Riding in Cyprus – Lefkara and the Mountain Passes…

We met at the turnoff to Skarinou, and began what was to be an unforgettable few hours of riding...

After my long ride to Pafos and the southern highlands with Ramos on Friday, I thought that apart from the ride I would make to Kerynia to take the ferry back to Turkey, my rides in Cyprus were over…

I was wrong…!!

Romos called again on Saturday morning to enquire what I was doing and when I replied that I was getting all my kit together and doing some admin, he advised that this was no way to spend a glorious sunny day, and that I should make my way, with all due haste, to the turnoff at Skarinou where he would meet me in an hour…!!

How could I possibly argue with this perfectly good idea…??

As it turned out, it was one of the best rides I have had since arriving here…!! And this time it was more about seeing the tranquil side of Cyprus and its people, than visiting famous landmarks and other historic points of interest… Although in this country, you can’t help bumping into them around every turn…!!

It gave me an opportunity to meet some local folk, and get to see a side of my good friend Romos, that I would otherwise not have known…

This post is more about the ride and I will keep the writing short and let the many photos I took tell the story…

We rode through the narrow streets of Kato Lefkara, or Lower Lefkara, a quiet little village spread across the lower slopes of a mountain...

Lefkara is well known for its handmade lace, and out in the streets, we passed many elderly ladies seated out in the sunshine, working on their creations…

I had ridden through narrow streets in Cyprus before, but this was ridiculous...!! The roar of the bikes reverberated off the walls of peoples homes...!!

"Hello Ma...!! This is your favourite son...!! Yeah, I'm lost again...!!"

A simple, yet elegant front entrance to a house in the village of Kato Lefkara...

We parked near the Lefkara Town Hall...

In Pano Lefkara, or Upper Lefkara, I visited the Cyprus Jewelry Museum, where Romos snapped me standing out on the balcony...

Romos waits patiently while I browse through the museum... It housed many beautiful pieces of mainly silver jewelry, some dating back more than a hundred years...

In the village of Kato Drys, I stopped to look at these colourfully decorated homes on the main road...

Yet more narrow roads that Romos led me into...

We stopped at the monastery of St Minas, to take a closer look at the beautiful mosaics that formed part of the entrance wall… They were slightly recessed to give some protection from the elements… I have included all five of them here to demonstrate their detail…

The mosaic of St. Kasianos...

Mother Mary...

A seated Jesus Christ...

St Amvrosius...

St Minas, after whom the monastery is named...

Then we were back out on the open road, riding the Cypriot Twisty's... Exhilarating...!!

From the monastery of St. Minas, we climbed higher up into the mountains, and stopped in the village of Vavla… Romos had clearly been here before, and I followed him blindly as he jinked his way down a narrow cobbled street and over a bridge and parked in the courtyard of the Panayia tis Agapis – The Church of Love…

“This is the only church with this name in the whole of Cyprus…!!” he said…

“Well, I think I better spend as much time here as possible,” I laughed, “You can never get too much love…!!”

The courtyard was shaded by a pair of massive Eucalyptus trees, their branches and leaves all but obscuring the Chapel…

“Pray for a nice Cypriot girl, then you can stay here and ride as much as you want…!!” he joked….I think…!!

We rode on through Lageia, Ora and then as we came around a long sweeping bend, we saw the village of Vavatsinias spread out on a slope above us… Romos indicated that we would stop here for something to eat, and fearing a repetition of the hungry day I had endured the day before, I gladly agreed…!!

We stopped for lunch at the village of Vavatsinias, after building up an appetite on the winding mountain passes...

Just what the doctor ordered...!! Fried eggs, and Cyprus Sausage soaked in wine... Oh, yes, there was a salad thrown in for good measure...!!

Romos sits forlornly on the patio of the Iason Eatery, wondering how he was going to finish his large lunch...!!

At a tiny restaurant, directly opposite the village church, we stopped and ordered a simple plate of food, and that’s exactly what we got…!! Three fried eggs to go with a trio of Cypriot sausage, a plate of bread and a large salad… The owner was a character of note, shouting explosive greetings at any person who was either walking or driving by… He seemed to know everybody, and I guess in a village as small as this one, that wasn’t a very difficult thing…!!

While we waited for our lunch, Romos went back to his bike and returned with two sheets of paper and a photograph of me on the Big Fella… He sat down and said,

“I have something here for you…!! This is a Greek poem which I have printed out… I think you will find it has special meaning for you… Here is the English translation, and I will read it now…!!”

Which is exactly what he proceeded to do…!! This despite the fact that at the time, we were sharing our table with an elderly local gentleman, who nodded at the end of each line that Romos was reading, as if remembering the lines of the poem… The old guy spoke passable English, and commented about the meaning of the poem and shared a few details about Greek Mythology, before getting up, shaking my hand, and then walking off to go about his daily duties…

To say that I was touched by all of this is an understatement…!! While I listened to the words, and the emotion with which Romos read them, I felt my bond with this man growing stronger with every line…

Occasionally, he would stop, and read a specific line again, and then turn to me and ask,

“Do you see…??”

And I did… I was overwhelmed by this act of kindness and caring on his part, and could just nod my head, afraid to open my mouth and break the emotional string that we were attached by at that moment…

When he had finished, he folded both the Greek and English versions together, handed them to me and told me to keep them with me, and read the poem from time to time, especially when I felt and experienced difficulty during the course of my journey… Then he handed me the photo of myself, and asked me to sign it for him…

It was a special moment, made even more so by the earnest look on his face when he thanked me and shook my hand… That moment in the little village high in the mountains of Cyprus, will probably live with me forever… I have included the poem in a separate post, as it deserves to stand on it’s own, without the clutter of my everyday ramblings…

Then it was back to do some "curve hunting"...!!

"Bend it like Borrageiro"...?? Nah, you have to see Romos throw his bike around the corners...!!

After another round of dizzying corners and switchbacks, we entered the village of Akapnou, again exploring the narrow cobbled streets, ducking and diving down alleyways, until we came out on the far side of it, and a short while later, turned onto a steep dirt track and rode on for a few hundred metres…

We stopped above an old bridge, built by the Venetians hundreds of years ago… It had two vaulted arches, typical of its type, and spanned a narrow gully… It lead out onto an old track that was once the road to the village above us… There are many examples of Venetian bridges all over Cyprus, and this was one of the smaller versions that people are still able to visit, if you know where to find them…!! Had it not been for Romos, I would have cruised right past the dirt road leading to this one…

Posing on one of the many Venetian Bridges that can be found in Cyprus... This one outside the village of Akapnou...

I was surprised that he didn't have both hands in the air on this corner...!! The man handles his bike like a wizard...!!

We were close to the highest point we would get to on the day’s ride, and after that we began our descent back to the coast, passing through Eptagonia and Arakapas, then through Dierona and just before we reached our final stop for the day, I glanced down at my console and saw that the Big Fella was about to reach another milestone… I slowed down, waiting for the digital display to tick over, and then took a few photos to record the occasion…

A slow smile spread across my face as I thought of the thousands of kilometres we had ridden together… More emotion to go with that which I had felt earlier in the village far behind us…

Passing through Akrounta, the Big Fella celebrated yet another birthday...!! And as usual, the event had given him a raging thirst...!! I rewarded him with a full tank a short while later...!!

High up above the Yermasoyia Dam, on the way down to Limassol, we stopped to take a final "tobacco break"...

The Cyprus Duo...!! Romos and I after our great ride through the countryside...

We made our final stop up above the Yermasoyia Dam and the village it is named after… We stood together quietly, looking out over the blue waters of the dam spread out below us, and then Romos set his camera up to take the picture above…

Blue skies, mountains, two bikes and their riders… Shared experiences, remembered always…!!

Our route for the day, planned and executed...!!

Before mounting up for the final run down to the highway, we shook hands and wished each other well… Then we swooped down to where the traffic circle would separate us for the last time, Romos going west back to Limassol, and I to the west, heading for Larnaca… We did not stop to say our goodbyes again… One minute he was in front of me, the next he was veering off around the circle with his left hand outstretched in farewell…

I take this opportunity to thank Romos once again for the wonderful day out on the roads of central Cyprus… It was an amazing experience for which I am very grateful….

Go well, my friend… Hope we meet again one day…!!

Here is a short video clip that Romos has loaded onto YouTube…. Check it out, Dudes…!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ygE1I_wa8

©GBWT 2010