where we would put some of our pictures and each day the place looks more like home.

Tuesday was spent up in Lefkosa/Nicosia. We started at the main Police Station this time to get an "In and Out" form for me. The office was very busy and as it looked as though I would have a lengthy wait Jeff went off to visit a place that had been recommended to him to see about buying a generator for the house. He was successful and found what he wanted, having arranged to have it delivered home on Wednesday. I was still waiting - it wasn't too much longer before my name was called, "In and Out" form handed over and off we went to Customs to get them to make me legal for driving the car in N Cyprus. The young lady who was so helpful last week was just leaving for her lunch when we got there. This time we were dealt with by a gentleman who was ok but didn't have the same friendly manner. Anyway, this is how efficient the office procedure is: hand over documents - copies of passport, importation certificate, insurance and driving licence. He writes in a ledger, also enters info onto a computer, then asks that we go around the back of the building to another office to obtain a photocopy of my licence and bring it back to him. Once this was done he stamped the appropriate form and we were done, but it is a classic example of the shortage of resources and one photocopier has to serve many offices.

We then went through the border into Nicosia, to a shop that had been recommended where we may find flat pack desks for the computer and my sewing things. Found the shop and had a great time mooching around. Picked up one or two "useful" things and then we found the furniture, exactly what we wanted and at a reasonable price. Took us ages to make up our minds about which style of computer desk we wanted, there were so many to choose from but the desk/table for my sewing things was very easy.

Unfortunately, once we had these on board and a swivel chair we hadn't time to look around the rest of the shop. Jeff had previously arranged to see his carpenter in Karşiyaka at 4pm and we needed to get back. No trouble at the border and we saw the carpenter who wanted to check on some measurements as he is making a large bookcase for us and a wardrobe for "the boys" bedroom.
That evening Jeff and I joined Barbara and Michael and Sandy and John at the Cabin for a drink. Sandy was in full flow as always, so it wasn't until she'd gone that I was able to have a conversation with Barbara, who is much more my sort of person.

On Wednesday, Jeff started putting the flat packs together, my sewing table being the first. This is because until his carpenter delivers the bookcase we cannot do much in the study for the piles of book boxes there. Anyway it meant that I was able to get my sewing machine out, get it up and running after it being in hibernation for so long and start making curtains for my "Blue Room". I bought some beautiful blue sari material from ebay a while ago and it is going to make lovely voile curtains for that room.

Earlier in the day I had had a call from Rene (wife of Brian who we had met on the boat from Italy to Turkey with his friend Bob).

She invited us to join them at a Quiz Night at the Chiswick Restaurant just down the road. We went along and had a fun night, quite a few were there and it was pleasant sitting in the garden, so we will probably go again. Met a nice couple, Julie and Bob, who live not far from us. They had decided to up sticks from UK when he was given redundancy, knowing nothing about the island, but seemed to be making a go of it.

Since the rain last week, the weather has been less humid and we have had a nice breeze blowing each afternoon, which has made it much pleasanter when doing various jobs around the place. We've even had little white puffy clouds in the sky and the temperatures average around 28º to 30º.

On Thursday morning I joined a group of ladies from church at the Kervan Restaurant, Kervansary for a get together and a natter. It was nice to meet new people and learn a little about them. The setting is lovely as the garden of the restaurant overlooks a small beach and bay and along the coast to 5-Mile beach (or Escape Beach as it is known now). Whilst we residents enjoyed the breeze I'd told you about, I'm not sure the small groups of holiday makers on the beach did. Although still very warm, the wind was making the sea quite rough. Afterwards I visited The Curtain Shop as they had made and extra blind for me to fit on the kitchen door and it was now ready.


When I first arranged for them to make the curtains for my lounge and kitchen I had declined to have one on the door which is half glass, thinking it would be nice to let the sunshine in! Not until you live here do you realise that at these temperatures you spend your time keeping the sunshine out!


On Friday workmen arrived to fit a railing and a couple of gates to divide the pool area from the lower garden. This will stop little boys from falling off the edge too! Although not quite finished we are pleased with the result.

That evening we joined Michael and Barbara again at the Cabin and spent a really nice evening together.

Saturday, after some domestic chores we did a little shopping. On the way out we remembered to take the key to our Post Box with us. This is located in the village square and wowee!... we had mail. So thank you to Roni and Mike, Stella and Rod for the Welcome to Your New Home cards, they were a great surprise. Completed 2 curtains in the afternoon and we had a lazy evening in, literally sitting by the pool gazing at the stars. Call us old softees!

On Saturday morning we decided to tackle, what we call our 'Blue Room'. It had been piled with boxes of winter clothes and my sewing and craft things. So once they were moved out of the way it was a case of getting the cement off the windows and shutters. Much scrubbing and cleaning later we now have a lovely room ready for our visitors.

Just a question of waiting for Alev to make me a wardrobe! Stella and I organised this when we were here a year last February! First I had to track him down. Although he is the brother-in-law of our builder, Mehmet, they have had a falling out and no longer communicate with each other. Sandie and Steph had told me where his factory was and despite Jeff and I visiting it on several occasions, the elusive Alev was not there. However, on our last visit one of his workmen was there and we obtained Alev's phone number. I rang him and he arranged to come to the house to discuss the project. True to his word he turned up, agreed our original arrangement and hopefully will have it made for us by the end of the month (and tweaked a few of his other jobs in the house).

By the time we'd had lunch we were pretty well exhausted, so it was a few dips in the pool and a book for the afternoon. It's a tough life hey!



After Sunday Service we took to the mountain to get some cool breezes. This time towards St Hilarion, but not to visit the castle but to take the mountain road that runs all along the ridge and comes down over Karsiyaka. About 25 kms all told but the views are simply breathtaking.

Just before we made our descent we decided to investigate a small restaurant. It was in a lovely spot and the smell of pine and the breeze encouraged us to stay. They only did simple food in the clay ovens or bbq, but we had a lovely lunch. Just as we were leaving some of our neighbours arrived, so we lingered a little longer. Back down the mountain to the heat and a swim!

On Thursday every where felt much fresher and less humid. We had errands to do in Girne and jobs around home.

Les and Joe have been renting the bungalow next door to us while their bungalow was finished. They are a great couple who are following their dream on a really strict budget and if anything could go wrong it has happened to them. Having sold their home in UK they have been living out here for some while in rented accommodation. They have been supplementing their income with various cleaning and maintenance jobs and doing it very successfully. Since we arrived, they have been our neighbours and we have been made aware of their difficult dealings with their English Estate Agent. Having paid all that their contract requested, said "gentleman" requested a further £4K in extras which they were not expecting! Having dealt with that they have accepted the keys to their bungalow knowing they will have no electricity or mains water for some time! The Agent provided a generator which they duly secured to the walls of the house as best they could (Chains, padlocks, etc) and within 36hrs it had been stolen! This all happened 24 hours before they were going back to UK for a short break, hoping to come back and move in, so unlucky! We took them out for a meal at the Silver Grill to cheer them up before they left.

On Friday we decided to tackle the problem of our car importation document that had been given to us at the port for an initial 4 weeks. We knew we were entitled to more than this and while I was at Girne market on Wednesday, Jeff had gone into the nearby Police Station to enquire how to extend it. "Go back to the port and see the Chief man" was the answer - "you should get 4 months"! Jeff was sceptical, but we would try.
Girne Port chief man said we should go and talk to Customs in Lefkosa (Nicosa). I vaguely remembered where they were from my importation of furniture experiences last year. We found them and what's more, a very helpful lady Customs Officer. But it seems that whatever transaction you are trying to achieve it is necessary to go to the main Police Station first for what is known as the "In and Out Form". A record of all your comings and goings in Northern Cyprus. OK, so we eventually found the Police Station, very helpful - yes, this office, that form, oh yes you need a 4 YTL stamp from the Post Office, no sorry, we don't have them here. Off we go again, searching for a Post Office, not too difficult as it turned out and we bought several, cos' you never know. Back to the Police, complete the request and then back to Customs. !............. yes, they can extend the authorisation period for up to 1 year if we like, but Boss man is not in till next week to sign the form and did Jeff have authority for me! NO, we thought we were just getting an extension of importation but it turned out to be authority to drive the car in NC!! So it seems that early next week we need to get an "in an out" form for me and then back to nice lady in customs and hopefully legality to drive for a year!

Monday, 3rd July and the start of another hot week. Our Builder's foreman arrived first thing with a couple of his men to attack an unsatisfactory patch of plastering on the wall of the bungalow. Boy did they attack it! Plaster was being ripped off with great force, particularly after Jeff offered one of the guys the use of his bolster chisel and hammer! Remember I said I had completed cleaning the patio last week - ah well, it is all for the good of the house in the long run.

Tuesday the guys returned to re-plaster the wall and we hope that the painting will be done before not too long as it is not a pretty sight at the moment.

We are making good progress in getting the place ship-shape. Not only has the wall been started, but gates were fitted last week, the pool filled, some electrical work done and the weeds disappeared. Jeff and I have been hanging pictures and doing more unpacking on a daily basis and No 7 Bozkurt Sokak is looking more and more like home.




Tuesday night we met our friends at The Cabin again. This was to provide some support for Roger, who makes a few extra pennies by singing and playing his electric keyboard at one or two venues. He is jolly good too, playing nice easy to listen to music and a lot of old standards.

We had been aware of some interesting cloud formations that had been collecting on top of the mountains each afternoon over the last couple of days. It looked as though it might rain, but as we spent most of our time watching the clouds from the comfort of our pool (28º!) we thought it highly unlikely.


On Wednesday afternoon, things became a little more dramatic. It seriously did look as though it might rain, and we could hear thunder rumbling up in the mountains. So fascinating did it become that we were taking pictures of the storm clouds (do you think we have been away from UK too long already?).

Then, despite the sun still shining on us, huge drops of rain began to fall. Daffy duck didn't know what to do! It was a most dramatic storm, one lightening strike knocking out our electricity! There were torrents of water crashing down on us but it didn't last too long. Apparently this is only the 13th time in 25 years that it has rained in July in this part of Cyprus. It was particularly severe in Nicosia, with trees being brought down and other calamities.

Well now that I've included photos of our journey here, what has been happening in Karsiyaka.

On Thursday, 29th June Jeff and Ahmed completed clearing the garden area of weeds and they have certainly done a great job between them. After having had a coffee with us and given Jeff instructions on how to tackle any weeds in the meantime, Ahmed left us saying he would be away for a month because he has his own olive grove of 400 trees to tend. Before leaving he told us that he did not have to work because he had a pension from UK and a pension from the government here, but it was good for ones marriage to be out of the house for a while (and so say all of us)!




We went over to the "dark side" (southern Cyprus) in the afternoon and encountered no difficulty in doing so. We visited a couple of large supermarkets which helped in stocking us up with some of the basics we are used to having. Ahmed had asked whether we could find any Worcester Sauce for him at some point and we were able to bring him some from there.

On Friday evening we met up with a few friends at a bar called The Cabin in Lapta. Barbara and Michael were there, neighbours of Frank and Joan, plus another couple, Roger and Jill who had been on the boat trip with us.
All the local tradesmen were lamenting the lack of tourists: the cause seems to be a mix of no direct flights into the north putting people off, no cheap flights to the north and Greek propaganda hitting European newspapers. I hope, for the locals sake, that more people discover how lovely this part of the island is, but from a selfish point of view - well, it is nice for us that it is quiet!

We spent Saturday morning cleaning the patio area around the pool. It is such a large area that I have been doing it in sections, first thing in the morning while it is in the shade and I finally completed it on Saturday. Then Jeff suggested we had a drive to Guzelyurt (Morphou) were they hold a weekly market. It is approximately 18kms from our house but the road goes through part of the main citrus orchards, although much reduced compared to when we first came to the island. The problem has been two-fold: the lack of water (they used to be irrigated from sources in Troodos that are not available any more) and they have nowhere to export the fruit to since N Cyprus is not recognised by any country of significance other than Turkey who have plenty of their own. We eventually found the market and there was fruit and veg in great abundance at very little cost. We stocked up with what we could, had a cold beer and drove back for lunch.

Temperatures seem to be a fairly constant 30ºC and we have a thermometer in our pool attached to a little yellow duck (Daffy) which reads almost a permanent 28º. You can imagine that during the afternoons we do a lot of swimming and sitting in the shade to keep cool. Last Saturday, when it came to evening I felt so exhausted I couldn't bring myself to cook, so suggested we went out to one of the taverna type restaurants nearby. We decided to visit Ali at the Silver Grill - there were only two other people there - our friends Joan and Barbara! They were gossiping over a G and T while the menfolk were elsewhere watching the football. We decided to join up and it wasn't long before the men arrived, full of doom and gloom because of England's loss on penalties! Anyway it didn't spoil our evening and we had a jolly good time.

After church on Sunday, we decided to take a ride west out of Girne. We have a favourite spot just beyond Bacheli, where there was a little basic bar/restaurant perched on the edge of the cliffs, called the Eagle's Nest. We have often sat there watching the sea birds swoop and dive and return to their nests in the cliffs and the amazing view was such that you could look all down the coast towards Karsiyaka. The journey out took us past the new golf course, that has still to be completed, but confident speculators have filled the surrounding countryside with masses of housing. It will be interesting to see how much of it sells in the present climate.

The Eagle's Nest is well beyond all this development and we were pleased to see that it looked just the same. We settled down to a refreshing drink and then Jeff went to look at their menu (a blackboard)! He was horrified to discover how much they had put up their prices. They were charging "Girne harbour front" prices without the ambience or the comfort they offer. Being a good Yorkshire man, we did not stay for lunch!

We turned back towards Girne and decided to head for the mountains instead. We had often used a very simple restaurant at the top of the Five Finger mountain pass called the Besparnak. It was still there with the same charming people, but they had expanded their premises but not prices, thank goodness. We had a lovely fresh kebab lunch, with copious salads, enjoying the fresh breeze as well as the good food.

What a day 16 June turned out to be with not only our arrival in N Cyprus but baby Joe's arrival back in Kent. His arrival was far quicker than ours. We had one of the slowest ferry journeys ever experienced but it was a welcome sight to see the mountain range come into view. Here are the first shots we took of our arrival back on the island.



Home at last!

We arrived in Turkey very early in the morning on Tuesday 13th June. The boat docked in Cesme, a port not far from Izmir and the following photographs are of our journey through Turkey. We drove inland at first, more or less in a straight line from Izmir until we were just north of Konya, where we turned south to visit Lake Beysehir and then head for the south coast.






Central Turkey is just so beautiful. It was very tempting to stop every few miles as we made our way south to take yet another photograph, however, here are just a few to give you a taste.










Almost home!

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The next group of pictures were taken while we were staying in Roseto degli Abruzzi where the most genial Franco was our host. It was Franco who told us of the fascinating places we visited.




















Inside the fortress everything was on such a huge scale. It was built on 3 levels, had reasonable accommodation for animals and men, 3 parade grounds of considerable proportions and it commanded the valleys on all sides. We could see for miles around.

We found this lovely ceiling in a little church located just inside the entrance to the fortress. It was beautifully decorated throughout.



Remember that on the night of the 10th June we left the shores of Europe and sailed into Asia. This next photograph shows our "cruise ship", taken as we were loading.



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We are now able to show you pictures from our 2nd week of travelling. The whole time was spent in Italy, and what a great time we had.