A Walk in the Akamas Peninsula - April 14th

the forest of the Akamas Peninsula

We do not bike every day. During the Greek Orthodox Easter week, we stayed for five days in Neochorio which is the last village before the western coast of Cyprus.  It is reputed to be a good village to witness traditional Easter customs, and that was why we chose it, but you might be more familiar with it in a different context. It sits on the edge of the Petrakis Gorge in which lie two of the largest bat caves on earth.  David Attenborough filmed sequences for his Planet Earth series in these caves and I for one, will never forget the mountains of bat guano that the film crew slithered upon  during their work. There are no signs to mention the whereabouts of these caves but there are signs to indicate the wonders of the peninsula as a playground for hikers, bird-watchers and amateur botanists.

The Baths of Aphrodite - a glorified pool

Yesterday we biked to the coastal entrance of the Akamas and took in the botanical garden and the Baths of Aphrodite. Today, rather than hike the busy Aphrodite or Adonis Trails that start from that car park, we opted to walk out of our mountain-side village straight into the natural wonders of the Akamas with no tourists to interfere with our enjoyment.

a field of colour

We spent three hours walking and covered both forested terrain and high grassy plateau. The wildflowers were plentiful and varied and I have no idea what most of them were.  I took snapshots of those that really interested me but there were many more and this is just a representation of what is in bloom in one day in April.

St Minas of Egypt

On the way we visited tiny Aghios Minas church.  Yes, the husband is a veritable saint and not only is this tiny church named after him but the main church in Neochorio is too. At the tiny church, I finally saw the saint himself in a picture leaning against the wall. Here he is - Saint Minas of Egypt on his white charger! Any resemblance to persons living  and loved is entirely coincidental.

Is this the dreaded viper of Cyprus?

A few days ago, I was in conversation with a hiker who was telling me that there are three indigenous snakes in Cyprus . Only one, the viper, is poisonous.  She said that it is quite large and black and likes to sink its teeth into a hiker’s ankles. The rules are to make a lot of noise, stick to paths and always wear long pants. If bitten, you have only 45 minutes to get the antidote or that is the end of you. I had forgotten about this conversation as I set off in my capris on the cemented road out of the village. It came back sharply when I saw the dead snake. And I do know how to make a lot of noise as I march along, which I did for the rest of the hike. Minas, of course took great pains to show me a rocky crevice from which, he said, a snake had poked its head. I suspect that was just to get me going  but I will never know.

I cannot tell you whether I prefer the sweep of wildflowers in a meadow with their combination of colours among the waving grasses or the perfect single varietal that captures your fancy by the side of the path.  Perhaps you have an opinion. 

the wild figs - still green

Minas, on the other hand, is much more interested in trees, and preferably if they are laden with edible fruit. The abundant figs on the wild fig trees were much too green to sample but he found many carob trees with good pickings from last fall’s harvest.

Minas loves these carob pods

He would happily munch on these woody pods, a chocolate substitute, as we walked along.

a kind of allium??

complete with insect

elegant!

We had hoped that the restaurant at the top of the village would be open for some lunch but no…. they are getting ready for a big evening of Easter celebrations… so we went to the supermarket for some lunch supplies. I found a lovely bunch of arugula and my mouth was watering for a salad with the very dark, local olive oil pressed by an old lady up the street. Halfway home I realized that I had neither vinegar nor lemon juice. I was prepared to make do when I spied a lemon tree hanging over a fence across the road. The house was tightly shuttered and the garden grass grown high, so I nipped over and picked myself three lemons.

Perfect walk, perfect morning … topped off with a deliciously fresh lunch!

Ah, but the massed look touches the heart!