Seriiously (pinching myself)
Landing in Larnaca, Cyprus last Tuesday at midday, with goofy grins a mile wide, Daryle and I made our way to the village of Skarinou, where we will be living (still pinching myself) for the next three months of chalky land, olive trees, endless blue skies, lace covered windows and melons that taste like warm bananas (no jokes). It all seems quite surreal after the last few years of lockdowns in Melbourne to now have the freedom to fly to the other side of the world and experience such different visuals and cultural textures, appreciating things in a more technicolour way because of it, I reckon.
This morning after returning to our tiny village house from the market, (laden with local citrus, humongous sun ripened soft fleshed tomatoes, a bag of chamomile flowers and halloumi for our tea) I flopped onto the bed and yelled out… I love my life… To absolutely nobody in particular.
Really how does it get better than this?
A selection of photos I have taken this week of our village house/apartment and Skarinou, so you can see what we see daily. Including our cornflower blue front door, sun rise and the view from our balcony, a vase I made by cutting a water bottle up and painting it, our hammock swing that goes on most adventures with us, and the new way I get my weekly fruit and veg (off the back of a teeny truck that comes Saturday mornings)
A few things I've learned about Skarinou so far: You pronounce it Ske-ri-noo (spoken loud with gesticulatory arm movements works best)
Named during mediaeval times supposedly after a saint, of whom nobody really knows...but I kinda like this, there's such mystery here..things seem a little loose and can be jiggled however best suits the story you're telling. And I love a good story, don't you?
It's built higgledy piggledy on a chalky stone hillside 190 m above sea level (which makes for a scrummy breezey afternoon) in the heart of Cyprus. Population-238 (Though the last time anybody counted it was 2001 so who knows) The dominant building in the village is the beautiful domed church of Panagia Odigitria (yeah try saying that fast!) Anyway our little stone apartment is just above this church (you can see it in the photos) - which apparently has beautiful depictions of Archangel Gabriel and Michael within (yet to set eyes on this). There are two other small chapels for the apostle Luke and Saint George which date to the middle ages. It's totally wild imagining mediaeval artisans, knights and knaves wandering down the same cobbled streets as I. Crazy wild!
Some of my favouritist things this week
Walking up the thirteen stone steps to our little apartment... they are wickedly steep and you have to hold the wibbly wobbly railing as you go, though it’s like climbing a ladder to a heavenly hideaway, or a Secret garden and there at the top of the landing are the cornflower blue timber doors (see photo) that house our little stoney sanctuary away from the heat. Superbly simply magic.
The iridescent Vermillion coloured dragonflies that hover over me as I swim my laps in the Sun flushed swimming pool... Usually two or three hover inquisitively around my head as I chatter with them and marvel at their fabulous orangey redness twinkling in the sun. Hello!
Sitting out on our balcony in the early firstness of the day, hot drinks in hand, feet happily planted on the cool tiled surface, viewing the rise of the Sun as if for the first time ever. Consuming it’s golden light as though it were nourishment for the hours to come. Yum. Yep, photo of that too.
Oh and the ever-present raucousy pulse of scratchy cicada song that seriously makes me feel like I’m in a Mamma Mia movie. Dot, dot, dot...
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